By d. emerson eddy — For more than year now, Lucifer has quietly been one of the best horror comics, arguably one of the best comics period, available on the stands. Overall, I think it's probably fair to say that all of the rebooted series in The Sandman Universe have been spinning high quality yarns that go relatively unheralded. Which is a bit of a shame, because they really are damn good. The line got a shot in the arm a little better than a month ago with John Constantine coming home, kind of, and him popping in on the former Vertigo side of things has been a bit of a running theme lately.

Here in Lucifer #15 he's taken to trying to figure out what exactly he is these days, being cognizant of something odd having happened with the timeline, changes to Timothy Hunter, and weirdness with the Dreaming, so he's tracked down Lucifer for a bit of a chat. Outside of the new John Constantine: Hellblazer series and his appearance in Books of Magic, this feels almost essential if you're following Constantine's new character arc. If you're not, and only here for Lucifer, he's a nice seasoning element, but you don't need to know anything else. Writer Dan Watters gives a wonderful voice to Constantine. It reminds me mostly of the same speech patterns that Garth Ennis uses and it works well for the story. At the core of this issue, there's a theme of being used, of being taken apart and scrutinized, to see what makes you work, and it's very interesting to see Constantine in an unfamiliar role to him for some time, the mouse instead of the cat. Though, when you think about it, one of the few times he was in this role was in a confrontation with the First of the Fallen, so there's a kind of parallel there when it comes to Lucifer.

The art from Fernando Blanco with colors by Dee Cunniffe is still an interesting thing. Blanco's work on this title has largely been consistent with the visual style established earlier by Max and Sebastian Fiumara. While there are more of the hardline, thick inky shadows that would be familiar to Blanco's art in Catwoman, there's also a continuation of some soft shadow, almost charcoal-like, images that give the story a very unique feel. The mix of some subtle blends and solid color backgrounds that Cunniffe provides enhances this feel, but I think the most interesting approach is to the ghosts. They start with an unearthly, ethereal blue glow, but their coloring becomes more and more natural as the story goes on. It's an incredible and subtle use of color to tell a story consistent with what we're being told through dialogue.

Steve Wands' letters continue to enrich and enhance the story in a manner consistent with what we saw from Todd Klein’s work with the character, while bringing his own flavor to various other characters. Wands is one who can make different fonts, different line weights, different colored and shaped balloons work to embellish the storytelling rather than distract from it, giving many characters their own unique voices that are consistent with how the dialogue portrays them. It's nice to “hear” that visually.

While there is a lot of seriously great horror comics vying for your dollar right now, Watters, Blanco, Cunniffe, and Wands continue to make Lucifer #15 one of the best bangs for your bucks. This issue works through a satisfying guest appearance in what can be read as both a one-off story and as part of the broader tapestry that this story is weaving.

Lucifer #15
Writer: Dan Watters
Artist: Fernando Blanco
Colorist: Dee Cunniffe
Letterer: Steve Wands
Publisher: DC Comics – Black Label / The Sandman Universe
Price: $3.99

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d. emerson eddy is a student and writer of things. He fell in love with comics during Moore, Bissette, & Totleben's run on Swamp Thing and it has been a torrid affair ever since. His madness typically manifests itself on Twitter @93418.