Lucifer, Vol. 8: The Wolf Beneath the Tree

Lucifer (2000) (Old Trades)

by Mike Carey

The eighth volume of writer Mike Careys beguiling LUCIFER series continues the saga of the Lightbringer, who now faces a deadly new threat to both his Creation and our own. Fenris, the acme of ruin and destruction, has awoken into Gods absence, and he stalks the World-Tree Yggdrasil where he is destined to end of the world. Only Elaine Belloc, the Archangel Michael and Lucifer stand in his wayand their efforts may only hasten the end of all things. THE WOLF BENEATH THE TREE also showcases the special stories Lilith and Neutral Ground.

Collecting issues #45 and #50-54, in which the Lightbringer faces a deadly new threat to both his Creation and that of Yahweh. Also featured is the special 40-page story "Lilith" from issue #50, illustrated by award-winner P. Craig Russell, and "Neutral Ground" from issue #45, illustrated by Ted Naifeh.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Mike Carey was born in Liverpool in 1959. He worked as a teacher for fifteen years, before starting to write comics. When he started to receive regular commissions from DC Comics, he gave up the day job.

Since then, he has worked for both DC and Marvel Comics, writing storylines for some of the world's most iconic characters, including X-MEN, FANTASTIC FOUR, LUCIFER and HELLBLAZER. His original screenplay FROST FLOWERS is currently being filmed. Mike has also adapted Neil Gaiman's acclaimed NEVERWHERE into comics.

Somehow, Mike finds time amongst all of this to live with his wife and children in North London. You can read his blog at www.mikecarey.net.

Reviews

[Dev · Rating 5 out of 5]

By all rights this volume is kind of a mess with the different storylines and randomly sticking an issue from several issues back right at the beginning, but it still weirdly works for me.

I love the Lilith issue and how she kind of planted the seed in Lucifer's mind for rebellion. I also can't help thinking of Gaiman's Murder Mysteries when I read it just because they are both an extremely different take on the first murder in heaven. Also I really love seeing child!Mazikeen and seeing how much Lucifer has been a part of her life right from the beginning.

I love The Wolf Beneath the Tree as well, not only for the big showdown at the end and what comes next, but also because I like how it blends other mythologies into the overall story. And I love Michael, Lucifer, and Elaine having an awkward family dinner with Destiny. Awkward family dinners are like one of my favorite tropes so that was great for me. And just Elaine in general! I'm so excited for what's about to happen! I just love her story line so much.

Some highlights:















And then mentions of will:

[The Lion's Share · Rating 3 out of 5]

artwork takes a small dive in this and not much happens. Picks up at the end.

[محمدحسین · Rating 5 out of 5]

داستان‌های جداگونه این جلد جالب بودن، به خصوص قضیه لیلیت :)
اما در مورد آرک اصلی: مشکلات و بدبختی‌ها کم بود، فنریس هم اومد وسط رگناروک راه بندازه :)) و چقدر خر بود!
و آه از آخر این جلد، اشکم در اومد 😢 چقدر مایکل خوبه! هرچقدر لوسیفر مسخره‌اش می‌کنه اما هیچ‌کس مثل مایکل به فکر Creation نبود 😢
اون تیکه انداختن لوسیفر و Destiny of the Endless هم چقدر خوب بود! لوسیفر فکر می‌کنه می‌تونه رفتار همیشگیش رو پیش بگیره اما دستنی یجوری shrug offش می‌کنه که اصلاً خیلی خوبه :))

کلا جلد خیلی خوبی بود :):

[Airiz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Wolf Beneath the Tree brings us a step closer to apex of the Lucifer series, which is apparently the end of the world in the wake of Yahweh’s departure. The main story follows the Norse wolf Fenris who, feeling that the Armageddon/Ragnarok is closing in on the Creation, goes to spill kin-blood on the roots of the Yggdrasil. Lucifer teams up with Michael and Elaine to do what they can to stop everything from collapsing…

This volume fills some gaps about the tale of the Lightbringer, back when he’s still the “sweet, savage Samael” (I quite like that phrase for some reason, thank you Yahweh!). The first issue in this tome centers on Lilith—Eve’s precursor in the Garden of Eden—and how she is responsible for the establishment of the Silver City and Lucifer’s rebellion. The best analogy would perhaps be Lilith acting as the intellectual serpent that eggs Lucifer on to yield to his the desire of his strong free will. I enjoyed the issue immensely, as a bunch of questions are answered in the most convincing way that only Mike Carey can pull off. Anyway, we also get to see little Mazikeen and little Briadach meeting the Lightbringer for the first time. I commend P. Craig Russel for the sterling art; it is startlingly reminiscent of his illustrations in Murder Mysteries by Neil Gaiman, only a tad better in here.

The rest of the story reverts to the present time, with the protagonists racing the clock to stop the universe’s imminent doom. There’s a small but important appearance of Destiny of the Endless, hosting a dinner with Michael, Lucifer, and Elaine Belloc. The dinner table convo is fascinating as ever, especially that we all know Lucifer hates the said Endless as a concept (escape from predestination = Lucifer’s driving fuel, the point of the whole series). Epiphanies abound, one of the biggest being Jill Presto’s. The volume ends with a character death and kin-shed blood, resulting in the possible conflagration of not only one but two Creations.

That said, this is still an outstanding volume. The ending is one heck of a cliffhanger that I immediately moved on to the next tome as soon as I finished this one. Thumb up for an amazing read!

[Venus Maneater · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love love love Naifeh. Too bad he got one of the lesser scripts to work with.

I feel like Lucifer is becoming God

[Lil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the backstory with Lilith and the fall. Oh, you angels, just get over it! And bringing in some more of the Endless siblings made me squeal.

[OmniBen · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Zero spoiler review) 3.75/5
The best collection from the second omnibus thus far, but it is still yet to recapture that consistent excellence that riddled the first. It is a perfectly enjoyable story, weighed down by little more than the expectation of what came before. Still, it does feel like it is building towards something special once again. 3.75/5


OmniBen.

[Mateen Mahboubi · Rating 4 out of 5]

First couple one-off stories didn't do too much for me but the main story that is included here was pretty enjoyable. A focused, slow burn, it hit a lot of the notes that I enjoy with the series. Looking forward to seeing how it ends.

[Štěpán · Rating 4 out of 5]

damn, i really liked it

[Tsumi Tsunami · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5
wtf ese final D:

[Pavel Pravda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Knihu otevírají dvě povídky. Jedna je z dávné minulosti, kdy Lilith zplodila Mazikeen, anděl Ibriem postavil stříbrné město a Lucifer dal sbohem nebeským zástupům. Důležitý obsah, ale jinak nuda. Mnohem lepší je druhá povídka ze "současnosti". Je o démonech a lidech a má skvělou pointu.

Hlavním příběhem je "Vlk pod stromem", jak ostatně prozrazuje samotný název knihy. Měl jsem chvíli strach, že to stejně jako předchozí díl "Exodus" bude jenom nimrání se v důsledcích odchodu Boha z našeho jsoucna. V epickém vyvrcholení zjistíte, že to tak není a příběh se konečně může posunout. Už od "Domů ticha" mám svůj tip, kam to bude směřovat a zatím jsem rád, že to má ten správný směr. Protože se mi ten směr zatraceně zamlouvá. 

Příběh "Vlk pod stromem" je celkově hodně povedený. Je v něm rozběhnuto několik dějových linek, které se postupně spojují.  Andělé jsou furt arogantní a tupí, Osud je stále tajemný a osudový, a Elaine Bellocová je zkrátka boží. Role záporák tentokrát padla na vlka Fenrira. Nutno říct, že záporák je to dokonalý. Ne jako ti dva moulové posledně.

[sally ✿ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listen, this series is great and can 100% stand on its own, but there is just something about seeing The Endless that makes my heart so dang full.

Destiny is as cryptic, yet somehow sassy, as ever.
Delirium still has the coolest outfits and I love her.
And if we ever see Morpheus again I will be so overjoyed.

Also, kid Mazikeen has my heart.

[Tomás Sendarrubias García · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pues con Thor en pausa hasta que salga el siguiente tomo y me lo dejen, vuelta a Lucifer y a las historias de la Estrella de la Mañana de mano de Mike Carey en este octavo tomo, que me ha parecido de los más flojitos de la serie, quizá porque es el arranque de una trama que no llega a finalizar. El tomo en España, además del arco El lobo bajo el árbol que le dio título, incluía dos historias independientes. Por un lado, el número 50 de Lucifer, un número especial que se centró en la historia de Lilith y el origen de los Lilim, así como en su relación con Lucifer, la Ciudad de Plata y el resto de los ángeles. Este número tiene la particularidad de estar dibujado por P. Craig Russell, que se encargó también de dibujar el número 50 de The Sandman, aquella historia tan diferente llamada Ramadán, lo que establece un nuevo paralelismo entre las dos series. También incluye el número 45 de la serie, una historia autoconclusiva que se había dejado fuera del tomo anterior y en el que un grupo de demonios se reúne en el alma de un administrativo de día, punki de noche, para trazar su alianza contra Lucifer.

Y finalmente, llega El lobo bajo el árbol, en la que Carey continúa explorando la mitología nórdica, como venía pasando desde Infierno y la aparición de Naflglar y Bergelmir, y ahora el propio Fenris se une al reparto de Lucifer. Y es que aunque la creación se está deshaciendo debido a la desaparición de Dios, puede que el mundo ni siquiera sobreviva el tiempo suficiente para llegar al final, pues Fenris, el lobo, ha despertado y busca destruir el árbol Yggdrasil, y con él, todas las creaciones. Y para ello, en las propias salas de Destino se forjará una extraña alianza entre Miguel, Lucifer y Elaine Belloc, que viajarán para enfrentarse a Fenris... y donde uno de ellos encontrará la muerte. Esta historia tiene otra particularidad, y es que en ella aparecen por primera vez después de mucho tiempo, dos de los Eternos, y es que tanto Destino como Delirio tienen apariciones en esta saga, o al menos, en este arranque de la saga, ya que como comentaba antes, la historia es de momento un preludio de lo que vendrá...

[Storm · Rating 5 out of 5]

45: Neutral Ground
John Baxter Sewell "I have one moment still to spare. So indulge me. Hear my story. I'll let you add your OWN fucking moral."

Great lettering in this stand alone story about a failed Lawyer, whose body and soul are taken over to be "Neutral Ground" for a convocation where the Denizens of Hell are supposed to decide what happens next since God/Yahweh has disappeared.

50: Lilith
Lucifer "Why do you do these things Lilith? You were made for Adam. Why do you SOIL yourself with Demons?"
Lilith ""Why? Because it pleases me I suppose. I may have been made for Adam -- but I LIVE for myself. Which is what living means."

Issue #50 of Lucifer, titled Lilith, is drawn by Craig P. Russell, who was also the artist on The Sandman #50 Ramadan. Oooh. The storytelling is superlative, as is the art to go with it. Lilith is something else, she sowed the seeds of rebellion in Lucifer's mind when he was Samael, and her own child kills his father, the angel Ibriel, Architect of the Silver City.

51-54: The Wolf Beneath the Tree
"He said, Michael, that as long as this throne remains EMPTY, creation will continue to disintegrate. He said nothing would survive. At least --"
Lucifer "Nothing of Yahweh's. Nothing my FATHER made. My own creation won't be touched. I'll keep the border open for as long as I can -- but only to Mortals, of course. The rest of you will have to get by as best you can."

The letters of God's name are fading and creation will ultimately fade with it. It's pretty amazing how the seeds of the destruction of Heaven were sown a long time ago by Lilith, whom God did not even try to stop. Michael is doing his best, even going to Destiny in an effort to find a solution. Everything seems to be coming full circle with Fenris Wolf eagerly awaiting Ragnarok. The circle, the circumstances, his machinations, all beautifully written. The illustration was only okay towards the end, but we did get a few good covers out of it.

[Mr SamLucifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I cannot stress enough how I loathed everything about Mazikeen and the Lilim, even before this volume. They're written like the comical version of the rebellious teenager that yells "it's not a faze mom", but it's the underdog power fantasy version and not the realistic cringy childish story.

Why am I bringing this up in a review about this volume in particular? Because the queen "feminist" icon appears in this volume (#50). Now, Lilith was mentioned before as the first wife of Adam who left Eden because she didn't wanna submit to him. The story expected me to feel sorry for her then, but I really don't. Briadach, her fist son and the one who narrates her backstory, explicitly mentions that she had her offspring to serve her after she left Eden. And in this volume it was confirmed that she had them even before Lucifer fell. So I can't help but view her and the Lilim in general as spoiled brats and not as these tough outcasts. It wouldn't have been a problem if the Lilim didn't act as if Eden was theirs and was taken from them by God.

And the writers must have realized how stupid the Lilim looked because in order to rectify this problem, they fucked with established cannon. Get this: the Lilim built the silver city, where the angels and Yahweh himself reside. Near the end of construction, Mazikeen and Briadach kill the designer angel, Ibriel. For this, Gabriel rightfully wants the kids excuted, but Lilith threatens war and before said war commence, Lucifer swoop in like a simp to defend her. In the end, Michael intervenes and present a middle ground that is The Lilim's banishment.

Here's my problem: THIS IS ALL BULLSHIT! The half assed excuse for the Lilim being the makers of the silver city is that "angels cannot build, they can only guard." The first three archangels made the fucking universe, Melios created the Basanos, and oh...ahem...GOD MADE THE ARCHANGELS WHO BUILT THE UNIVERSE! Even ignoring all that, in the Sandman, we are clearly told that the silver city was made in the same breath as the angels, aka, by God.

This is nothing but a plot contrived nonsense to make heaven the clear bad guys, to make it black and white. Heaven being conveniently downplayed in favor of Lucifer was an unspoken criticism of mine for a while, but this time it soured the taste of this comic for the rest of it after issue #50.

[David Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

And thus we come to volume 8 of Mike Carey's Lucifer, in which backstory is given, a madman is ridden like a chariot of doom, and a wolf eats his way to the end of the world.

The first third of the book fills in the gaps about Lilith and the Lilim (including everybody's favorite bloodthirsty assassin, Mazikeen) and the creation of the host's Silver City. While it's interesting to see the lead-up to Lucifer's fall, the real action takes place in the rest of the volume, wherein Lucifer, Elaine, and Michael team up to prevent the great wolf Fenris from spilling kin-blood at the foot of the world-tree Yggdrasil and initiating the end of the world. (Just go with it, okay?)

While The Wolf Beneath the Tree does a fantastic job of escalating toward the final conflict of the series, it's another volume in which Lucifer is more or less a bit player. He shows up to move the plot forward, but Carey directs our emotional attention to the many characters around him (Charles Gilmour, Elaine, etc.). Here's hoping that the final volumes of this series have the King of Hell taking center stage.

[Zec · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stories: Neutral Ground, Lilith, The Wolf Beneath the Tree

Neutral Ground: was a cool concept, decent one-shot. Dark as hell.

Lilith: intriguing if overlong tale that covers the origins of Mazikeen, Silver City and Lucifer’s rebellion. Somehow wasn’t as compelling or epic as it could have been.

The Wolf Beneath the Tree: starts slowly but bursts into a brilliant climax, reaching some of the series’ highest points in the story and art.

[Izabela Raittila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another delightfully entertaining part of the Lucifer series. I particularly enjoyed the references to Norse mythology. Fenris wolf, the main antagonist wants to bring about Armageddon. Lucifer, his brother Michael, his niece, Michael's nephilim daughter Elaine have to stop him from ending all creation by destroying the Yggdrasil tree. In addition to the main story, my personal favorite was the stand-alone tale called 'Lilith'.

[Ilia · Rating 4 out of 5]

When in doubt, draw for the Norse mythology. It worked for Sandman after all. Introducing a villain that the series can run with beyond a few issues gives the series a bit of thrust. The Lilith issues as well provide some welcome background to the central characters and the reasons behind Lucifer’s rebellion. Feels like the series is ramping up – hopefully it delivers a spectacular finale.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I should have reread the last couple volumes before diving into this. I still enjoyed it, especially the Lilith story, but I think I'll appreciate it more upon a future reread with more of the past storylines fresh in my head.

[Đenis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boží stolec je prázdny a všehomír sa rozpadá. Severský niečo ako boh Fenris - vlk, ktorý má zničiť svet narušením Yggdrasilu sa v spúčasnej svetovej situácii na cestu vydáva splniť svoj údel. Michael tvorca odmieta Luciferovu pomoc na záchranu sveta, čo sa zlomí až po večeri u Večného Osudu.

[Miles McCoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is starting to get more and more abstract but the author is doing a fantastic job keeping things together! In this installment, the universe is literally falling apart at the seams and it's still anybody's game to see who will end up king of the ashes!

[Keeloca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fenris sucks, but everything else is kind of awesome. I love these awkward family get togethers, and any cameo by the Endless are rad.

Hell is still stupid. SOMEONE should get rid of it, CHRISTOPHER!

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my favorite volume. Lore and deities are starting to blend together and the cast of characters has expanded to the point of confusion. Art style was slightly off in this volume as well. Still one of my overall favorite fantasy comics ever.

[Adam Šilhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jak jsem se nějakou dobu bál, jestli to nebude neustálý cyklus Lucifer jde získat svět svou ztracenou sílu -> musí se spoléhat na lest -> získal ji -> ztratil ji -> Lucifer jde získat zpět... ->, tak konečně mám pocit, že to opravdu někam směřuje.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s been awhile since I read the first 40+ issues of this series. It took me a minute to reorient myself and that was quite a challenge with this volume. There’s a lot going on here with several different storylines. That being said, I was reminded of how great this series is.

[Drizztl · Rating 4 out of 5]

7/10

[Steven W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant beyond words. Any graphic novel that has me running to the internet to use google translate and look up angel names is doing something right!!

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ace!!

[SaraKat · Rating 4 out of 5]

The wolf is a fun character that provides a scary and powerful antagonist.