Satan | Musings of the Monster Librarian

Graphic Novel Review: Lucky Devil Volume 1 by Cullen Bunn, art by Fran Galan, lettering by El Torres

Lucky Devil Volume 1 by Cullen Bunn, art by Fran Galán, lettering by El Torres

Dark Horse Comics, 2022

ISBN-13: 9781506721996

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition, Comixology ( Bookshop.org | Amazon.com )

Stanley has terrible luck. His three-year relationship is tainted by an affair his girlfriend is having. He’s a gofer for a corporate organization where his higher-ups constantly demean him. Then, he gets possessed by the demon Lord Zedirex the Tormenter. After Zed causes a particularly grisly massacre at a burger joint, Stanley goes for an exorcism, but it all goes horribly wrong. The demon lord is definitely shunted from Stanley’s body, but Stanley retains Zed’s powers. After Stanley takes his wrath out on everyone who wronged him, he uses his newly gained power to form a cult, joining forces with the existing International Church of Lucifer. However, Stanley’s message, that God and Satan are no longer important if humans can obtain power on their own, gets him the wrong kind of attention.

When Stanley gets a bit too comfortable with his new role, the legions of Hell take notice. Zed tries to warn Stanley that he is garnering too much attention. The hapless human needs the former demon lord’s help, but Stanley’s hubris might get in the way.

There is so much to like with Bunn’s Lucky Devil. The exorcism gone wrong, resulting in the displacement of demonic power, was an interesting plot point and drove the story along well. Stanley is a sympathetic character, even when he is relishing in the attention he gets from the power he wields. He never becomes insufferable, and he remains human, despite his demonic powers. Zed acted as the voice of reason for Stanley at times, something which I didn’t expect.

Lucky Devil is necessary for Cullen Bunn fans. Readers who are looking for a unique take on demonic possession or who like a bit of humor in their horror will enjoy this.

This volume collects issues #1-4.

Recommended.

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Book Review: The Devil and His Advocates by Erik Butler

The Devil and His Advocates by Erik Butler

Reaktion Books, 2021

ISBN-13: 9781789143737

Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition ( Bookshop.org | Amazon.com )

In Erik Butler’s The Devil and His Advocates, the author argues that Satan is not God’s enemy in the Bible, but that he has been misinterpreted. In fact, he has been doing God’s bidding rather than acting as his own entity all this time. Butler uses the Old and New Testament, especially the trial of Job, to analyze the figure of Satan in literature, music, theology, and visual art from antiquity to the present. Butler asserts that Satan has been tasked by God to test human beings, whose piety leaves room for doubt. Butler argues that while Satan can be manipulative, he facilitates what mortals are inclined to do anyway, and he’s right.

In addition to biblical sources, Butler uses works of literature from Dante, Chaucer, Christopher Marlowe, Robert Burton, Jules Amédée Barbey d’Audervilly, James Joyce, Isidore Ducasse, Oskar Panizza, William Butler Yeats, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Gian Pietro Lucini, Gottfried Benn, C. S. Lewis and more to unveil the nature and depiction of Satan, or the satan (which is an eye-opening discussion itself in the first chapter) to discuss why and how Satan’s role, position, and even personality have been, essentially, misinterpreted or reinterpreted. Butler includes a chapter on music as well.

Butler includes references, an index, and illustrations in The Devil and His Advocates. While this isn’t a work of horror, The Devil and His Advocates has the potential to be a valuable research tool for anyone who wants to focus on Satan in their fiction. It could also be useful for numerous classes, such as literature, drama, religious studies, fiction writing, and more. Highly recommended.

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker