The Lucky Devils #1 Review

 

Writer: Charles Soule

Artist & Designer: Ryan Browne

Colorist: Ryan Browne & Kevin Knipstein

Letterer: Christopher Crank

Cover Artists: Frank Miller & Alex Sinclair; Ryan Browne

Logo: Thomas Quinn

Production Design: Erika Schnatz

Publisher: Image Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: January 8, 2025

 

Are good and evil only philosophical or religious concepts? Can anyone be completely good or evil? Or are they spectrums within which we all live? Enough with pondering the imponderable! Let's grab our iron crosses and bloodstones, leap into The Lucky Devils #1, and find out!

 

Story

Cam teaches a college philosophy class. He urges his students to ponder the societal ethics that drive historical movements. His students complain the classroom is hotter than hell. Cam yearns to inspire the next generation of Mahatma Gandhi's and Mother Teresa's in Charles Soule’s story. His students use ChatGPT to write their essays. And all the while, Cam’s low-paying job leaves him feeling like a failure in his professional and private life.

 

While Cam toils at Mies Van Der Rohe Community College, Starr changes soiled sheets in Mastrantonio Memorial Hospital. Her coworker gets a new Mercedes. Like Janis Joplin, Starr wishes she were more successful in The Lucky Devils #1. While listening to her husband preach from the pulpit about the joys of serving others, her mother insists that the nurse stop going the extra mile to give her patients joy and dignity. Instead, Starr must concentrate on securing a better-paying job.

 

In The Lucky Devils #1, there is a reason Cam and Starr struggle to get ahead. Okay, two reasons. Their names are Collar and Rake. Like Cam and Starr, the devils are trapped in a system that disrespects their contributions. Collar and Rake have a plan to change that, and it involves the Humans under their care. The devils vow to make Cam and Starr happy and successful even if they must make their lives a living hell to secure their agreement.

 

Art

Purple and orange burn hottest thanks to Ryan Browne and Kevin Knipstein. Starr's uniform looks purple when not greened by fluorescent light. Orange warms Cam when things inevitably go wrong. So, when their tempters appear, Collar burns with an Orange Crush while Rake sizzles with a Purple Haze. Rich coloring infuses this hyperreal fantasy where, like Buzz and Woody, the devils break the rules to teach Humans a lesson.

 

Collar and Rake climb into panel borders as the devils explain how they guide their charges. The devils never learned it is impolite to point, as they extend bony fingers and long nails at Cam and Starr. Ryan Browne sets each infernal invasion in the ultimate safe zone of the bedroom, with only one bedside lamp to banish the demonic darkness. Then, like Sulley and Mike Wazowski, the devils travel through portals. Collar and Rake enter locker rooms, pass a satanic Sucker in a 3 Piece, and squeeze onto upholstered seating like Beetlejuice.

 

Red banners announce locations in this update to the most demonic novel C S Lewis ever wrote. Screwtape uppercase letters inhabit white and colored dialogue balloons and narrative boxes. The letters grow bold for inflection, enlarge for volume, and never shrink. Lowercase red letters reveal Cam's classwork and responses in The Lucky Devils #1. Sound effects enhance hellish manifestations, a Biblical smash hit, and devils fighting over the remaining drops in broken beer bottles. Thanks to Image Comics for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

Ever have a day when nothing goes right? Don't blame God or cosmic chance. The Lucky Devils #1 reveals the infernal physics that balances our efforts to be good with temptations to be evil.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

For more about this series, quotes from the creators, and a look inside, see my preview of The Lucky Devils #1.