Cover Story - Top 10 Lucifer Covers

In case you hadn’t heard, Fox is premiering a new show entitled Lucifer, allegedly based on the Vertigo comics of the same name.  I say “allegedly” because by all evidence Lucifer the show is about Satan coming to Earth so that he can help the police solve mysteries whereas Lucifer the comic was an exploration of mysticism, cosmology, faith, and identity.  

I get that for a lot of folks Vertigo’s Lucifer was hardly required reading but it stands tall alongside works such as Hellblazer, Fables, and Neil Gaiman’s Sandman as some of the comics that put Vertigo on the comic book map.  Understandably, I’m pretty disappointed the TV adaptation has settled on the most generic stock plot to fill things out, however that doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate the original comics.  That’s what I’m here to do today, bringing you the top 10 Lucifer comic covers.  So, let’s dive into the shallow end and get the cover story on Lucifer.

10.

We open with a tie but what a tie.  Unlike a lot of covers on this list these two didn’t make the cut for their allusions or beautiful realizations of esoteric concepts of faith but rather because they’re just great covers.  I’m a sucker for charging covers like the one on the left and this is a great visualization of that idea.  This easily could’ve ended up a generic group shot but the downward angle and implied depth with the charging knights adds an energy and movement to the cover that guides the eye perfectly to the focal point at the woman above the title.  It’s just a great example of energetic cover design to get you pumped up for a comic. 

On the other side, literally, there’s this amazing image of the tarot cards attacking that woman.  A lot of what sells this one is the color work and the brushy, painted aesthetic of the image.  Each fragment of the cover looks lovingly hand painted on but that in no way detracts from the violence and the energy of the image at hand.  I really like how the motion blur on the cards actively obfuscates the gore at hand, leaving more of the bloody details to the imagination.  It’s also possible this is meant to indicate the cards flying out of the woman’s face, which carries its own slew of terrifying implications.  Much like the left hand cover, the key to this image’s success is finding a way to energize a still image with movement and verve. 

9.

Okay, now it’s time for some allusions.  If you can’t make out the inter-title here it’s “Paradiso,” which is the name of Dante’s third account.  Most people know Dante’s Inferno but his secondary and tertiary works of Purgatorio and Paradiso, where he describes the realms of purgatory and heaven, are often over looked.  This is actually one of two times I’ve ever seen Paradiso referenced in comics, and the other time was Godzilla In Hell.  In any event this is an incredibly striking and unique rendering of both Lucifer himself and heaven as well. 

The vision of Lucifer as an angel was key to Lucifer’s conception of the character, drawing heavily from John Milton’s Paradise Lost but the inclusion of the fiery wings is a major uniqueness.  Combine that with the light eminating from his body and this is one of the more unique and compelling visions of the angelic form.  Speaking of which, this vision of heaven as some kind of soaring violet metropolis caught half way between Bladerunner and The Jetsons is truly inspired.  The building design’s curved top keeps things from feeling too cyberpunk while the bright violet coloring juxtaposes to Lucifer’s yellowish glow perfectly; brilliant use of color balance. 

8.

This is a great example of how opposing art styles can be melded together in one wonderfully affecting cover.  Something I absolutely love about most f these Lucifer covers is that they can be impactful and moving without the necessity of context.  Knowing the identity of this little girl or the terrifying floor people she’s conjured from the ether wouldn’t really improve your understanding or appreciation of this cover.  Everything you need to know to “get” this image is either included in the cover or implied to you already.  The visual reminds me most of Poltergeist in its juxtaposition of innocence and supernatural terror and the way the girl’s seeming innocent ignorance of the dangers she’s summoning place her deep in the path of danger. 

Moving past content, the form on this cover is just superb.  Blending art styles is always a tricky business but literalizing that blending activity was a great call and supported really well by the transition of colors.  I especially like how the upper portion of the cover is so crisp and clear and colorful compared to the harsh, monochromatic, sketchy look of the angry faces along the bottom of the image. 

7.

Another cover from the ‘Obi’ story arc that features a blend of illustration styles.  Unlike the previous cover this one is more grounded in the realms of reference and allusions but it still draws on a sense of shared iconography to feel impactful.  There’s that same blend of fully formed and shaded art making up the bulk of the image with a sketchy and more monochromatic image blended with the rest of the image.  However, rather than the tried and true “child + creepy supernatural elements” combo that informed last time this image feels more drawn from dark fantasy stories. 

The illustration of a man without skin is always really unsettling and having it pressed across this woman’s face creates an eerie dichotomy that’s difficult to get past.  I really like how much the skinless man looks like an illustration from antiquity rather than an actual text book, like this is some page of forgotten and creepy lore the woman is holding up for unsavory reasons.  It also doesn’t help that the woman holding the paper looks more committed to murder than any other fictional character I’ve ever seen. 

6.

This cover is another one with slightly more religious affects in terms of the central iconography and allusion.  The central emphasis of the image is that hand reaching for what I think is a an apple, which makes the most sense given the particular Satanic stomping ground Lucifer tends to frequent.  As I mentioned, Lucifer’s most central affectations are drawn from Paradise Lost, that’s part of why the series is called “Lucifer” instead of “Satan.”  The whole conception of the character is based around Lucifer as a figure who tempts man with absolute freedom and knowledge, misleading humanity by virtue of leading them down a path that God did not intend for us.  Linking this vision of Lucifer to the snake from the Garden of Eden through this imagery makes perfect sense for this set-up.

Aside from the really solid core imagery I absolutely love the shattered background.  I’m not really sure what the crystal fractures and eyes are meant to represent or reference but it’s a great visual that’s really striking and cool in its mystique.  It’s got a sort of otherworldly aura about it that fits well into Lucifer’s emphasis on exploring conceptualizations of cosmology. 

5.

Another great one featuring that creepy little girl from early in the list.  Obviously there’s more going on with this character than the obvious but in the interest of spoilers we aren’t going to get into that here.  Just know that her position on what seems like a literal stairway to heaven with actual angel wings is by no means a coincidence.  But yeah, this cover makes the list as it favors that visualization of cosmological concepts that’s peppered this list as a whole.  

I like this one specifically as it has a more literal and less conceptual representation of its cosmological focus.  Stuff like the violet Paradiso was really cool and strange but I’m sucker for things like this literal stairway to heaven, engulfed in that wonderful white space aesthetic is just great.  I really like the inversion of negative space in this cover, trading black for white in terms of the background.  There’s also the implication that the girl here is falling down the stairs rather than climbing them, which, again, fits the Paradise Lost playbook of the series and the vision of Lucifer as a fallen angel. 

4.

Fun fact: this image is often used as the core visual of the entire Lucifer series.  It’s easy to see why this cover has become the standard barer for the entire series as it includes a lot of the core elements that informed Lucifer’s actual content as well as the cover art overall.  You’ve got a lot of that great literalization of biblical cosmology and myth in terms of Lucifer’s realization as an angel and covered in snakes, referencing the Garden of Eden yet again.  Incidentally, the Garden of Eden seems to be the most likely setting for this particular picture. 

What I really love about this cover though is how incredibly snide and decadent Lucifer looks in it.  Despite all the romantic myth that swirls around Lucifer’s identity he’s basically a spoiled rich kid with a trust fund that finally pushed his rich dad too far so he’s stopped bailing him out of jams.  That’s the truth of Lucifer on so many levels and this cover totally speaks to that smug detachment and preppy whiteness that tends to be Lucifer’s best aspects.  Additionally, I very much like that this cover doubles down on the urban fantasy aspects of the story with the contemporary costume and James Bond martini. 

3.

This is one of the series most minimalistic covers, predominately divorced from the religious allusions or cosmology that influenced the rest of the covers and it’s beautiful.  The simple image of an angelic figure alone in the void of empty space is just so striking and emotional.  Even putting aside what an out there twist on Lucifer covers it is this is just a spectacularly illustrated visual.  A lot of this is going to come down to color work because it’s absolutely amazing here.  

Despite bathing the entire image in this muted icy blue the coloring still finds a way to craft this perfect array of shades and lighting despite the monochromatic nature of this visual.  The depth and shading work on Lucifer’s body here is just beautiful, as is the realization of his supremely feathered wings.  Add to that the beautiful dabs of color making up the background and this is just a spectacular vision of angelic isolation. 

2.

This is a bit of an outlier in the Lucifer cover collection.  Where most of these covers are simply great artistic illustrations or draw heavily from biblical allusions or religious depictions this cover is grounded much more in the realm of comic books.  Ironically, the two best covers of the entire series are completely contingent on context to promote them as genuinely great works.  In this case, aside from the inter-title allusion to Dante’s Purgatorio the big central reference here is that statuesque goth chick carrying Lucifer.  That is Death, as in the humanoid embodiment of the metaphysical concept of death, specifically the vision of Death from Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series. 

This kind of inter-comic continuity is actually really spectacularly rare for Vertigo comics, as the emphasis of the imprint was on telling adult stories away from the continuity driven crossovers of most superhero fair.  The sole exception was stuff like this or some of the more mystical early installments like Swampthing or Tim Hunter: Books of Magic.  Sandman and Lucifer go together perfectly though, they’re both visually consumed by visualizations and literalizations of abstract metaphysical concepts or quasi-religious cosmology so throwing them together in such dramatic fashion is the kind of comic booky mash-up I’m all in favor of. 

1.

Another cover that relies on context to make it so extraordinary though in this case the context is more classical and less nerdy.  The basic visual at hand is striking all on its own, the classic visualization of naked, angelic Lucifer posed in an act of conflict.  Couple that with the orbiting halo of stars in the background, a reference to his full name of Lucifer Morningstar, and this fits perfectly into the standard Lucifer playbook.  What sets it apart and what I really love about the cover is that he’s fighting with a wolf.  In Christian cosmology the wolf isn’t that important a figure of representation and indeed, this wolf doesn’t come from any bible verse or extra-biblical extrapolation.  That is the wolf Fenris of Norse mythology who is destined to destroy the entire world. 

It’s a glorious concept and an even more glorious image of Lucifer, lord of Hell, standing as the last defense against the end of all creation.  I always loved that Lucifer was eager and willing to blend mythologies, working off a sort of Platonic ideal that all faiths descended from one vision of reality, all beliefs were one belief in essence.  The idea of the devil being the world’s last stop gap against a fate worse than himself that’s dogged humanity since early eons and across faiths is the perfect embodiment of the kind of vast, cosmologically important yet still challenging stories Lucifer set out to tell. 

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