Lucky Devil

[Mark Sullivan (Vertiginous Mod)]

Lucky Devil
Cullen Bunn, script; Fran Galán, art; El Torres, letters
Dark Horse Books, 2022

Cullen Bunn is incredibly prolific. I almost missed this four-issue miniseries until it popped up on a creator search. The protagonist is a sad loser named Stanley. He is the sort of person who everyone uses as a doormat: his girlfriend cheats on him, his co-workers abuse him, etc. All of that changes when he becomes possessed by a demon lord named Zedirex the Tormenter (Zed for short). Zed takes revenge on Stanley's tormentors, and generally spreads mayhem. But as soon as Zed checks out for a rest Stanley is consumed by guilt over what Zed had forced him to do. He seeks out a bargain-basement psychic, who agrees to perform an exorcism. But the exorcism goes wrong, casting Zedirex out into the world, but leaving Stanley with his powers. So what can he do with those powers? Start a cult, of course. The cult grows so large that Stanley attracts a lot of attention. First, from the well-established International Church of Lucifer; then, from some other Lords of Hell. In the end Stanley makes a deal with Satan, but the ending feels rushed: it's not clear exactly what the devil's bargain means. It's still a fun horror story, leavened with humor (aided by Galán's art, with exaggeration that often suggests caricature).

[Travis Herrick (Modular Mod)]

Its been a while since I read this series, but I remember it being pretty good. Cullen Bunn is a good enough writer that I will check out series in genres I wouldn't normally read.