I’ve been living with the devil for a long time. It was a distant relationship for most of my life, but has become a closer, more intimate one over these last few years. I have a whole library of books on Hell and Lucifer. As I once told a friend, I live in dread of cops or my mother walking into my office because the first thing they’ll see—right at eye level—is my shelf of devil books. Of course, I also have a collection of books on angels and Heaven, though it’s much smaller than my devil collection. Let’s face it: if you’re going to be interested in angels, you’re going to gravitate to the most fascinating one. That’s Lucifer. Hands down. End of discussion.

I’m a relative newcomer to comics. Most of my professional life I’ve spent writing a novel series called Sandman Slim. It, too, features Lucifer as a character. But the Sandman Slim Lucifer isn’t the devil as imagined by Neil Gaiman, Mike Carey, or Holly Black. That’s one of the reasons I jumped at the chance to work on the comic. It gives me the opportunity to indulge my interest in the devil and his world, but in a brand-new way. 

Lucifer Morningstar’s world is wide and deep. I’ve loved Mazikeen, Gabriel, Elaine Belloc, Jill Presto, and other characters for a long time. And now I’m able to get better acquainted with all of them. It’s a fun job to have, and I consider myself lucky that I get to explore their lives. And cause them trouble. And drag some of them, literally and figuratively, through Hell.

On that note, I invite all of you to, as O’Neil says in A Field in England, “open up and let the devil in.”

Look for Richard Kadrey’s first Lucifer story in this week’s LUCIFER #13 holiday special before he takes over full writing duties with next month’s LUCIFER #14.