Zeb Larson reviews Lucas Stand #2…
Lucas is sent back to 1943 Occupied France to kill a demon, but must avoid altering history in the process.
Lucas Stand is back, but this issue lacks some of the power of its predecessor. Part of that is just by virtue of being the second issue; second issues usually drag somewhat as they lay groundwork for what’s to come, and they don’t generate the same kind of excitement about a comic story or premise. Yet there are also some storytelling decisions that don’t work very well in this particular issue, and while it doesn’t undermine the series as a whole, it also doesn’t make for an especially compelling issue.
Now that Lucas has figured out exactly who Gadrel is, he’s given what he needs to find these demons, how to get them out of their human hosts, and send them back to Hell. He does what he needs to in 1943 before briefly going back to the present, once to see his psychiatrist, and to get some medication. Then, before he’s ready, he’s sent back to the past once again.
I don’t exactly know why, but there’s something more unsatisfying about Lucas’ demonhunting in this issue. Does he kill them, or doesn’t he? Do they just go back to Hell if he kills them? And why is one demon in particular less susceptible to being killed than other demons? Perhaps that demon has some kind of connection to Lucas and that’s why he can’t just blow its brains out so easily. I hope so, because it can’t help but feel weirdly arbitrary so that Lucas can have a nemesis (does he need one, if he’s changing down demons AND working for Hell?)
There was room for an interesting twist when Lucas is abruptly pulled out of 1943 right as his companions are about to be caught by the Nazis. While he can move about in time, his actions will have consequences for the people he works with, and he won’t necessarily be around to help them. There’s an interesting additional source of guilt to live with; by trying to save himself from perdition, is he ruining more lives in the process? And what does Hell care if a few mortal lives are obliterated in the course of this supernatural detective work? But then it’s undermined by an elderly Cyd finding Lucas in the present and absolves him of any guilt for the fact that he left. Her escape from Nazi captivity is a little too easy, and it cheapens an otherwise strong point.
Oh well, I think that issue #3 will pick up again. At some point, this series will have to address Heaven, because stories about Hell invariably have to feature the other side of the coin. His psychiatrist seems to have a redemptive bent about her; is she more than she seems? That would certainly fit her into the story better than just being a sounding board for Lucas to talk to and express guilt. Meanwhile, Lucas’ new sojourn in time should make for interesting reading.
Rating: 6.5/10
Zeb Larson
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Originally published July 21, 2016. Updated April 15, 2018.
