What’s so funny about a Faustian bargain? Well, what about TWO? Your Major Spoilers review of The Lucky Devils #1 from Image Comics awaits!

THE LUCKY DEVILS #1

Writer: Charles Soule
Artist: Ryan Browne
Colorist: Ryan Browne and Kevin Knipstein
Letterer: Christopher Crank
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: January 8, 2025

Previously in The Lucky Devils: A tale of two rebellious demons who decide to start a revolution in Hell-and the two ordinary, 20-something humans they’re going to manipulate to do it! Come explore Faustian bargains and temptation in a rip-roaring, hilarious new way, and see where all the chips fall.

PHILOSOPHY 101

Our story (or should I say stories?) kicks off with the absolutely mundane lives of two human beings. Cam is an adjunct professor of philosophy who spends his days examining whether any human being can ever really be “good.” Starr is a nurse whose life consists of taking care of the sick, the elderly, and the afflicted, all the while wondering why her colleagues all seem to be terrible. After a pair of terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days, each of them lies down to sleep…

And then, the demons arrive. Cam and Starr are astonished to find that their misery has a single, intentional cause: a specific demon whose job is to make them worse. And their demons, Lock and Collar, have a proposition for their human charges… work with their demon partners in return for power and influence on Earth. Of course, you can’t trust a demon to tell you the whole story.

“LOTS OF MIDDLE-MANAGERS AND VICE-PRINCIPALS!”

The second half of the issue brings a number of surprising developments, none of which I’m willing to give away here. (Trust me, you’ll thank me afterward.) But this issue recaptures the magic of Eight Billion Genies in its first few pages, especially the explanation of why some people are so terrible. Lock handles Wrath, Collar handles Envy, but there are those special few in the world whose demons work with ALL seven deadly sins, and the story lets us decide who those people are. It’s a fun and powerful commentary on the world we live in, but best of all, it’s not heavy-handed or the point of it all. Instead, our main characters and their demons take center stage, with Browne’s art giving life to characters who feel fully realized and human. As for the demons, the most remarkable part of the visuals comes when they return home, giving us our first glimpse of Hell.

BOTTOM LINE: GREAT FIRST ISSUE!

Once again, The Lucky Devils #1 has moments that work better when you come in without spoilers, but what you really need to know is that the art is still detailed and unique, the story is clever, and the spell cast by their previous collaboration is still there, with the issue earning 5 out of 5 stars overall. If you’ve never experienced Soule, Browne, and company before, this is a great place to start. If you have, you know this one’s worth your time.

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