Comic Corner: Dystopia and the dame

‘Lazarus Vol. 1’ review

By Brittney MacDonald, Staff Writer

4/5

Lazarus is the newest project of the award winning duo of writer Greg Rucka and artist Michael Lark. As much as I anticipated and enjoyed this read as a quintessential sci-fi narrative with a strong female protagonist, I was let down a bit—but only a bit.

Lazarus follows the story of Forever Carlyle, a strange mix of guardian, protector, and spy for her powerful family. In this dystopian future, material wealth is everything and if someone wants something you have, then they can just come in and take it. Hence the need for a Lazarus, an agent within the family that uses manipulation and physical force to both guard and enact their family’s will. But it all goes terribly wrong the day that Forever is shot—and killed. The real fun starts when she doesn’t exactly stay dead.

Plot-wise, I can’t fault Rucka. Lazarus is a page-turner, that’s for sure. His unique, character-driven take on science fiction perfectly lends itself to a graphic novel format.

With such titles as The Winter Soldier and Gotham Central, I expected a lot out of Lark, maybe a bit too much. Don’t get me wrong, the art in Lazarus is good. The use of cool tones, lots of heavy blacks, and extreme detail make the book dynamic. But there’s a lack of “wow.” Everything is so dark and heavy that nothing really pops out as being particularly exceptional.

I would definitely recommend this book if you’re looking for something a little less run-of-the-mill than the usual superhero meets über-villain.