Lazarus 22 Featured Reviews 

“Lazarus” #22

By | June 17th, 2016
Posted in Reviews | % Comments

Greg Rucka and Michael Lark’s sci-fi –and yet all too real- world makes its return with part one of “Cull”, which obviously means this is going to be a happy story. How happy? Let’s find out.

Written by Greg Rucka
Illustrated by Michael Lark

“CULL,” Part One

There are fifteen families fighting to control the world. That’s fourteen too many. The time has come for the cull.

NOTE: If you’re not caught up on this book, do so because we’re talking some big spoilers from #21.

This has been a week of ups and downs for me, from the harrowing events of Orlando to the tear-inducing love in the LGBQTIA+ community with #queerselflove to… the shockingly not completely cringing E3. I must say, it is a small comfort to have a bit of normalcy with comics and the return of one of the best in “Lazarus”. It’s like an old friend coming back. But this is “Lazarus” after all; if you think it’s here to comfort you then you’re in for a big ol’ disappointment.

Rucka and Lark make the grand return in more of a quiet way. Being that this is the first issue of not only “Cull” but essentially the next “Act” in the series as a whole, there’s a lot of re-establishing aspects that time may have eroded for us (such as the state of one Forever Carlyle) and setting up a lot of others (such as the current state of the war, coming other wars, and the “new” eleven year old Forever Carlyle). As such, this issue is dense. That seems par for the course for “Lazarus” but here more so. This is a book that demands multiple reads of each issue. That isn’t to say the issue feels cluttered. It speaks to the skill of Rucka that he can write exposition without it feeling like exposition or, more importantly, speaks to the strength of this collaboration that Rucka can deliver a load of information with Lark, co-inker Tyler Boss and colorist Santi Arcas provide visuals to make the information feel immensely important.

If there is one character in this issue that could be considered the “central” character, then it’s Johanna Carlyle, who has been doing everything in her power to keep the Family from collapsing with Malcolm indisposed, with debatable success. It is fascinating seeing her being able to maneuver through military debriefings and begin to manipulate her new “little sister”, but to be shown her own limitations when Sergeant Occampo being able to see through her nonsense and –more importantly- when Malcolm Carlyle awakens from his coma. You can feel that gravitic shift in power, even when the old man is still bed ridden.

We also do follow another Lazarus, Sonja Bittner, who had been recuperating at Casa de Carlyle but is now back in the field to help retake her Family’s lands. There real good scenes, and it allows the artists to provide some pretty grim carnage, although I have to say the way this issue is structured, with the central part being a flashback that showed Sonja, it did weaken what felt like was supposed to be a last-page reveal that it’s Sonja that’s gone to Switzerland instead of Forever.

Speaking of Forever and her mini-me, known here-on as “Eight” (by-the-by, it’s at this point we come to the realization that those flashbacks in the “Lift” arc weren’t flashbacks at all but were just events happening at the Carlyle Compound), it may seem like I haven’t talked much about them. It’s honestly because we don’t get much on them. The horridly wounded Forever has to go immense surgery and therapy to recover and we see a bit of Eight training and Johanna beginning to groom the young child. And… I won’t lie, I’m kind of… glad for this? Here’s some honesty from me, because it paints how I read this book: I don’t find Forever Carlyle that interesting. Or at least not as interesting when you compare her to the world around her. Like, I called the whole clone/replacement thing way back in the preview of “Lazarus” and while Forever has been a good focal point for a deal of these events, it’s the events themselves that drive me to read on. Perhaps when this revelation of Eight reaches Forever it can change, but it hasn’t yet.

Continued below

Lark, Boss and Arcas continue to dominate with their artwork. They have always had a great use of shadow, something that comes across in multiple ways –from the nighttime drop into Switzerland, to Johanna’s debriefing with General Valeri, to the going-ons in the medical center. It really does paint this world as hopeless. It’s further compounded by their lack of restraint when it comes to showing violence. To put it simply, Forever is a trainwreck and the augmentation that she has gone through prevents the medical team from using anasthetics. The fear in her bloodied eyes is absolutely palpable. The darkness is just further juxtaposed by the slightest of joys they get to convey in Sonja having a playful snowball fight.

“Lazarus” is a book that always demands your attention. It isn’t going to slow down but it will challenge you to rise up to its level. And while part one of “Cull” is all about the setup, it once again fascinates. It is good to have this comic back on the shelves.

Final Verdict: 8.5- “Lazarus” is back in all its bleakness and truth.


Ken Godberson III

When he's not at his day job, Ken Godberson III is a guy that will not apologize for being born Post-Crisis. More of his word stuffs can be found on Twitter or Tumblr. Warning: He'll talk your ear off about why Impulse is the greatest superhero ever.

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