Wednesday 19 August 2015

So I Read Lazarus: Conclave

A 250 word (or less) review of Lazarus Volume 3
by Greg Rucka, Michael Lark, and Santi Arcas; Image Comics


Lazarus is part of an ongoing series. To read a review of Volume One, go here.


The first chapter of Lazarus focused on introducing us to Forever, the superhuman bioengineered enforcer of the Carlyle family, and the second chapter constructed the dystopian world of life inside the Carlyle family holdings. Lazarus: Conclave shifts the focus from establishing internal conflicts to the international world of Lazarus and the complicated framework of warring plutocratic families which control the globe. In this chapter wayward Carlyle son Jonah seeks sanctuary with rival family Hock and instead finds himself held hostage. This leads to a Conclave where leaders from the ruling families and their Lazarus enforcers meet to settle the dispute between Carlyle and Hock. This gives us a much deeper look into the ruling class of Lazarus and a fitting stage for a great story of intrigue, romance, drama, and betrayal and maybe the impetus for the central conflict of the series. Lazarus: Conclave also represents a tonal shift for me: while still very smart, very well made Sci-fi, Volume 3 feels less obviously horrific and focused on examining sociopolitical trends and more interested in telling a compelling story and character development. Which is a welcome change in that it gives the creative team a chance to show their great ear for dialogue and eye for acting to really breathe extra life into the comic's characters. Lazarus was always good, but now it feels inhabited by real people. Which has transformed Lazarus from a smart, scary Sci-fi comic, to a smart, scary Sci-fi comic that I’m deeply emotionally invested in. 

Word count: 250

Post by Michael Bround



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