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
No comments:
Post a Comment