Review: LAZARUS #2

LAZARUS #2
Written by Greg Rucka
Art by Michael Lark
Release Date: July 24, 2013

Lazarus_2Will Carlyle go to war with Morray? What is this family up to? What the hell is going on? The brilliant Lazarus #2 leaves readers with a ton of questions to be answered as Rucka and Lark continue to build the world of Forever Carlyle.

Lazarus #1 blew readers away and flew off the shelves, and I am happy to report that issue #2 is just as strong in every single way. Rucka’s script is fantastic, gripping the reader’s attention and never letting it go for a single second. He is building a dramatic & political thriller in this not-too-distant future, with plots and sub-plots already weaving their way through the story to create palpable suspense. Rucka uses our lack of knowledge of this world masterfully, teasing his audience with little details here and there and then blowing situations up in unexpected ways. Within the Carlyle house nothing is what meets the eye and we are shown several times throughout this issue that this is not a happy-go-lucky family. There is an immense amount of history to be explored here, and Rucka paces his release of information perfectly. Rucka’s dialogue between the siblings and their father is fantastic, with tones shifting the second authority is being put upon the children. Secrets abound within this family, and Rucka does a great job of escalating tension within the House. It is going to be very interesting to see where he takes this family going forward, and how Forever will fit into the equation once some of the seeds planted in this issue start to grow.

Michael Lark’s art in this issue is simply amazing. His style is the perfect artistic compliment to the script, and he and Rucka are creating some of their best work ever. Lark’s layouts and use of full page splashes are visually engaging and keep the issue from ever feeling stale and the pacing is absolutely perfect. Lark is doing an excellent job making this world recognizable while also different enough to keep things fresh and his attention to detail, such as the body language of the family members, helps drive the tension forward as the issue progresses. These two creators are so tightly in sync that it isn’t easily recognizable which story elements were brought to the table by the writer or artist, and Lazarus #2 is a fully immersive read because of it.

The world being built by Rucka & Lark in Lazarus is engrossing and captivating. Issue #2 gets its hooks into you with the first page and doesn’t let go, even through the letters page, which features a time line of some major events in the world of Lazarus. These two veteran creators are building toward something big, and have a runaway hit on their hands. Lazarus is as good as comics get, folks.

Verdict: 10/10

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