Greg Rucka and Michael Lark rapid fire us a story as unstoppable as its heroine.
In a world divided by financial boundaries, everyone is kept in check by various families, each of which employs its own Lazarus –– a genetically modified member of the family that cannot be killed. But when Forever Carlyle starts showing mixed feelings for her mercenary duties as her family’s protector, this begins to worry her brother Jonah, whose primary concern is ensuring the prosperity of his family whatever the cost.
Immediately from page one of Lazarus #1, readers are dragged into an extremely violent new world as Forever Carlyle drops into a flood of her own blood, only to rise up moments after and exact vengeance on her would-be killers. This sets the stage for the kind of tale that writer Greg Rucka and artist Michael Lark have invited –– one filled with violence, betrayal, and mystery around every corner. But Lazarus also proves to be a thrilling character study into a person dealing with a modern-age take on immortality; of rising from the dead and not only the physical pain that comes with it, but also the mental cartridges that are left to linger on the foreground of Forever’s mind.
So far, in this bloodbath of a first issue, we see a fine blend of John Woo-style action sequences brilliantly crafted by Lark, and a poignancy which emerges in subtle ways from Rucka’s on-point writing, making Lazarus #1 a swift read that leaves a smoking gun that will keep us craving the second round that fires at us next month.
Greg Rucka (W), Michael Lark (A) • Image Comics, $2.99. Released June 26, 2013.
