Issue Review: Lazarus 2

Forever Carlyle heads to the Family headquarters in Seattle for a Carlyle meeting.    Her sister Bethany examines her and provides some medication to help her recover from last issue's shooting, while her brothers Stephen and Jonah argue about what the Family should do to revenge itself against the Morray clan.  Family patriarch Malcolm convenes the meeting, and Forever reports on her investigation of the Morray attack on the Carlyle farm in San Joaquin.  Jonah insists they should go to war, but Malcolm dismisses everyone for alone time with Forever.  When she tells him Jonah made her kill a man she knew was innocent, Malcolm gives her a new, secret assignment, sending her to Los Angeles with Jonah and their other sister Johanna.  The two "J" twins plot against Eve, but she slips away, heading south to Mexico.  There, she comes face to face with armed men of the Morray family, and their Lazarus.


This is another outstanding issue from Rucka and Lark.  The team builds on the story from last issue, slowly peeling back the layers of the world and giving us a bit more information about the setting and Forever's backstory.  The Family's interactions are priceless, and I was reminded of the Amber family from Zelazney's classic Chronicles of Amber novels.  The internal politics of the Carlyles promise to bring many months of storytelling gold to the page, if this issue is any indication.  Jonah and Johanna are clearly set up to be two of the villains -- out for themselves, and disdainful of both Forever and their father.

We also learn in this issue that Forever is apparently not Malcolm's biological daughter.  Indeed, Jonah implies that Forever might well be Bethany's daughter, rather than sister, and Forever's doctor James may be the father ("Put her down -- then you and James play hide-the-pipette for a while and make us another one.").  We also get some hints as to the time in which this setting takes place -- since they talk about the '30s and '40s, this could be set in 2050 or so.  On the other hand, there is a partial timeline in the letter column with a reference year of "X", so it may be they are referring to "X+42."  If that's true, then Malcolm Carlyle would be well over 90.  Additionally, although the Carlyle siblings all look to be in their 30s or so, Malcolm implies they're in their 60s. Thus, there may be some "fountain of youth" technology available to all Family members, not just Forever.  Clearly this will become important in later issues.

The most delicious aspect of this issue's story, however, is that Malcolm seems to trust Forever much more than he trusts his biological children, and he gives her a secret assignment that he tells no one -- not even the reader.  We aren't sure what it is, which drives us to turn the pages. But Rucka's not that easy -- we're going to have to wait until next month to find out more.

Once again the art in this issue is excellent.  Forever's facial expressions during the family meeting are depicted beautifully.  She is clearly haunted by having to kill an innocent man, and disturbed by Jonah's willingness to order it.  When she reveals what really happened to Malcolm, her pain is clearly evident in the panels.  Once again the backgrounds are fantastic, and Lark's depiction of the dystopian ruins of Hollywood is truly haunting.

Finally, there is a meaty letter column, with five pages of letters -- more than I've ever seen before in a comic -- and tons of sometimes informative, sometimes titillating, sometimes frustrating, answers from Rucka.  Reading letters is all part of the complete comic-book experience, which Rucka and Image seem to understand in a way that DC doesn't.  Kudos to them for bucking the industry trend and providing us with a juicy lettercol.

Overall, this is another excellent issue from Rucka and Lark.  From the gorgeous cover to the final page of the letter column, the issue is top quality all the way around. In only two issues, I am ready to put this one on my comic-shop pull list. Can't wait to see what happens in #3.

My score: 10/10