Lazarus brings all its action guns into this issue. I wish that the story line followed it the footsteps. I have to say that I haven’t been the biggest fan of this comic. The plot has too many holes and frankly I am uninterested with finding out the answers. But with three issues it felt wrong to just throw it aside. Issue four brought some intense fighting, but it may be too late to enjoy the goodness without a full story. Let’s start with the positive. The best thing that happened was with the art. Michael Lark and Brian Level bring it home with the action packed sequencing in this issue. It really came alive. We see Forever in the aftermath of her brother, Jonah, trying to kill her with an explosion. She is pretty bruised up and is immediately jumped by soldiers. The cover pretty much sums up how awesome the scenes are. The dull oranges leading to bright with blood spattered all over Forever is pretty epic. My favorite part is when the fighting is switching panels between Forever and her sister, Jo, asking Mason to hit her. It is a cool effect on two different fights.
Although the action was high, the story was still a dud. Jonah and Jo failed to kill Forever, which we all knew would happen. Forever knows who did it but still asks her father to go get the son of a bitch. Not much else happens. I am disappointing with how slow-moving this comic is. I have said this before that I dig when a comic can capture me in the 30 minutes it is showing me, but Lazarus fails to keep me interested. I wish Forever was more relatable. So she has a troubled family and is protecting lies that she doesn’t even understand. It has been done. I think a better tale would involve something about the apartheid that is happening. A revolt of certain families. Forever could be a fallen Lazarus that no one discovered. I don’t know this is why I don’t write comics. Either way, this comic is just losing me fast on its plot.
Really the only mystery is that we have no idea where Forever came from. I am guessing she is more human than other Lazarus, since she feels genuinely sad when she has to murder. This could cost the Carlyles a lot of fortune though, so it has to be something that they can control more, because even if they could deprogram her they would be left under guarded.
So unless you are trying to learn some action techniques from comics, I would skip out here. The plot runs so thin that all you crave is some whole milk. I hope they can pick this series up soon or else I think more and more readers will drop to find another family drama comic to read.
Score: 3/5
Writer: Greg Rucka Artist: Michael Lark Publisher: Image Comics Price: $2.99 Release Date: 10/2/13