"FAMILY," Part Two The Carlyle Family has been attacked by their enemies to the south, and Forever's father suspects a conspiracy amongst his children. To root it out, he sends Forever into the arms of the enemy, Family Morray.
Greg Rucka, is an American comic book writer and novelist, known for his work on such comics as Action Comics, Batwoman: Detective Comics, and the miniseries Superman: World of New Krypton for DC Comics, and for novels such as his Queen & Country series.
Lazarus #2 succeeded in making my heart hurt for Forever even more and making me hate her family even further, Jonah and Johanna most of all. They make me sick.
Though there was less action in this installment, it was just as intriguing. I can't wait to find out more about the Morray family in the #3!
Lazarus 2 is a great continuation of the fabulous first chapter that I gave full marks. I am a confessed graphic novel newbie as The Saga series by Vaughan is the only set of comics that I have ever read(I absolutely love the Saga series by the way).
Lazarus is a great near future story about Forever and the family. Gore, blood, and plenty of killings. This first edition gives us a tiny bit of world building and story and hints at lots to come. The second chapter expands into the family and brings on many more characters. This should be a fun ride..
"“FAMILY,” Part Two. The Carlyle Family has been attacked by their enemies to the south, and Forever’s father suspects a conspiracy amongst his children. To root it out, he sends Forever into the arms of the enemy, Family Morray."
Wow. Lazarus continues to be strong with each issue, and its second spends some time developing more of Rucka and Lark’s world, with the Carlyle family at its head. It’s a family filled with dark secrets, which Forever – the main protagonist, is quickly setting herself up to stumble right into the middle of these secrets even if she herself isn’t aware of what they all are yet. In using this approach, Rucka allows us to have a great look into what’s to come, yet keeps us as in the dark as Forever, allowing for a great sense of mystery. As one of the few creator-owned titles that I’m following (I know, I really need to be picking up more than just this and The Wake), Lazarus #2 excels and proves that it’s fast establishing itself as one of the best series on the market, with a mere two issues.
Lark is really bringing the series to life so far with some incredible artwork, and these two together are really making a strong team – it kind of makes me wish that I had read Gotham Central, and that it was one of the titles present in the New 52 with the same creative team. I’d have much rather had Gotham Central as opposed to a title like Red Hood and the Outlaws or Batman: The Dark Knight, for example. The family dynamic presented in Lazarus is bizzare and intruging, presenting a mystery that isn’t quite predictable, with Rucka looking set to hopefully pack this series with lots of interesting twists – I believe he’s mentioned somewhere that they could do at least 50 issues of Lazarus, which is great – as I’d certainly be on board for that.
The bleak, dystopian future is even further explored with Lazarus and what’s great about this title is that it isn’t run by DC or Marvel – it’s a creator owned series, and like The Wake, anything can happen here. It makes the book all the more predictable, where writers aren’t constrained by the fact that they have to follow editorial guidelines closely. Lazarus really benefits because of this, allowing the creators to do as they want allowing for a superb series. The book itself is also great at really hooking the reader in, answering several questions as well as leading more unanswered – therefore I get the feeling that this book is going to read better as a collected edition though, but that won’t stop me from reading each issue when they come out. I know it was released last Wednesday, but I strongly urge everyone to go and pick it up – as well as the first issue if you haven’t already – this series is pretty awesome, so jump on board it whilst you can.
This comic book collection is the second volume in the Lazarus series: I have not read the first but was very impressed with this volume.
I am familiar with the work of Greg Rucka from my Marvel Comics reading and Michael Lark’s work on Daredevil – both are very entertaining and this volume is no exception.
It relates to a dystopian future in which families rule in the USA and particularly the Carlyle family who dominate the Western United States. It involves the younger members of the family, particularly Forever and Joanna. It also deals with the Barrett family with no status trying to scrub a living together and eventually looking to get their children Lifted into the Carlyle family as Serfs.
Well-written and illustrated, it is a treat and I’d recommend it any comic book lover.
Highly enjoyable and I look forward to the next instalment.
The introduction to a dystopian world where a few families rule.
Forever Carlyle is the Lazarus of the Carlyle family, meaning the commander of their army forces who answers directly to her father, the leader of the family.
Beautiful, dark art and a very engaging story that leaves you wanting answers.
#2 - “We rebuilt what the family NEEDS. There’s NO POINT in wasting resources on waste who CAN’T appreciate it.” – Steve Intense and original dystopian story where distinct biological families are the power-brokers. Forever Carlyle is the family’s ‘weapon’ adult daughter. Captivating tale
Greg Rucka’s first foray into this title was an excellent comic that I highly enjoyed to the point that I wish I could go forward in time and read the next five issues back-to-back. That’s the kind of excitement I felt upon reading issue #1. The world that he’s created here, is a fully-fledged world with some unique rules of existence and traditions of behaviour, giving the series a very grand but still modest outlook.
All the drama that can be found in this book, whether political intrigue or family infighting, is portrayed really well, with Rucka hitting the story beats with just the right mix of awesome and “must read more”. And Michael Lark’s pencils, with Santiago Arcas’ colours, are just as great. There are so many subtle tones that can be found in the book, giving it a really rich feel in terms of context and the narrative itself.
All of it creates a situation where things are ready to boil over after a certain point is reached. There is a ton of repressed feelings from several characters, and the outpouring of those repressed feelings is something that is at the heart of this series.
Most of all, it is the protagonist Forever Carlyle who impresses the most. Even though we are only three issues into this brand-new series, I can’t help but feel that Rucka’s characterisation is spot-on, and that he really, really gets how to write a self-empowered and strong female character without having to descend into objectification. Throughout the two issues, Forever is always prominent and a lot of the events in both issues surround her, whether or not she is in the scenes he questions.
There are also all the science-y effects of the book, and the standout thing there is that Rucka doesn’t do anything grand or spectacular with things. This is a book that treates its characters with respect and so it doesn’t have them discussion particle physics when just a discussion on the boiling nature of water can affect things. Its all pseudo-science of course, but its great to see flashes of it now and then.
And of course, the art. All I can say about that is that Lark and Arcas are putting out a terrificly good-looking book. I had no issues with the art at all, something that happens all too rarely.
What all this is leading up to is that you should go ahead and read this series. With only 3 issues out so far, its fairly easy to get into this title as well. So that’s another advantage.
Ce post concernera les trois premiers livres de la saga Lazarus créée en 2013 par Greg RUCKA & Michael LARK.
Forever est un membre de la famille Carlyle, mais elle est surtout le résultat de manipulations génétiques et technologiques qui lui confèrent des qualités exceptionnelles, faisant d'elle le bras armé de la famille. La famille Carlyle règne en maître dans un monde futuriste et cauchemardesque. Un monde où chaque famille influante est dotée aussi, d’un bras armé.
L'histoire nous plonge brusquement dans une société avec des catégories bien définies : les membres des familles dominantes, les serfs (leurs serviteurs), et les déchets (le reste de l'humanité). Le rythme, les personnages et l'intrigue font de cette bande dessinée une petite pépite.
Je ne suis pas habituellement fan de dystopie, mais je dois avouer que j'ai vraiment accroché à cette BD. Les planches sont dans un style que j'apprécie beaucoup, l'intrigue et les idées sont très originales. J'ai l'intention de lire la suite prochainement et j'ai hâte de voir jusqu'où cela va me mener.