Review: Lazarus Volume One

In a dystopian version of North America, a feud between two rival families threatens to break into a war. To ease the tensions, the patriarch of the Carlyles sends his youngest daughter Forever – a living weapon known as a Lazarus – to offer an olive branch to the rival Morrays. What began as an act of peacekeeping becomes brutal when it becomes clear that someone within the Carlyle family is hellbent on inciting a war.

Lazarus Volume 1 collects issues #1-4 of Lazarus, written by Greg Rucka and illustrated by Michael Lark.

The Post-Apocalyptic world of Rucka and Lark’s Lazarus sets the tone for a nightmarish tale of medieval social inequality and science gone too far. From the word go, we’re introduced to a dystopic United States divided up into colonies controlled by what are known as Families. These individuals are few in number, but have the power and wealth necessary for keeping the rest of the population under their thumb. The Families each have Serfs – armies and scientists that work for them in their elite facilities. Everyone else, the poor and downtrodden, is classified as Waste. Forever Carlyle, the protagonist of the series, is a highly trained assassin classified as a Lazarus. She’s the youngest daughter of one of the most influential Families, but is shown to be increasingly aware of the oppressive regime around her and the differences between her and her siblings.

Lazarus is arguably one of the more stylized and complex comic books to come around in a while. Rucka, being a novelist, takes a decidedly literary approach to the title and writes it almost as if it were no different from straight-up prose fiction. He and Lark build a captivating world that stands on its own, which obviously necessitates quite a bit of explanation and exposition. For those observing the dystopic trend in young adult fiction, Lazarus takes a much darker and more mature slant. Rather than being injected into the lives of the disenfranchised, Rucka smartly positions the reader into the narrative of those in power. His heroine, the badass Forever, is part of the elite and her privilege impacts her in a way that differentiates her from the Katnisses and the Trises of young adult fiction.

Over the years, Greg Rucka has built a reputation for writing some of the most compelling women in the world of comic books. From his acclaimed run on Wonder Woman to his award-winning Queen & Country, he’s proven time and again that no one knows how to write a badass comic book heroine quite like him. Forever is no different. She’s the perfect mix of hard and soft, a gun-toting killer on one hand and a dutiful daughter on the other. She may be the ideal assassin, but there are still chinks in her armour. She plays a crucial part in the continued oppression of the Waste, yet she’s clearly unhappy with what is expected of her. The contradictions and introspective qualities to her character are what make her so interesting as a protagonist. Furthermore, the concept of her being engineered to be a living weapon, while unoriginal, helps to further distinguish her from the other characters in this world.

Lazarus has tremendous potential for growth. This first volume is brief, considering it only collects four issues, so the ball just gets rolling by the time the final page is turned. The characters are each very unique and all of them play an integral role in the dynamic to the book. From our protagonist to her scheming sister Johanna, Rucka’s cast is fascinating. Lazarus also features an abundance of memorable (and brutal) action scenes, deftly handled by artist Lark. It’s a great start to what appears to be promising work of dystopic fiction, one which has me itching to see what happens next.

RATING: A-

Review: Madame Xanadu - Exodus Noir

It’s the 1940s in New York City, and clairvoyant Madame Xanadu has been hired to investigate the mysterious death of a businessman. She soon discovers that he the victim of an ancient curse, one which threatens to destroy the lives of three prominent New York families.

Madame Xanadu: Exodus Noir collects Madame Xanadu #11-15, written by Matt Wagner and illustrated by Michael Wm. Kaluta.

In Exodus Noir, Wagner juxtaposes the bustling streets of 1940s New York City with the dusty roads of 15^th century Spain to weave a brilliant follow-up to his epic ten issue introductory arc. Picking up shortly where we left her last, Madame Xanadu has opened up shop in Greenwich Village and has become a popular fortune teller through word-of-mouth. The bulk of the story deals with her investigation into the death of a client’s father. It is presented in such a way that it pays homage to the noir genre, positing Madame Xanadu as the hard-boiled detective in search of the truth. The subplot takes place in the past, showing Madame Xanadu taking up residence in Spain with a seamstress as her lover and companion. Despite her living comfortably and happily in this setting, it’s become quite clear that the nation’s religious leaders are threatening to disturb her quietude.

Religious extremism and scapegoating is at the centre of Wagner’s tale. For a magic user and sexually liberated woman like Madame Xanadu, this spells trouble. The sequences set in Spain are infuriating and frustrating, as we see a nation overrun by religious leaders who use their power to condemn and murder anyone who is unlike them. Wagner uses these themes to his advantage, as he shows how events in the past continue to resonate decades and even centuries later. We see how passivity, assimilation and finger pointing only begets more violence, leading to oppression and grudges that last for years. Specifically, Wagner highlights the consequences that stem from the Catholics’ condemnation of the Jews. He painstakingly details the brutal acts committed upon the Jews and how, even when assimilated, they are never truly free. All of this, as you can imagine, informs Madame Xanadu’s investigation in the ‘40s.

While the writing itself is of a tremendously high quality, the art doesn’t quite reach the same level. While Michael Wm. Kaluta is to be given credit for having been Madame Xanadu’s original artistic creator, it seems that the years have not been quite so kind to him. His illustrations in this collection are rough and don’t properly capture the eras being written about. His art lacks the whimsical qualities and adaptability of his predecessor Amy Reeder, whose work on the previous collection was beautiful in every sense of the word. Kaluta’s lack of character definition and the overall unattractive Neanderthal-like qualities to them make it difficult at times to fully enjoy this trade.

Like the preceding collection, Exodus Noir is perfect for fans of historical narratives. While it lacks the same kind of epic scale and expansive qualities, it is still a thrilling read nonetheless. Wagner continues to build on Madame Xanadu’s character, giving her qualities fit for any champion of the people. Incorporating elements of noir, themes social injustice and religious intolerance, as well as adding a heaping dose of magic, Wagner creates a not-to-miss story that builds perfectly on the foundation of his first ten issues.

RATING: B+