REVIEW: Lazarus #4

I love this book, plain and simple. Forever is a heroine for the ages and Rucka has done some special things with this title. Last issue ended with Forever and the Lazarus of the Morray family Joacquim in an unusually friendly moment for such battle hardened warriors. An air strike was launched at the two family protectors as a way to destroy a simple peace agreement between warring families. Issue #4 kicks off with the Carlyle families doctor and Bethany Carlyle monitoring Forever’s vitals and immediately sensing somethings wrong. We’ve known all along that Jonah and his sister Johania are behind the plot but that does little to satisfy our need for understanding as to why.

Johania and Jonah’s plan against their “sister” is beyond evil, and with it, one double cross deserves another. This is where Rucka excels as a writer. The drama and backstabbing within the Carlyle family is at a fever pitch and he manipulates loyalties, theirs and ours, with the best of them. This is a nighttime soap on acid and I for one can’t get enough. Johania is the ultimate femme fatale as she’ll do whatever it takes to tilt the odds in her favor and manipulate everyone’s perception to suit her agenda. Rucka has thrown the trust level out the window on this story and it’s what he does best.

Michael Lark’s art is beyond dramatic here and his treatment of Forever and Joacquim’s plight and their retaliation is one for the ages. Forever is a killing machine and Lark is no stranger to the brutality which she can dish out. Lark’s enjoyment’s of Forever’s revenge is off the chart here and we as comic books fans are better off for it.

The drama, intrigue and action that flows through Lazarus is the best stuff going on in comics today. Forever still has a lot of mystery surrounding her with the actions of her siblings and even her own father but most mysterious of all is Forever’s own origin. Don’t miss out on what Lazarus has to offer. It’s high stakes and ultimate survival at a level at which we don’t see very often and anyone would be missing out on a tremendous story if you pass by Lazarus which is some of the single best work Greg Rucka has ever put out!