Comic-book Catch up #4

Featuring Ms Marvel #3, Tomb Raider #3, Lazarus #8

Ms Marvel #3

Kamala Khan is experiencing the backlash from sneaking out. Her parents are upset, she’s still upset with Bruno. Bruno has his own mayhem happening, his brother asks him to steal from his register at the convenience store. Zoe is getting all the attention for getting saved while Kamala tries to get a grip on her powers and ends up in hiding even though she’s the hero in this story. She’s worrying she’s outgrowing her life “like a pair of pants that no longer fit” and in the next moment she’s confronting both teenage drama and an armed robber head on. G Willow Wilson writes teenage well, and she provides insight to the way that Kamala’s culture separates her from others in Jersey City, but also how it bonds her with her friends. She questions authority but is realistically insecure and charming. 

Tomb Raider #3

We’re treated to a bit more backstory on the hard hitting Reyes. In Dublin, her daughter is in imminent danger from the Solarii cult. They want the artifact Lara stole. Only, she still doesn’t remember it. She tries to lie, but the cult members don’t buy it. Suddenly, someone takes aim and shoots the gangsters and Lara breaks a glass over someone’s head. Meanwhile, Sam is in trouble. Lara and Reyes make a break for it, with the men in hot pursuit, Reyes and her daughter split from Lara (I love when characters don’t all orbit the main protagonist, btw. So Reyes calling Lara out on being the cause of this, on being bad luck. Worthwhile). Lara clubs a goon with the a busker’s guitar and grabs his gun. Reyes’ daughter says she was too mean to Lara. Lara finds out that Sam has been taken and throws down, but one goon sneaks up on her- she averts disaster but causing a soccer riot. But the goons just keep coming. Luckily, Reyes shows her daughter what it means to be loyal and double backs for Lara, with a “Don’t thank me, it was Miss Manners here.” And Lara declares they’ll go back to Yamatai to stop this and save Sam.

Sam Nishimura has the best answering machine message of all time. “I’m either off shooting an award winning documentary or passed out drunk. You know what to do.”

Lazarus #8

The first 5 were amazing, a new series with so much promise. One with a female lead (and still more females with their own agendas) that creates a world that is bleak, violent and corporate. One of all out class warfare. How could I not be in love? But the momentum has slowed, flashbacks to Forever’s childhood bog down the series instead of advance it. Currently, Forever is looking for and IED while the Barretts are looking to go get jobs with the Carlyles, they’re headed for Denver. Them and everyone else. Like pioneers travelling to a new frontier, to their last ditch effort: the road is hard. Worse when Forever finds that Denver is the target of this attack. But her father refuses to cancel the lift. Forever is in a race to stop the plot in the final pages. but it won’t be resolved til next month. 

Lazarus #7

Lazarus has consistently been one of my favorite series. I love dystopians. I love female leads. i love the “what ifs” of impossibly stratified classes and corporate wealth that elevates families into royalty… and dumps everyone else into poverty so extreme that there’s no escape. It’s impressive… and yeah, it’s depressing. 

The review for last issue is here.

So I’m a huge fan and we’re getting into some meat now. The Barrets, an impoverished Midwestern family who recently lost everything in a flood is travelling to Denver for “the Lift” they are hoping to get jobs working for the Carlyles …but so are alot of people, so many that they clog up the highway as they make their way on horseback. They are attacked in the night and their daughter, Leigh, is killed and the father is shot.  

Forever is interrogating the woman who ‘distracted’ the guards so that her friends could steal materials to make a bomb. She doesn’t care about threats of prison or torture. But Johanna offers her something different.. a better life. A make over, higher social status, acting classes, a job. Is it an offer to good to refuse?

We also get another glimpse into Forever’s training with Marisol. I think Forever kills her. It’s so heavy. Greg Rucka is stopping my heart with this one. Next issue Forever will be at “the Lift” and since she’s becoming more aware of the atrocities both inside and outside of her family I expect her to get into a lot of trouble. But her training tells her that if her family needs someone dead… she must abide. Will she sympathize with the “waste” or will she stay true to the Carlyles? 

The faux advertisement for Morray cellular service on the back page is a nice touch. Corporate empires = global take over. It’s terrifying and awesome. 

Lazarus #4

For those of you who haven’t been following along: The world now lies divided amongst financial boundaries. Wealth is power (but, well… what else is new? amirite?) and that power rests in the hands of a few families.

Forever Carlyle is the Lazarus of the Carlyle family genetically engineered to be unfailingly loyal to her Family and nearly unkillable. Her father dispatches her to avert war with the Morray family while her traitor brother and his twin plot Forever’s demise.

That’s how issue 3 ended. With Forever and Joacquim (Lazarus for the Morray family) Attacked by a missile… a unit of soldiers are en route to ensure their deaths.

The explosion leaves her with a broken neck, dislocation of her left shoulder, fractured left wrist, multiple cracked ribs and a penetrating wound through her left thigh.

Don’t worry, to quote her father, “Forever’s a big girl, she can take care of herself.”

Dr. Bethanny Carlyle and Dr. James Mann are monitoring her from afar. Carlyle soldiers move in to finish off Forever. Forever orders them to stop. “To disobey me is to die. To strike me is to die. You will release me at once.” They don’t but Joacquim gets the drop on them and Forever pulls the piece of goddamn car out of her leg and starts beating and stabbing people with it…

…That’s so fucking bad ass…

Meanwhile Joanna (Jonah’s twin) is ordering Mason to beat her up. She’s going to blame it on Jonah.

Who cares? People are getting SUV parts through the neck (the alternation between the two scenes every other panel is genius Lark and Arcas nailed it. It’s beautiful).

Joanna says Jonah better run before the Lazarus gets him.

Forever and Joacquim overtake the soldiers and Forever heads back home… Where she falls for Joanna’s deception and vows vengeance on Jonah. Her father tells her good job with the Morrays….

And then she gets an email saying that he is not her father and this is not her family.

Weird.

Unsurprising, however, since Forever is a lab experiment more than a sibling, a hammer more than a daughter. But she is a person. Somewhat… other than that “no free will of her own” thing.

The story is great, born out of real life weird science and unstable economies. Suped up with motorcycles, swords and hardcore badassery. I’m still kind of hoping for a love story between Forever and Joacquim.

I have to wait 2 months??!?

“Go well, Forever Carlyle”

(Also, if you are in to that sort of thing… Greg Rucka is a good person to follow on twitter he’s always posting interesting science breakthroughs and downright scary socio-political news… because art imitates life until life imitates art. get freaked out.)