Forever is out of commission this issue of Lazarus, giving Rucka time to develop Johanna further. The supporting cast of Lazarus is always something of a prickly situation as they know more than the protagonist and than the reader. It makes it hard to be sympathetic towards them, hard to trust them. Actively hiding something from Forever feels like actively hiding it from the reader. It’s hostile.
For instance, the little Forever Carlyle clone. She’s adorable. She has snowball fights. She’s probably going to either kill a bunch of people or get killed. It’s going to be tragic. And Johanna is aware of it and unfeeling about it. The most important thing Rucka’s done with his “world building” is make the characters of Lazaraus acceptably soapy. It’s the main suspension of disbelief. You have to believe the machinations.
This issue gives Johanna enough character–though Rucka does go a little far with the father issues. But Johanna does have enough character to function now. She’s rounded enough.
Now, all of this story stuff comes during what’s essentially an action issue. Lark gets to do two major battle scenes. With flying soldier guys. It’s awesome.
So nice to have another Lazarus.
Leave a Reply