It's a torture issue. Sure, it's a torture issue where the guy getting tortured is an odious previous villain in Lazarus, but it's still a torture issue.

What's most surprising about it is Lark sticking on the art for what's essentially a done-in-one fill-in type issue. The rogue son of the main family goes off to another family–who are based in New York City, which gives Lark a chance to do something like Escape from New York for a bit and it's awesome–and it's his bad time trying to defect.

Rucka uses the issue to establish how the world works outside the family he's used to dealing with and to setup either the next story arc or the next few story arcs.

The issue moves a little too fast, but the Lark New York scenes make up for it in art, and the resolution is a decent surprise.

It's fine.

You know, I can’t remember the last time I’ve liked a comic plot–along with how things turn out for the characters–but not liked the comic itself. Until today.

Rucka has been making leaps and bounds improvements with Lazarus and they sort of culminate here… at least in terms of character development. The lousy narrative structure of this issue? It’s a regression. It’s practically an all action issue, but not really. Rucka opens with a sword duel flashback and it’s pretty art from Lark but it’s not worth the pages. Those pages would have been better spent towards the end in the present action, making the action scenes there resonate better.

There’s also the missed opportunity to better bring together the arc’s various characters.

Again, it’s a fulfilling issue for a reader in terms of narrative progression, it’s just a mess of a comic. Very awkward to talk about.

Rucka shows all the subplots coming together at the end of the issue for the soft cliffhanger. It’s not particularly dramatic stuff; the connection is contrived, which is okay because Lazarus is kind of a big soap opera. The kids hating their rich father is enough to make it a soap opera. Through in an “adopted” genetically engineered sibling and it’s even bigger.

There are some problems with how long this arc is going. Hopefully it’s only another issue. A lot has happened but most of the events just rearranged things. Rucka’s still coasting on some of the more effective events, kind of zooming downhill on that momentum to get him to the finale.

Nothing much happens. It’s filler, except the linking of the story lines. But it’s still good enough. Even with Lark’s art falling off a bit, especially on faces. They look way too hurried.

But steady on.

Even though there’s a rather emotional turn of events this issue–Rucka and Lark pace the sequence perfectly–there’s almost a genial quality to this issue of Lazarus. As genial as a comic where the opening scene is a flashback to Forever getting caned as a child.

But that genial quality, along with an odd sense of wonderment in the soft cliffhanger, are worrisome for the arc. Not terribly worrisome, just a bit. Rucka can either reward the reader or be honest to the story. While reading the issue, these concerns don’t come up. Only afterwards.

The stuff with the peasant family trying to make it to the opportunity to better themselves is good. Maybe a little too much tugging on the heartstrings but no worse than any number of Westerns.

Forever, in the modern day, is investigating a terror cell. It’s practically the B plot, but engaging.

Lazarus’s stride is continuing.

Reading this issue of Lazarus, I was having a hard time reconciling it with the way the comic used to read. It’s become one I look forward to reading (not just seeing the Lark art) and I think I figured out what Rucka’s doing differently.

First, he’s turned Forever into a somewhat unreliable protagonist. The reader gets to see her reactions to certain things and assume her emotions, but Rucka is deftly suggesting not. The reader doesn’t know what Forever’s doing because she’s not that kind of protagonist.

Second, he’s splitting the story between the big power people and the little people. Even if the little people are scummy security guards. Rucka’s mixed the pot a little–there’s a cast of interesting people.

Maybe third, maybe more part two point one, is how Rucka’s opening up the space. He’s giving Lark much more to draw.

It’s becoming a solid read.