Tag: Michael Lark
-

The whole issue doesn’t rest on the action sequences, but it’d still have been nice if penciller Michael Lark had broken them out differently. There’s this very anti-climatic car chase, foot chase, car chase, shoot-out sequence, and it should have been better. Though it also doesn’t matter because it’s just the red herring ending. Scene…
-

Scene of the Crime doesn’t exactly stall out this issue, but it definitely goes into idle. Not sure why I’m doing car references, possibly because of an ill-advised speeding car sequence, which artist Michael Lark visualizes too quickly. Our hero, Jack, has just been to a hippie commune where he’s gotten in trouble, a la…
-

I was going to say all writer Ed Brubaker needed to do to completely tie together all the San Francisco crime eras was a grandfather in a wheelchair in a greenhouse, but Big Sleep’s L.A. Scene of the Crime is all San Francisco, all the time; Brubaker knows what he’s doing too. This issue introduces…
-

In the twenty years since Scene of the Crime came out (and I last read it), a couple things have become more clear. First, protagonist and narrator Jack is a bit of a narcissist, and the reason he’s loveless is because he was a lousy, possessive boyfriend. The way he talks about the female characters…
-

Once again, Lazarus is fine. It’s fine where Rucka’s going with the book–turning exiled, thought-dead Jonah into a real hero, for example–but there’s something else going on too. The art. Lark and Boss are drawing less, the colors are doing more; the backgrounds have a dullness to them. By the end of the issue, the…
-

Once again, Lazarus is fine. It’s fine where Rucka’s going with the book–turning exiled, thought-dead Jonah into a real hero, for example–but there’s something else going on too. The art. Lark and Boss are drawing less, the colors are doing more; the backgrounds have a dullness to them. By the end of the issue, the…
-

Lazarus is back. It hasn’t been entirely gone, but the regular series has been on hiatus for a bit. And now it’s back. And it’s not exactly Lazarus. It’s a two-part prelude to the next arc and is all about brother Jonah’s adventures with the Danes. Forever didn’t kill him; instead she saved him and…
-

Lazarus is back. It hasn’t been entirely gone, but the regular series has been on hiatus for a bit. And now it’s back. And it’s not exactly Lazarus. It’s a two-part prelude to the next arc and is all about brother Jonah’s adventures with the Danes. Forever didn’t kill him; instead she saved him and…
-

The arc ends. Finally. Forever is back in action. Supporting cast members are working together towards something in the future. There’s a lot of exposition, a lot of flashbacks–Rucka packs the issue with material, all before Lark lets loose on a big action sequence finale. This arc, which took the creators a while to get…
-

The arc ends. Finally. Forever is back in action. Supporting cast members are working together towards something in the future. There’s a lot of exposition, a lot of flashbacks–Rucka packs the issue with material, all before Lark lets loose on a big action sequence finale. This arc, which took the creators a while to get…
-

Lazarus is back on track–sort of, Rucka still splits the issue too much–but he doesn’t just give Forever something to do, he lets her make the big decision. The latest arc has been floundering a bit because Forever has been recuperating and way too much the subject of the comic and not enough the protagonist.…
-

Lazarus is back on track–sort of, Rucka still splits the issue too much–but he doesn’t just give Forever something to do, he lets her make the big decision. The latest arc has been floundering a bit because Forever has been recuperating and way too much the subject of the comic and not enough the protagonist.…
-

It’s a perfectly good issue of Lazarus but it feels a little slight. Rucka’s trying to do too much at once–Forever’s story, little Forever’s story, the family, then the action stuff… it’s just too much. Lark’s good at expressive action from characters and the juxtaposition of young and regular Forever is cute, but it’s not…
-

It’s a perfectly good issue of Lazarus but it feels a little slight. Rucka’s trying to do too much at once–Forever’s story, little Forever’s story, the family, then the action stuff… it’s just too much. Lark’s good at expressive action from characters and the juxtaposition of young and regular Forever is cute, but it’s not…
-

Rucka employs a lot of structure for this issue of Lazarus. There’s a framing device, then a flashback, then a reveal about the framing device. Only that reveal has absolutely nothing to do with what happened in the flashback and it doesn’t really change the initial frame, it’s just there for Rucka and Lark to…
-

Rucka employs a lot of structure for this issue of Lazarus. There’s a framing device, then a flashback, then a reveal about the framing device. Only that reveal has absolutely nothing to do with what happened in the flashback and it doesn’t really change the initial frame, it’s just there for Rucka and Lark to…
-

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…
-

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…
-

Rucka gets so much done this issue, so many plot threads tied up–while introducing a great new one in the soft cliffhanger–I can’t even remember them all. It’s an extra-sized issue, which helps, because there’s a lot going on besides the war comic. This issue, with Forever and her unit attacking the enemy’s position? It’s…
-
Rucka gets so much done this issue, so many plot threads tied up–while introducing a great new one in the soft cliffhanger–I can’t even remember them all. It’s an extra-sized issue, which helps, because there’s a lot going on besides the war comic. This issue, with Forever and her unit attacking the enemy’s position? It’s…
-

It’s been too long since I last read Lazarus. The comic’s bimonthly and has been for a while. Maybe forever (no pun intended). But, with Lazarus’s big cliffhangers of late, I guess I expected Rucka to be more sensational with this issue. Instead, he’s reserved. He’s not showing off. This issue is the first one…
-
It’s been too long since I last read Lazarus. The comic’s bimonthly and has been for a while. Maybe forever (no pun intended). But, with Lazarus’s big cliffhangers of late, I guess I expected Rucka to be more sensational with this issue. Instead, he’s reserved. He’s not showing off. This issue is the first one…
-

It’s so good. Do I always start a Lazarus response with that statement? “It’s so good.” Like every time I read the comic, I’m surprised by how good Rucka and Lark do on the comic. It’s always a surprise too. Rucka hits a new ceiling. He integrates Lark and his abilities in an entirely predictable…
-
It’s so good. Do I always start a Lazarus response with that statement? “It’s so good.” Like every time I read the comic, I’m surprised by how good Rucka and Lark do on the comic. It’s always a surprise too. Rucka hits a new ceiling. He integrates Lark and his abilities in an entirely predictable…
-

I’m getting sick of my Lazarus posts. I hope you all aren’t. They go the same way–hated it for the first arc, then started loving Lazarus and now I await every issue with baited breath and count the hours till its release. But I’ve got to say all that stuff again. Good thing I already…
-
I’m getting sick of my Lazarus posts. I hope you all aren’t. They go the same way–hated it for the first arc, then started loving Lazarus and now I await every issue with baited breath and count the hours till its release. But I’ve got to say all that stuff again. Good thing I already…
-

Where did Lazarus come from? Every time I read it, I have to remember it wasn’t always one of my favorite comics. Far from it. But now, even when Rucka can turn the series at a ninety degree angle and still come out doing not just something special but something special for artist Lark too–I…
-
Where did Lazarus come from? Every time I read it, I have to remember it wasn’t always one of my favorite comics. Far from it. But now, even when Rucka can turn the series at a ninety degree angle and still come out doing not just something special but something special for artist Lark too–I…
-

For the first time in ten issues or so, Lazarus doesn’t sit well. Oh, it’s fine–the script’s certainly stronger than the first arc of the series, but Rucka’s got a problem. He’s got an artist without time for the comic so what’s he going to do? A fill-in issue. But Lark does most of the…
-
For the first time in ten issues or so, Lazarus doesn’t sit well. Oh, it’s fine–the script’s certainly stronger than the first arc of the series, but Rucka’s got a problem. He’s got an artist without time for the comic so what’s he going to do? A fill-in issue. But Lark does most of the…