That's right, pleased to meet you
Let me tell ya 'bout a cool book
Care for a little mystery?
Lazarus is off the hook
You lookin' for more good comics to read
Hawkeye's another for you to adore
You lookin' for bad men to give you a scare
The Sixth Gun's got chills, thrills and more 'cause
Tonight I'm livin' in a fantasy
My own little comic book world
Tonight don't you wanna read with me
Again, give Lazarus a whirl
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| "Don't skunk me, bro!" |
Friday Slice of Heaven
***Possible Spoilers Below***
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| Lazarus #2 |
Forever Carlyle, the Lazarus of the Carlyle Family, is beginning to show resistance against taking the regimen of injections and pills that keep her subservient to her job. Unfortunately, her sister/doctor Beth is insistent on Forever's "treatments"; for the sake or her and her siblings' protection she should be. Last issue, Forever executed an old man who claimed to have let the Morray Family soldiers into the Carlyle seed storage facility. She knew the man was lying, but followed through with her orders anyways. Now, her father has called a meeting to discuss what to do about the Morray raid, but even among the ruling class the "family ties that bind and gag" exists. While her brothers and sister bicker and barely refrain from killing one another, Forever's father gives her a task that leads her into dangerous territory. Plus, the Carlyle Family have not been completely honest with the Lazerus.
The first issue of Lazarus grabbed hold of my negative feelings over the income disparity between the rich and everyone else, as well as the maddening rampant corporate interference in our lives and government, and shook them up into something I can actually see coming to pass. Before I managed to make it to even the first page, the inside cover had me shouting from the rafters, "See?! See?! This can happen!" Lark and Rucka gave us a world that melds legitimate possibilities with the science fiction of a Lazarus, a genetically engineered guardian who is nearly impossible to kill. Then in this latest issue, I read the back matter that might eventually shift a lot of the "sci-fi" into the "possible" category, leaving a cold shiver running down my spine. Now, I can't stop thinking about this book; the creators sure did their job well, by golly.
Although this issue had little action compared to the first, it is every bit as compelling. Lark and Rucka give us an incredibly dysfunctional family on the verge of erupting into violence not just with the rival families, but with themselves. Malcolm and each of his children reveal snippets of their personalities and wants in this issue, but even without Rucka's fantastic words, Lark's acting will tell you just how deeply the enmity lies amongst the children. Just seeing the physical violence unfold between Jonah and Beth tells us that this is not new behavior. This is confirmed by Steve's failure to care--he's seen this all before--but when the knife comes out we know a line has been crossed.
Not content to leave our nerves frazzled, Rucka teases some of Forever's actual origin, which is something that frightens her siblings immensely. We also have Malcolm's secret mission for Forever into the territory of the Morray Family and we are left with an intense cliffhanger. There is no way I will miss the next issue.
Lazarus is over way too fast and some people might be thinking they want to trade wait this one, but I advise against that, denizens. Rucka and Lark have some fascinating information at the back of issue one and offer a timeline of Malcolm's life prior to "Project: Lazarus" in issue two (the orange text is a slight pain to read, though), and those pages of extras might not make it to the collected edition; it's all must read material. This book is a pleasant surprise and a grimly awesome example of what comic books have to offer outside of the capes and tights. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Other Heavenly Items:
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| Hawkeye Annual #1 |
Kate Bishop (Hawkeye) has had it with her father and his barely older than her wife, and she's had enough of that sadsack Clint Barton (Hawkeye), too. She's outta there, and she's taking Lucky the Pizza Dog with her on a relaxing trip to Los Angeles. Things never turn out the way you plan. First her credit card gets declined, then the hotel kicks her out, then the next thing you know, an incog Madame Masque is inviting Kate to stay at her mansion...so she can torture Kate to death. It just goes to show you, don't mess with Madame Masque...oh, and sometimes you have to solve your own problems.
Whether it's Hawkeye (guy) or Hawkeye (girl), Fraction knows these characters inside and out. Let's just call them his, shall we? The scenes flow between serious and funny, and from action-packed to dramatic with precision and the entire 28 pages are a joy to read. Pulido is back, and after loving his work on issues four and five, I am still loving his art, but I will say that the decision to use mostly silhouettes for the main characters on every page took me out of the story. Otherwise, his art is still a great fit for the title.
Yeah, $4.99 is a cheap shot at the readers--$3.99 would have fair(ish)--and there was a ton of black ink to be found on each page, but Hawkeye Annual #1 was still fun to read. If you miss it, I'm sure it will show up in the third trade. RECOMMENDED!
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| The Sixth Gun: Sons of the Gun #5 |
I enjoyed this side mini-series. I originally thought Sons of the Gun was going to be about the early years of "Bloodthirsty" Bill Sumter, Will Arcene, "Filthy" Ben Kinney, and Silas "Bitter Ridge" Hedgepeth and the day that each met General Hume and was awarded a cursed gun. That is not what we got. Instead, this series has been a side adventure that occurred after the time of General Hume's first death and before the lieutenants decided to rescue the recently revived Hume from his captors.
Bunn and Hurtt give us tiny glimpses into each of these men's hearts--what there is of them--and that will have to be enough to satisfy our curiosity about these mysterious figures. Still... The supernatural aspects of The Sixth Gun play heavily in this tale and the addition of the Lieutenants' diabolical problem solving skills makes the book a fun read. Churilla's art is a perfect fit for The Sixth Gun: Sons of the Gun and his monsters are horrifyingly awesome, with character moments that round out the story.
If you are looking for a jumping on point for The Sixth Gun, this is not it. There really is no jumping on point that will do this Donist World favorite any justice outside of starting at the very beginning, but there are four trades out and a hardcover collecting the first two trades will be out towards the end of September. If you like what you see in the series proper, then picking up Sons of the Gun is a given. RECOMMENDED!
Slice Into the Woods
Carlos Danger Rides Again! - Okay, trust me on this one, denizens, I'm no puritanical psychopath calling for an end to anything and everything that turns our cranks--I'm speaking in code for the sake of the children...the CHILDREN, I TELL YOU! In truth, I don't care what Anthony Weiner does in his spare time, or in his own (virtual?) bedroom, or what sort of arrangement the dude has with his wife--if any. The man's a politician, so "deviant" behavior should be expected to go hand-in-hand with the profession, and I would wager that many of his more outspoken holier-than-thou colleagues have not just skeletons, but graveyards, tucked away in their closets. My problem is that someone who was JUST publicly humiliated over his "sexting" was crazy enough to return to the scene of the crime as if a pseudonym would protect him. Ummmm...that ain't how the internet works, man, privacy goes out the window once it hits the web. Even having an awesome name like Carlos Danger won't protect you, especially if someone is trying to find you. Weiner should just own his freaky-deakyness. Take a picture of your junk and send it to that tattooed temptress. Proudly use your own name. Do your job better than all of the other guys and when you find evidence of their various compromising positions (bathtubs full of jello, men's stalls, merry-go-rounds, petting zoos) just kindly shake your head and chuckle to yourself; you've been there.
***side note***If you seen anything...odd...floating around the web attached to the name Andres Dynamite...uhhhhh....it's not me, I have no recollection of who that guy is. Nope. Not me. I'm just sayin'.
