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Review: ‘Lazarus’ #4

Published

11 years ago

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After all the major players have set up the pieces, “Lazarus” #4 lets loose on the action and holds no prisoners. The bad guys are about to learn what happens when they cross with Forever Carlyle. Readers have a plenty to enjoy with the “Lazarus” series as the pages become littered with guns, bullets, and dead bodies.

Written By: Greg Rucka
Art By: Michael Lark
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3.99
Release: Oct.2, 2013

Trained to be the perfect soldier, Forever Carlyle has been genetically engineered to obey and protect the Carlyle Family. But after a heist gone horribly wrong, Forever starts to see the cracks in the political system where power rests solely in the hands of wealthy families. Following orders from the Carlyle patriarch, Forever journeys into Mexico to prevent war with the Morray Family. The Carlyle twins, Johanna and Jonah, have a different agenda as they secretly betray their father’s wishes.

Johanna and Jonah are plotting against the Morray family, hoping to get rid of Forever in the process.
Writer Greg Rucka lets his characters reveal their true intentions while delivering the pulpy action. Though they have been in the background in previous installments, Dr. James Mann and Dr. Bethany Carlyle have a lot more to do in this issue. Readers finally get to see just whose side these characters are on. After being played around like a pawn, Forever will discover the true mastermind, the person who is really pulling the strings behind the operation.

During the intense action sequences, Rucka jumps back and forth between the surprise attack on Forever and the research facility. As Dr. James Mann and Dr. Bethany Carlyle bicker back and forth, Forever’s vital signs unexpectedly skyrocket. While Forever is fighting back against a rogue team of assassins, Dr. Bethany Carlyle is learning just how unkillable her perfect soldier really is. We also learn the hidden secret as to what makes Joacquim, the protector of the Morray family, so different from Forever.

When artist Michael Lark illustrates action sequences, you feel like you need a bucket of popcorn right beside you. Lark keeps the action running at full speed, especially when he transitions between locations. Notice how Lark keeps the violence roll out in one shot. Surrounded by a four-man team of assassins, Forever takes them all down with a round swing of her sword, slicing their throats.

Your jaw will drop as soon as you see how Lark splashes blood on the panels. After being wounded from the missile attack, Forever has a metal spike sticking out of her leg. She has to pull out that same spike from her leg, in order to use it in the fight. Lark doesn’t hold back, letting readers see what happens when a sword is plunged through the chest.

When readers reach the last page of “Lazarus” #4, they will be so geared up for the next story arc. If you love action movies, you’re definitely going to enjoy how Forever Carlyle kicks butt in the “Lazarus” series.

4/5 Skulls

Reviewed by – Jorge Solis

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Comics

‘The Toxic Avenger’ Returns with Cover Artwork for First Issue of New Comic Book Series [Exclusive]

Published

5 days ago

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May 13, 2024

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With a remake on the way and a new 4K restoration of the original classic now streaming, it’s a good time to be a fan of Troma’s The Toxic Avenger. Additionally, Matt Bors — the founder of The Nib and a political cartoonist who has twice been named a Pulitzer Prize finalist —and acclaimed artist Fred Harper (Snelson) are collaborating on an all-new 5-issue comic book series starring the satirical superhero of the Troma Films cult classic films!

TOXIC AVENGER #1 will land in stores on October 9, 2024.

While you wait, you can exclusively check out the issue #1 cover art from Fred Harper below, along with a set of emojis designed by Harper for the extremely online teens of Tromaville.

“The Toxic Avenger delivers what Troma fans want,” said AHOY Comics Editor-in-Chief Tom Peyer. “The series has violent action, gross mutations, bursting pustules, eye-popping visuals, and trenchant humor.” 

“If there was ever a superhuman hero for these toxic, miserable times, Toxie is the one!” said Lloyd Kaufman. “Only AHOY Comics and Bors & Harper could pull this off…er…mop this up! Toxie and the Troma Team can’t wait ‘til you read -no, experience – the art and stories that the Toxic Avenger Comic Book will explode in your brain, your soul, and your heart. Above all, remember – Toxie loves you and so do I.”

“This series will combine elements of the original films with the Toxic Crusaders cartoon and characters in familiar ways, updated to tell a story of environmental devastation, corporate control, and social media mutation,” said Bors. “The Toxic Avenger is first and foremost an environmental satire, one about a small town and its unremarkable people trapped and transformed by circumstances they don’t control. The story Fred Harper and I are telling is about people frustrated by authorities telling them not to worry about their life, that things are fine, even as their dog mutates in front of their eyes. And at its core it is about a powerless boy, Melvin, who finds out he can be incredibly strong, hideously mutated, well-admired, and incredibly heroic… but still ultimately powerless over human behavior.”

In The Toxic Avenger, teenager Melvin Junko helps run his parent’s junkyard in Tromaville, a small town in New Jersey where nothing much ever happens — until an ill-timed train derailment of toxic waste transforms Melvin into a hideously deformed creature of superhuman size and strength: the Toxic Avenger!

Under a media blackout imposed by Biohazard Solutions (BS) and their PR-spewing Chairwoman Lindsay Flick, Melvin emerges as a hero fighting against BS and the mutated threats that keep popping up around Tromaville.

Eventually Melvin uncovers a vast conspiracy more far-reaching than he could have ever imagined — but he knows if everyone is simply made aware of the crisis, they’ll act to stop it. Right?

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