“Lantern City” #1 is a good comic, it’s not quite great, but it’s not awful either. It’s a thoroughly competent affair the benefits from rich world building but suffers from bland, uninteresting characters. There are also a few questionable choices that threaten to break the reality that’s being so carefully constructed. At its root, the story deals with humanity’s eternal class struggle, the rich and powerful oppressing the poor and downtrodden. It’s a universal theme that anyone can relate to and there’s enough nuance here to make it engaging.
WRITTEN BY: Paul Jenkins & Matthew Daley
ART BY: Carlos Magno
PUBLISHER: BOOM! Studios
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: May 13, 2015
As you may have guessed from the title, Lantern City takes place in a steampunk world. One complete with all manner of airship and gasmask. It’s not as conspicuous as steampunk usually is, as in this isn’t a “steampunk” story as much as it is a story being told in a steampunk world. Personally I’m none too big on steampunk, I find it often cultivates the same cookie cutter tales, but Lantern City handles it admirably.
We follow Sander, a low-class peasant who works in the yellowberry fields to support his wife and son. Comparatively he’s got a cushy job, picking berries in a field all day while others must toil inside. We’re not shown any of this back breaking work, instead told through a voice over which significantly lowers its impact. Which is incredibly important when the entire story hinges on fighting back against these horrible work conditions that we’re only vaguely aware of. To be fair they are living in truly awful conditions but why we’re only shown what a cushy job look like and not the shit ones I don’t know.
Sander himself is a passive protagonist so all of the plot progression comes from others, especially his brother-in-law Kendal. Kendal is the leader of a rebellion against the forces that be. Sander is quickly wrapped up in it all, although reluctantly. He’s soon too deep to back out and begins on his way to becoming the hero his people need.
Lantern City is an easy recommendation for steampunk fans, but a bit harder sell for everyone else.