Lazarus Volume 1 Paperback – October 22, 2013

I will start by saying I am not a big follower of comics. When I was a kid, I owned a bunch of batman comics but never became a collector. A decade of so later, after reading some graphic novels here and there, I hear about this series and check out the first volume. I am completely hooked now. I don't have a comic store anywhere near where I live, otherwise I would probably be buying them every month to collect. Although I do enjoy the reading experience of these paperback volumes.The world that the story takes place in is a desolate future where powerful families rule over different territories with high tech soldiers. Our protagonist is a strong warrior that has an amazing ability where her body heals itself. These are the things that drew me to the series initially, and they are not too derivative at all. The writers and artists approach these elements with a lot of originality.What has kept me reading is the depth of the story and characters and artwork that really reflects the story. The use of color throughout is beautiful to look at and very much enhances the experience, and I would say the art is more on the minimal side, though still very detailed in its own way.I think the series appeals to hard core comic readers and readers of novels alike!

Greg Rucka is a writer I routinely follow in comics. He writes some of the best character-oriented stuff out there. I enjoyed his run on Wonder Woman and on Gotham Central (and I’m wondering how much of that will be cherry-picked for the new Gotham television series coming this fall). I love his work on Stumptown, his private detective strip set in Portland, Oregon, where Rucka himself lives.Lazarus is something new, and yet it’s something the same as well. It’s Rucka telling an action-packed story about a world that might yet evolve if economic trends and overpopulation continue. As a result, it’s scary stuff to contemplate, which is what he wants his readers to do.However, Rucka also gives you a great story, so you get plenty of bang for your buck. This one is like Dynasty, the old 1980s series with John Forsythe and Linda Evans. The family in these pages is anything but loving. Or moral. They’ve got twisted and reprehensible covered in spades, though, so they’re very interesting.Forever still remains something of a cipher to me. I know she’s the Carlyle family’s “Lazarus,” their strongarm warrior that – apparently – can’t be killed. That alone has got to take a toll on the character. I like her a lot, and I feel sympathetic for her situation, but I know she’s not getting out of it any time soon. Which is good, because watching her struggle against all odds and knowing the lies she’s being told keeps me turning pages!The world Rucka depicts is harsh and bleak. I like the sacrifices that are made with the same fervor that I hate that they have to be made. I like that no matter what Forever does, she’s pretty much screwed until she figures out everything that’s going on.Rucka is a smooth writer though, and even though the reader knows more than Eve does, we still don’t know everything that Rucka knows about this world. I can’t wait to see who gets thrown under the bus next, which makes this very much a soap opera like Dynasty.In an interview, Rucka says that he and artist Michael Lark have been hoping to do something together for a while, and Lazarus is their project. Having a writer and artist who know and respect each other on a comic makes for a good story. Rucka knows when to get onto the page to advance the story, and when to leave it up to Lark to carry the plotline. There are lots of action sequences throughout the book and Lark makes the most of them.Evidently the comics are going to come out erratically, but volume two is projected to release in July. I’m looking forward to it.

This is a well drawn, yet "tropey" story. Here we have a super-powered female assassin manipulated by scientists. Ooh. Never seen that before. Yet it is well done even though every move is predictable. My criticism is that the artist used the typical "broke back" style you see in far too many comic representations of women. This is the exaggeratedly bent posture with butt and boobs out there. Sorry folks, spines don't work that way. Of course men don't have biceps larger than their heads either, but the distorted images of women in comics has nothing to do with power and everything to do with sexual availability. The character is also powerful, intriguing, and sadly naive. We know it will hurt when she wises up.

I purchased Volume One on the recommendation of some Bookstagram friends. I read one page, ran to Amazon, and purchased Volume Two and Three. Then I read all three in one sitting, then went out and bought Volume Four and Five.With a intriguing mixture of power, strength, and vulnerability, Forever Carlyle defends her family with a single-minded devotion. But she can’t ignore the mystery of her origins, or the tangled struggle for power both inside her family and between her family and the others that rule the world.Gritty art, realistic color, and deft design bring to life a grim world, with complex characters and rules. We follow not just Forever, but her siblings, her serfs, her rivals, her lover, and the Waste as they struggle to survive. People die. People suffer. People are cruel and mean and they lie. And they love. Forever, for all her strength, is still young of mind, almost naive. The plot concerns her exploration of the world and her place (coming of age) as she faces dangers both inside and outside her family. The writers don’t shy away from dark topics and this gives the story a riveting tension.If you enjoy stories with strong female characters, twisting plots, dark and dynamic art, gritty world-building, and blood, then this is the story for you.

Je recommande vivement cette série où les Lazarus, humanoïdes survitaminés pour combattent pour le compte de (et défendent) quelques familles-états qui dominent une planète terre au bord du précipice.

Principio de este gran mundo de Rucka y Lark. Image reedita los tomos Deluxe!

Sin hablar de la historia esta edición es un muy buen punto de entrada a la colección. Es un tomo económico que reune los primeros números y muy posiblemente te enganche con el mundo construído por Rucka y Lark.

Um mundo dividido entre famílias poderosas e no qual todas as pessoas que não integram o serviço destas "famílias" são consideradas como lixo, como dispensáveis. Em cada família há um membro que recebe tratamento especial - educação, implantes cibernéticos e tecnologia de regeneração. São a espada e o escudo das famílias - conhecidos como Lazarus. A história de Eve (Forever) da família Carlyle começa aqui.

i would give 6 stars, finally a graphic novel which is so much fun to read that i can`t let ( or better to say switch off) down.Interesting story, not too far fetched neither, great characters and the style fit me.bought all four parts , wait for another to be published.