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  1. #76
    Fantastic Member banky's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Disraeli Gears View Post
    Question for everyone: what's the best way to read Lazarus -- singles, trades, or deluxe HCs?

    I'm a bit behind on my Lazarus reading, having only read the first trade, but am anxious to continue, though I haven't decided which way yet. It's to my understanding that backmatter that appears in the singles -- lettercolumns, maybe essays, anything else? -- isn't reprinted in the trades, but this material IS in the deluxe HC (except for the lettercolumns, right), plus other stuff? How much does this material contribute to the reader's understanding/appreciation/immersion in the story? If I continue reading in trades and miss out on all of this paratextual material, am I all right? Thanks for any help!
    The main benefit from the backmatter is understanding the context of the other families and their political relations with the Carlyles. It's definitely possible to read Lazarus in trades and still get all of the fundamental plot points but the backmatter in the single issues definitely enriches your understanding of the world Rucka & co have created. If you also read the HC vol. 1 supplements you get even more info which gives you hints at possible conflicts down the road.

    I don't agree with whomever called the art or world of Lazarus "dull." The artwork is deliberately gritty, grimy and appropriate for a dystopian setting such as this. I'd be interested to hear how the critics reacted to Lark's DD run or his collaboration with Rucka on Gotham Central. The art is definitely in line with those books and works well for Lazarus. If you prefer bright, cheery retro super-hero art and stories , this book is definitely not for you.

  2. #77
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    Thanks for the responses! I flipped through a recent issue at the store today and it looks like Rucka writes essays about contemporary real-world issues (that I assume inform the story) -- is this stuff included in the deluxe HC? Or is all of the paratextual material in the HC 'world-building' supplementary stuff (which is cool, but Rucka is smart and I might like to hear his engagement with real-world issues)?

  3. #78
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    Quote Originally Posted by Disraeli Gears View Post
    Question for everyone: what's the best way to read Lazarus -- singles, trades, or deluxe HCs?
    Buy the single issues - the in-world adverts on the back covers are worth it alone.

  4. #79
    Wily Veteran cc008's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by VJ. View Post
    Buy the single issues - the in-world adverts on the back covers are worth it alone.
    Co-signed.

  5. #80
    (Formerly ilash) Ilan Preskovsky's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by cc008 View Post
    Co-signed.
    co-co-signed.

    Actually, it's interesting: Image books do normally read better when taken in large chunks but many of them have such great back matter that I generally recommend reading them in singles. Plus, unlike certain other companies, there are usually no ads in Image's single issues and the production is of a largely high quality too.
    Check out my blog, Because Everyone Else Has One, for my regularly updated movie reviews.

  6. #81
    Fantastic Member banky's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Disraeli Gears View Post
    Thanks for the responses! I flipped through a recent issue at the store today and it looks like Rucka writes essays about contemporary real-world issues (that I assume inform the story) -- is this stuff included in the deluxe HC? Or is all of the paratextual material in the HC 'world-building' supplementary stuff (which is cool, but Rucka is smart and I might like to hear his engagement with real-world issues)?
    The Rucka backmatter editorial/essays are not included in the Deluxe HC. Most of the topics are time-specific (e.g. the Ebola media paranoia of last fall) so it wouldn't fit well with the HC. By contrast the supplement essays in Brubaker's books (Criminal, Fatale) are often relevant to the genre and a few were included in the HCs.

    I guess the only solution if you are truly hardcore is to buy the floppies and the HC's if you can afford it. That said I know many people who read trades only who love Lazarus.

  7. #82
    Amazing Member Ballistic's Avatar
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    I just want to chime in and say that I'm about halfway through the hardcover and I'm in love with it so far. Its amazing.

  8. #83
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    Well it's nice to see that this book has it's own fan forum/thread. I picked up the book last winter and liked it very much. I really enjoy speculative fiction and found that this story is really about what could happen in the future. The last issue was okay, but I honestly hope that Forever doesn't turn into a John Preston like character from the film Equilibrium.

    Quote Originally Posted by El Sombrero View Post
    I bought the first couple arcs of this series on Comixology (#2-10) after having read only the first issue a while back. I made it through the first arc but by the second my interest and enthusiasm started to wane, and at the end of #7 I basically stopped reading and decided I wanted to be done with it.

    My problem here, which IMO is a big problem with dystopias in general, is that unless the storytelling is staggeringly good (ex: 1984, A Clockwork Orange, etc), the whole thing is so dreary and depressing that it makes you as a reader feel worn out and discouraged. Maybe things turn around, but at least by the end of #7, there is pretty much nothing hopeful or positive or encouraging about this world.

    That would maybe be more tolerable if I found the setting or characters more interesting. Rucka and Lark did a phenomenal job world-building, and the attention to detail both in the narrative and visual design is the saving grace of this series, but it still remains a drab world with a bunch of a-holes. Most of the people in the Carlyle family are dull and/or horrible people...the only one that I kind of like is Jonah because at least he is more desperate, cunning, and emotive. I get Forever's struggle with her morals and her identity crisis, but at the core I find her kind of dull and more of a blank slate than anything else. Similar comments / complaints with Lark's work. The attention to detail is superb and it completely meets the mark in terms of tone, but it's still drab and cold artwork nonetheless. There is very little variety in how things are drawn, which helps maintain consistency and verisimilitude but bores the reader over time.

    Basically in conclusion I think this book is extremely good at what it does, but I find what it does to be dull.
    This is not a happy story, neither was it meant to be. It's very Darwinian in outlook and is meant to show the colapse of a society brought down my greed and lack of responsiblity. I can understand if it's not your thing. But frankly I have never understood someone who wants to read stories that are just about sunshine and roses. That's not the way that life works and sounds rather simplistic to me. To me a good story should provoke you to think. And Pollyanish tales of everything being nice just seems over the top and unrealistic.

    I disagree with the poster who thinks that this story is what the right would like to achieve. I basically think that this is a good example of human nature at it's worst. And that transends left of right (just look at North Korea or the former Soviet Union).

    My main problem with this story is where is the middle class. I can understand the Families controlling the world, but it would need to generate income.
    From the letters columns I am guessing that not all the 'waste' is as opressed and mistreated like what is going on with Hock. In an interview Rucka mentioned that the families would have to give some good treatment to the Waste otherwise they would have no problem whatsoever in 'storming Versailles.' At the most they would want the people to have jobs so that they could get some sense of self worth from it. I get the impression from the story that there has been an economic colapse and environmental degradation which resulted in the population being reduced. But I still can't believe that most of the world population exists on a subsistance living.

  9. #84
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    We have only seen some wasteland, a rundown city, a few bases and Eve's family estate (with garden). That is actually not very much and I could think of more than a few places in the world that are at least as desolate as what we have seen here so far and if that is all that one sees, one is easily inclined to believe it is the entire world. I am ready to believe that the world's population as significantly shrunk once the logistics of our economy broke away, but even that has its limits, though it likely regrew much slower thanks to the lack of everything.
    I like to think that the Families only control some parts of their claimed territory and that most people simply live of the land much in the style of the people 200-300 hundred years ago. (In the former USA at least given most of its land is mostly uninhabited and undeveloped. Agriculturally it could easily support twice its modern day population and if they eat less meat, definitely) It is "just" that the Families keep most advanced technology out of the general population's reach to better control them. And I do not mean guns, I mean electronics, motorized locomotion and chemistry including medicine. Anything that might help them mount something more organized than a handful of resistance cells.
    Honestly, it is only a question of time until new countries form and ultimately bury the Families' power under their shear manpower by slowly isolating them from their sources of food, fuel and construction material and that is why the Families' main concern is crushing any resistance in the population, because the logistics and manpower needed to actually manage that much people and space would require to take so many "undesirable" people into their system that it would defeat the purpose to creating said system. I know a little bit how people think, they have rebelled for less than this.
    Last edited by Platinius; 02-14-2015 at 08:54 AM.
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    Did anybody ever tell you that your writing style really matches your location?

  10. #85
    Wily Veteran cc008's Avatar
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    There will be a revolution. THAT is the arc(s) that I'm waiting for.
    Last edited by cc008; 02-14-2015 at 10:40 AM.

  11. #86

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    Some good news regarding sales:

    We had two very welcome, very nice pieces of news re: Lazarus yesterday.

    First, that the **LAZARUS: THE FIRST COLLECTION hardcover is going back to press for a second printing. This makes us very happy.

    Second, that the pre-orders on the LAZARUS VOL. 3 TPB, collecting “Conclave,” was up nine percent from pre-orders on the previous TPB. This makes us very happy.

    Thank you for reading, and thank you for ordering, and thank you so much for supporting our work.

  12. #87

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    I just finished reading issue #15; it was awesome. I love Lark's art. I feel like he took pleasure drawing only action scenes for 14 straight pages.
    The ending is going to shock you, though.
    spoilers:
    Malcolm Carlyle has been poisoned and the world is at war (at least House Carlyle & allies VS House Hock & allies). I always knew war was inevitable but I didn't know when it would happen. Boy!! I can't wait to see how the conflict will play out. I'm sure will see all the Lazari in action.
    It's going to be great!
    end of spoilers
    Last edited by Typhoeus; 02-17-2015 at 05:32 PM.
    "If I wanted smooth,I'd be with Hal Jordan."

  13. #88
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    Just read the issue too. I didn't see the Malcolm thing coming but it's definitely gonna create a power vacuum in the Carlyle family. Also glad Sonja made it out alive.

  14. #89

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    Another awesome chapter. The action was laid out fantastically. It was nice seeing the issue devoid of dialogue for the majority of the pages. Lark is able to tell an amazing story with the expressions on all the faces.
    The Worlds Greatest Comic Magazine Review - Vol 1 (Issues 1-50) and Vol 2 (Issues 51-102)

  15. #90
    Astonishing Member harashkupo's Avatar
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    It was so good to see Sonia make it out alive. That fight scene
    That was a cheap move at the end but if it works then the Carlyle family is screwed. But if he somehow pulls through there's going to be hell to pay. I feel like Hock put a wedge between him and Bittner that could lead to some major problems down the line.
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