Lazarus is an American dystopian science fiction comic book series created by writer Greg Rucka and artist Michael Lark. The two began developing the idea in 2012 and partnered with colorist Santi Arcas to finish the art. Image Comics has been publishing the book since the first issue was released on June 23, 2013. Other creators were brought in later to assist with lettering and inking. A six-issue spin-off limited series, Lazarus: X+66, was released monthly in 2017 between issues 26 and 27 of the regular series. Rucka initially said the series could run for up to 150 issues, but later reduced the estimate by half. Lazarus is being collected into paperback and hardcover editions, which sell better than the monthly issues.
In the series, the world has been divided among sixteen rival families, who run their territories in a feudal system. The main character is Forever Carlyle, the military leader of the Carlyle family. The major themes of Lazarus are the meaning of "family" and nature versus nurture. Critics have given it mostly positive reviews and have praised its worldbuilding. It has received particular attention for its political themes.
In other media, Green Ronin Publishing used the Lazarus plot as a campaign setting for their Modern AGE role-playing game in 2018, and a television adaptation is in development with Legendary Television and Amazon Studios.
Publication history
Early development American writer Greg Rucka and artist Michael Lark had previously collaborated on the comic series Gotham Central for DC Comics between 2002 and 2004 and various small projects for Marvel Comics in the years following.Harper, David (May 8, 2013), "Rucka and Lark Talk the Beautiful, Dark, Twisted Future of “Lazarus” – Interview ," Multiversity Comics. Retrieved August 28, 2016 Lark wanted to work with Rucka on a creator-owned comic because he felt he was at his best drawing the kind of stories Rucka writes.
In June 2012, Rucka was in Dallas as part of a book-signing tour. He had dinner with Lark, who lived nearby, and shared an idea for a scene involving a woman who had been shot rising from the dead and pursuing her attackers. Lark liked the story and committed to drawing the comic as soon as a full script was ready. Although Rucka had previously published his creator-owned material through Oni Press, his friend Ed Brubaker had been pushing him to work with Image Comics. When they contacted Image's Eric Stephenson and pitched the project as "The Godfather meets Children of Men", he immediately expressed interest. The project, titled Lazarus, was officially announced at San Diego Comic-Con on July 14, 2012.Rucka, Greg (July 14, 2012), "Lazarus Rising ," GregRucka.com. Retrieved August 26, 2016Johnston, Rich (July 14, 2012), "Image Comics Announces Greg Rucka And Michael Lark’s Lazarus ," Bleeding Cool. Retrieved September 3, 2016 The announcement was accompanied by promotional artwork colored by American Elizabeth Breitweiser and featured a prototype logo design and typeface.
Image Comics provided David Brothers to serve as the series' editor. Eric Trautmann, who had previously edited two of Rucka's novels, was recruited to help with research, timelines, and design work. Lark wanted to work with a European colorist to provide a look distinct from traditional American comics. Rucka suggested Santi Arcas, a Spanish colorist he had worked with in the past, and Lark particularly liked Arcas' skies and textures.Arrant, Chris (February 3, 2014), "Artist Michael Lark Brings Rucka's LAZARUS to Life at Image ," Newsarama. Retrieved September 3, 2016
Rucka and Lark developed the setting for Lazarus by looking at the Occupy movement and the underlying economics, then asking themselves "What happens if it goes horribly wrong?" They decided how the story would end before work began on the first issue. They initially gave their lead character the name Endeavor, but Rucka changed the name to Forever to avoid a conflict with a different comic being developed at the same time about a young Inspector Morse. Lark based her body type on the soccer player Hope Solo.
Production
Lark was disappointed by the first script as he felt none of the characters were likable, and the scene described to him over dinner was not included. In response, Rucka wrote a new draft restoring the missing opening scene. Lark began drawing the first issue in January 2013, basing the opening scene on the reconstruction sequence in 1997 film The Fifth Element.Burlingame, Russ (July 28, 2013), "Lazarus Creators Greg Rucka and Michael Lark Discuss Their Sold-Out First Issue ," ComicBook.com. Retrieved September 8, 2016
When writing a new script, Rucka tries to follow the world-building model used by William Gibson in his 1984 novel Neuromancer and provide information about the environment through context instead of exposition. His biggest struggle is delivering details while maintaining a proper narrative pace. He sometimes self-censors "exceptionally dark" material because he does not want to make Lark draw it. After Lark receives a new script, the collaboration between them is "immediate and constant". Lark questions Rucka about characterization and the direction of the story, leading Rucka to rewrite scripts resulting in what he believes is a better final product. Lark refuses to read scripts in advance so he will stay focused on what is in front of him, not what he will be drawing next.Walker, David and McKenzie, Robert (2013) "Interview: Greg Rucka Talks Lazarus And More (Part 2) ," NerdSpan. Retrieved November 14, 2017 Rucka says Lark intuitively knows what is happening in the story even when it isn't clearly scripted.
Rucka and Lark have an ongoing conversation about how to show the injustice in the way Forever is treated without being complicit in it themselves. For example, medics must remove Forever's clothes to treat her wounds. Lark wanted to avoid sexualizing the images, but also avoid being "coy" by simply blocking parts of her body with another character's arm. The script gives Lark no direction for aspects like architecture, clothing, or vehicle design. Designing these technical details involves research into prototype technology and takes almost as long as drawing the actual pages for the comics. The time required to create the sets is the primary reason Lark sometimes falls behind schedule.
Lark works on Lazarus ten or more hours per day. He uses photo references and digital tools in the early stages of his art, but the layouts and drawing are done with traditional tools. He is more involved with the coloring on Lazarus than any other comic he has illustrated. The logo design was finalized by Trautmann and Lark.Lazarus vol 1. (w)Rucka, Greg (a)Lark, Michael (p)Image Comics Lark initially did all the lettering and inking for Lazarus, but doing so made it impossible to release new issues on a regular schedule.Harper, David (October 21, 2013), "The Thrills and the Waste of the World of "Lazarus" with Greg Rucka and Michael Lark – Interview ," Multiversity Comics. Retrieved September 3, 2016 To give him more time to focus on drawing, some of the smaller tasks like logo and type design were given to other people.Harper, David (August 5, 2013), "Artist August: Michael Lark – Interview ," Multiversity Comics. Retrieved September 3, 2016 Brian Level assisted with inking on issues three through ten, when he was replaced by Tyler Boss.Lazarus #3 (August 2013), (w)Rucka, Greg (a)Lark, Michael (p)Image Comics Beginning with issue ten, Jodi Wynne took over the lettering duties and Owen Freeman started creating the cover art."Lazarus: Going From 0 to X +65 Interview ," Image Comics. Retrieved September 3, 2016Lazarus #11 (August 2014), (w)Rucka, Greg (a)Lark, Michael (p)Image Comics Fake advertisements found on the back covers and many of the computer screens and holographic images in the artwork are created by Trautmann. Lark and Rucka often discuss whether to use sound effects in scenes or limit their use. Lark does not want to rely on them to convey information because they may become a "crutch" in place of including important details in the art.Walker, David and McKenzie, Robert (2014), "Michael Lark Lazarus #7 Interview, Part 2 ," NerdSpan. Retrieved September 3, 2016
Issue 15 features a silent, thirteen-page fight between two characters.Lazarus #15 (February 2015), (w)Rucka, Greg (a)Lark, Michael (p)Image Comics Rucka, who used to be a choreographer, filmed himself acting out the battle with a friend. Lark used the film for reference as he drew.
Following the 2016 United States presidential election, the creators' vision for the comic shifted. Rucka, who had used the letter columns in the series to discuss his concerns about then-candidate Donald Trump, told Oregon Public Broadcasting that after the election results Lazarus had changed from a dystopian science fiction story to a documentary. During a discussion panel at the 2017 Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo, Rucka described Lazarus as being "about the blood red rage that leads to a Trump administration" before joking that he had "tried to warn you three years ago!"(April 24, 2017), "Rucka, Young, Bellaire & More Reveal Their Storytelling Process ," Comic Book Resources. Retrieved June 22, 2017 Although the overall plan for Lazarus did not change, Rucka said he had a growing interest in writing about a brighter future instead.
Publication
Brubaker advised Rucka to create a four-page "trailer" to promote the book, a strategy Brubaker had used with The Fade Out. Rucka was not initially interested, but Lark liked the idea. The trailer debuted at the 2013 Emerald City Comic Con before appearing online and in Previews, the catalog for Diamond Distribution. The scene was not reproduced in any issue of the series.Hughes, Joseph (March 4, 2013), "First Look: Image Comics Release Four Page Story From The World Of Rucka And Lark’s ‘Lazarus’ ," ComicsAlliance. Retrieved September 3, 2016
Most comics sold to specialty stores in the direct market are non-returnable. To reduce the financial risk for retailers who were uncertain about its sales potential, unsold copies from qualifying orders of the first three issues of Lazarus could be returned to the publisher.Johnston, Rich (June 25, 2013), "Speculator Corner – Lazarus To Moombas (Uncanny Update) ," Bleeding Cool. Retrieved September 3, 2016Johnston, Rich (July 30, 2013), "Lazarus #2 Sells Out Of 35,000 Print Run ," Bleeding Cool. Retrieved September 8, 2016 The first issue went on sale on June 26, 2013 and sold out of its approximately 48,000 copy print run at the distributor level.Miller, John Jackson, "Comichron: June 2013 Comic Book Sales to Comics Shops ," Comichron. Retrieved May 29, 2018(June 27, 2013), "Lazarus #1 Sells Out, Going To Second Printing ," ComicBook.com. Retrieved May 29, 2018 A second printing was announced to coincide with the release of issue two. After a second sellout, it was added to the "Image Firsts" program, a line of discounted first-issue reprints continuously available for retailers to order.Press Release, (April 4, 2014), "What can you get for a dollar? New Image Firsts ," Image Comics. Retrieved September 15, 2016 By the end of 2013, the first issue had sold an estimated 50,200 copies.Miller, John Jackson, "2013 Comic Book Sales Figures ," Comichron. Retrieved September 10, 2016 The second issue, which also went through multiple printings, sold an estimated 30,600 copies. Over the next two years, sales fell steadily to about 14,500 copies.Carter, Dave (September 4, 2015), "Image Comics Month-to Month Sales: July 2015 – The Walking On Guard Saga ," Comics Beat. Retrieved September 8, 2016