Rating: 2/5
This book collects issues #1-9 of the Lazarus series. There are two story arcs, "The Family" in issues #1-4, and "The Lift" in issues #5-9. The story is set on a future earth where the 16 richest families in the world have split up control, replacing the current governments.
"The Family" revolves around the Carlyles who control the western portion of the United States and Canada. It eases the reader into the world by establishing some of the major players and showing what Forever Carlyle, one of the so-called Lazarus, can do. She is protector of the family, but struggles with some of the decisions she has to make to keep it safe. The family is attempting to resolve a feud with one of the neighboring families. The contrast that the creators show between them is pretty interesting.
"The Lift" focuses less on the Carlyles by incorporating a poverty stricken family, the Barrets, who live in Carlyle territory. The story is split between Forever trying to uncover a plot that could weaken the Carlyle family and the Barrets as they struggle to escape poverty. This arc is done well and the creators do a good job of linking these stories.
The world the creators built is fantastic. It is well thought out and almost has a life of its own. I was disappointed that there wasn't a better effort to get the reader more familiar with the world and the jargon used. In the first arc there is reference to population in terms of family, serfs, and waste. There isn't much to distinguish between the three castes though. This is covered better in the second arc, but I would have liked to see it addressed earlier and more clearly.
Outside of Forever Carlyle and the Barret children, there isn't much for character development either. We see other characters on stage and what they are doing at the time. However, the limited view that the creators use puts a little too much distance between them and the reader.
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