4 out of 5

The arc overall is a bit anti-climactic, but Lazarus remains not only one of the most compelling books Rucka has written in quite some time, but also one of the most intensely involving books currently on the racks.  ‘Conclave’ is the next step in events following Jonah’s ‘kidnapping’ by Hock, with Hock’s head and Malcolm Carlyle chess gaming against one another to usurp power, culminating in a conclave – a calling together of the 16 families – to resolve Jonah’s fate and determine any guilt in the matter.  But as this book is called Lazarus, while Rucka and world-builder conspirator Trautmann and Michael Lark (assisted on inks by Tyler Boss), colorist Santi Arcas and letterer Jodi Wynne are busy skillfully building up more elements of and the rhyme and reason of the book’s world, Conclave uses the meet-up to delve more into the Lazari persona, playing that interested camaraderie against Forever Carlyle’s sudden discomfort after receiving a mysterious “this is not your family text” during the last arc…

And this is where we start to get into Rucka gold, as he’s the masterful at juggling these big, political scenarios while shaping a tough guy (or girl, in this case) lead, something that’s worked amazingly well in the Atticus books or Queen and Country novels.  When he’s lacking this anchor (which happened/s in some of his Big Two work, as a consequence of dealing with already established characters) or the story starts to take the brunt of the focus (White Out, way before Greg honed his skills), the plotting can seem a bit forced, but the majority of the time, Greg knows what works for him, and Lazarus is the perfect blend of meaty concepts and a fascinating main character, without either seeming like we’re being purposefully twisty-turned in any one way via withheld information.  As many have commented in the backmatter, the letters pages are also an integral part of the book, something I truly haven’t been able to claim since… I don’t know, some books I’ve read from the 70s.  I get all nose-wriggly at the hipster back-patting in the back of Saga, let’s say, because it feels somewhat empty, but Lazarus is exactly the type of series to beg the ‘conversation’ letters pages people always claim are supposed to be, and Rucka absolutely gives it to us in full.  Lined with Trautmann’s family history extras, the book has just taken on this very weighty, important feeling.  While, as mentioned, this particular arc builds up and up and then somewhat spins out, the Lazari focus (and political machinations leading up to its conclusion) are still expertly scripted, paced, and of incredible interest.

Lark, Arcas and Wynne are on point as usual, although the fourth issue of the series drops backgrounds more often and I’ve found this tends to make Lark’s characters seem statted-in or stiff, even though the figures could be posed the same way in another panel and look more lively.  Boss’ inking assists are also notable, cleaning up Lark’s pages a bit without losing that loose style that balances Mike’s work between comic noir (Steve Epting) and sketchy realism (Sean Phillips).  I continue to be amazed by Arcas’ subtleties.

Greg tends to ebb and flow as he plays the long game with his stories.  Conclave gives us a little bit of both ebb and flow, only losing a star for its inevitable wrap-up which causes things to lose a little bit of steam by putting a somewhat forced ‘tune in next time!’ punctuation on events after a titillating build-up.