TOMB RAIDER: JOURNEYS #5
"Meltdown"
Recommended (7/10)
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Image Comics/Top Cow Productions
Writer: Fiona Kai Avery
Pencils: Drew Johnson
Inks: Marlo Alquiza
Colors: Jonathan D. Smith & Chad Fidler
Letters: Dreamer Design
Editor: Renae Geerlings
Price: $2.95 US/$4.50 CAN |
Well, I'll be damned.
Tomb Raider video games, Tomb Raider movie, Tomb Raider comics... I dismissed them as simple cheesecake fare that wasn't for me. This comp copy of a TR comic turned up in my mailbox this week, though, so it deserved a look. Turns out I was wrong about the property... or at least this take on it. Avery offers up an inconsequential but ultimately fun story that humanizes the main character.
The Chesterfield Private Academy class of 1992 holds its school reunion, and the academy seems to have yielded quite the array of success stories, including interim Prime Minister Tony Adler and noted adventurer Lara Croft. It turns out that a gift that Lara sent to one of her former teachers some time ago somehow reacts to her presence, and the entire class reunion is carried back in time about a decade or so, where they find an ancient knight wielding a sword... and he's anxious to use it.
It's been a while since I saw Drew Johnson's artwork in action. Obviously, the cheesecake factor's been upped (Lara's is her characterically top-heavy self, even in an evening gown... maybe moreso), but it's not too over the top, even with the schoolgirl uniforms at play in the story. Some of his work here reminded me a bit of Pat (Spider-Girl) Olliffe's soft, sleek artwork. He tells the story clearly and never seems to shift into super-hero mode. The characters look like they're wearing actually clothing, not spandex.
The central plot is thoroughly simple in tone, relaying on far too many coincidences and even some implausibility. But in the end, it's fun. Lara doesn't come off as uber-competent. Most of her efforts against the antagonist prove fruitless, making for an entertaining fight scene. The tone of the story should be of particular interest to young readers, and not just boys with an interest in the title character's... ahem.... assets.
The real strength of this story, though, is that we get to see Lara as a regular person. Sure, she attended an elite private school and hangs with a prime minister, but she comes off as down-to-earth here. Awkward in her teens, and as an adult, happy to catch up with old friends. Avery brings her to a level where the reader can look at her eye-to-eye.
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