Review -- LAZARUS: Immortal Coils

Lazarus: Immortal Coils
Created and Written by Joseph Gauthier
Art by Carlos Rafael Duarte
10 Worlds Studio

The idea of an immortal force for good existing to fight a cabal of evil is certainly not a new storyline in terms of comic books.
It’s not even all that new when you add the feel of ‘religious’ birth for the character, and make the cabal a legion of demons.
So Lazarus: Immortal Coils is not breathtakingly new. Who cares.
This is an excellent comic. Creator Joseph Gauthier has taken some familiar precepts in terms of a story, but kept it fresh enough to hold interest through the first four issues at least.
One of the ways Gauthier manages to keep the story working is by using a rather minamalistic writing style. There is, for example, a 12-page section in Issue #1 has barely a written word on them, and only two have any actual character dialogue at all.
I will admit I’d prefer a bit more ‘story’, but I get the feeling these early issues are setting the title’s mood through the art, with the expectation Gauthier will write with greater depth moving forward.
So while Gauthier keeps it simple, writing only when it helps propel the story forward, often doling out the dialogue as if the words are gems, it does put a lot of the onus for liking the books on the artist.
Fortunately Carlos Rafael Duarte carries the pressure of making Lazarus easily with his excellent pencil work. This guy knows how to draw action scenes, and there are a ton of action scenes in this story.
Duarte can capture facial emotion too.
This book is heavily art reliant, and Duarte’s style is hot. A definite comic art talent to watch.
Gauthier said he connected with Duarte through a third party.
“Carlos was hired through Glass House Graphics run by David Campti who helped me put the art team together,” he said. “I went through a lot of artists, but Carlos’ attention to detail was what singled him out. It's hard to ask what his influences are because the relationship for something like this is different from what you expect or read in interviews. I don't want to give the impression there's no personal investment from an agency artist, there has to be, but a lot of weight is put on the client to know what he wants and brings it to the table. You have to know what you want and it has to be in the script. You can’t assume the artist will know a movie, or has read the same book, especially if the artist is overseas. The client, in this case the writer, becomes the Art Director. Even if you don't know much, you have to know what looks right for the book and guide the artist where he needs to go. Because I approached L:IC like a film, I went about it in a similar fashion,
going to different artists to design the elements that made a package I then gave to Carlos who drew from that. Not everything was in there; some things had to be done on the fly.
“Carlos and I didn't have much conversation about style, because I was already happy with what I saw him do. In fact, his style at the time was so classical it got him the job. I knew I wanted flashback scenes and modern scenes to be drawn differently. The flashbacks had to be more classical, and the present more stylized. There were many historical references, like Jesus' hair. Normally done long, I read a Time magazine article that disputed the men of that time would wear long hair, so I gave Jesus short hair. The coloring style was taken from the Kazuaki Kiriya's Japanese live action film adaptation of Casshern.”
As for Lazarus the character, Gauthier said he is one he had in his head for ages before finally being able to bring him to the page.
“A long time; I'd always had the character in mind going as far back as high school, and how he's presented in L:IC was always there, but he was much lighter in color,” he said, adding a laugh. “I started developing Immortal Coils in 2004 with Alex Lugo who was attached as the artist. After the pages, colors, and lettering were done it was 2007. Add another year to get the publishing deal. Then, tack on another year before getting the courage to publish myself, and you’re looking at five years.”
While having nearly a half decade to fine tune Lazarus, Gauthier said he really doesn’t look much different from his original ideas.
“Surprisingly, he hasn't changed all that much since when I first conceived this notion of Jesus resurrecting Lazarus as a more human reaction, that Lazarus can't die, and what it feels like to live forever as this ‘unplanned occurrence’,” he said. “Visually, I always see him as a modern rogue in boots, openly brandishing knives, guns, and riding a motorcycle. His character was always in place and was essential to attracting people to him emotionally. There was never anything overtly courageous about him. In many ways he was suicidal. The world he inhabits changed more than he did as I discussed
telling a straight action adventure story, supernatural horror, or both.
“Characters like the Speaker and the Wandering Jew (Ahasverus/Verus) were later added as flip sides to Lazarus.
“Having Lazarus fight shape shifting demons came from my not wanting to limit the stories in any way. I want the freedom to take Lazarus wherever I can and have him go up against whatever I want.”
Gauthier said the book is one he was proud of as it came off the press, but looking back he sees things he would do differently.
“I am very proud of the work I did on L:IC. It remains a crowning achievement, and the compliments keep coming in,” he said. “Problem is ideas depreciate just like cars and computers. The minute you drive a new car off the lot or buy a computer the next model is already in the works.
“An artist is constantly growing and when Lazarus was in production I saw things I could do better, new angles and perspectives to try, and character dynamics to explore, but it was too late. There's only so much room you have with an artist to make changes once they have the script. I remember in issues one and two there were pages I wanted redone, one being a double page spread.
“Carlos made the changes, but wasn't happy about it. Not after going through the proofing process, drawing, inking, getting the ok, then having to go back and do it again, even if I did pay for the extra pages. He was absolutely right for feeling that way.
“The point is the ideas never stop. The story I would do now is not the same as what I did in 2004, but once it’s out of your hands, you have to accept it's done. Everything you would do differently goes into the next story. L:IC is one of the best looking independently produced books out there, but at the end of a four year process, when the book is in my hand, I know I can do better.
“I’m very happy with the acceptance we’ve received. The people who’ve seen and read the book love it. We had a person who was at our signing in 2008 when issue one was published through Markosia, who came back for the trade this year so he can read the whole story. That really blew me away. I hugged the guy so hard I think I upset his personal space.
“Artists are cynical about their work. It's not often a writer or artist will look at something they've done and say they're proud of how it came out, and when they do it's meaningful. I'm very proud of L:IC. It continues to confirm I'm a writer and that I'm good at what I do.”
Gauthier will have an opportunity to put the things he has learned doing the first story arc of Lazarus as he continues to build on the character’s story.
“The next title speaks for itself - ‘Suicidal Tendencies’. Lazarus is on a journey that will force him to face things he’s avoided for centuries and take him to darker places,” he said. “He’s a walking dead man in a hell of his own making who needs a spiritual resurrection. The next story has him connecting with someone, a woman, for the first time since the death of his friend and family in 33AD. Lazarus is like anyone who has gone through trauma - you get bit by a dog, you're afraid of them. Lazarus feels betrayed by us and distances himself. Right now, he's fighting for himself out of revenge. He can’t fight for us because he doesn’t even like us. The next story is the first turn of the page, the first step in his transformation into a warrior and our hero.”
Make sure you check out Lazarus at www.10worldsstudio.com. You can also go directly to Indy Planet at www.indyplanet.com and search under Lazarus.

-- CALVIN DANIELS

-- Appeared on Yorkton This Week WebXtra