Underrated: Lake Of Fire
This is a column that focuses on something or some things from the comic book sphere of influence that may not get the credit and recognition it deserves. Whether that’s a list of comic book movies, ongoing comics, or a set of stories featuring a certain character. The columns may take the form of a bullet pointed list, or a slightly longer thinkpiece – there’s really no formula for this other than whether the things being covered are Underrated in some way. This week: Lake Of Fire
It is 1220 AD, and the gears of the Albigensian Crusade grind on. When an alien spacecraft infested with a horde of bloodthirsty predators crash-lands in the remote wilderness of the French Pyrenees, a small band of crusaders and a Cathar heretic are all that stand between God’s Kingdom and Hell on Earth.
When the owner of my LCS not so subtly recommended this to me by putting it in my pull box, I figured that she’s never steered me wrong yet, so why not give it a go? A few hours ago I opened the cover to the five issue collection, unsure of what I’d be getting beyond the notion that it was essentially aliens verses knights, and I didn’t stop reading until the story was done.
I devoured the entire tpb in one sitting and immediately wondered why I hadn’t read about this somewhere before. Why had nobody told me about this before the owner of my LCS told me to read it?
Published by Image, Lake Of Fire was written, coloured and lettered by Nathan Fairbairn with art by Matt Smith (no, not the guy who played Doctor Who), the comic does have a fairly straight forward knights verses aliens feel to it – not that that is a bad thing as it allows the characters, action and art to really pop.
Yes, there are the fairly standard typical characters within the story, but while Fairbairn does tread familiar ground with the characters, the major players all feel as though they have a weight about them. You have the grizzled old warrior, the naive young knights and the dark priest all present and accounted for, and yes they are popular fantasy archetypes, but they’re well written archetypes which goes a long way in my book. I’d rather a well written archetype than a shallow character for the sake of originality.
That being said, rather than having the characters face off against a supernatural threat Fairbairn instead pits them against a horde of alien predators. I’ve always been partial to seeing how our ancestors would fair against an extraterrestrial threat, and the collected edition of Lake Of Fire scratches that itch remarkably well.
Matt Smith‘s art couldn’t be better suited to the past-meets-future story; the action sequences are easy to follow and once the comic reaches the midpoint the atmospheric art really amps up the threatening feel of the story itself in a case where Fairbairn’s colouring melds so well with Smith’s line art that it’s hard to believe that two people were involved in creating the visuals for the story.
It may seem as if I’m being a little harsh on the story for being relatively straight forward, and that’s not my intent. Lake Of Fire is a fairly easy tale to follow from start to finish, but there are a more layers to the characters than you’d initially expect from the story – such as the relationships between some of the characters – and there’s an underlying theme about acceptance and tolerance in a time when neither of these were encouraged or widely practiced.
As far as recommendations from my LCS go, this is one of the more surprising ones; I didn’t expect much more out of this story than to be able to just pop my feet up with a cup of tea and just relax with a half the story before moving on to something else. Instead I ended up finishing the entire trade in one go and immediately start writing this column. Lake Of Fire is a really enjoyable story that surpasses a lot of the comics currently on the racks – and it’s also entirely self contained.
There are a lot of reasons why I wanted to spotlight the comic this week, but chief among them is that I haven’t heard anything about it anywhere – and that’s why it’s Underrated.
That’s all for this week folks. Join us next week when we talk about something else that falls under the Underrated banner in the comic book world.
Batman: The Merciless #1 (DC)– What if Batman fought his war on crime as the literal God of War? After Diana is killed in a battle with Ares, Batman picks up his helm and becomes the Merciless. Thanks to Francis Manapul on art and colors, Batman: The Merciless #1 is one of the most visual stunning Metal tie-ins with a plethora of double page spreads and panels that grip the emotions and senses like Batman cradling Diana in his arms, or little evil Robins eating their Court of the Owls counterparts. Sadly, writer Peter Tomasi skimps on the complex relationship between Diana and Bruce, but mostly redeems this gap with a fun bit of Dr. Strangelove influenced satire as the various paramilitary organizations in the DC Universe scramble to fight the Dark Knights. Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Buy
Glitterbomb: The Fame Game #2 (Image)** – Another dreary and non-dramatic installment in what has to rank as the most disappointing return of 2017. I absolutely loved the first run of “Glitterbomb,” but writer Jim Zub and artist Djibril Morissette-Pham seem to be having a tough time shaking off the rust of their long hiatus. Our protagonist basically just does the exact same thing in this issue as she did in the last, and the horror of offer seems both tepid and shoehorned-in. Oh, how a once-mighty title has fallen. Overall: 3 Recommendation: Pass
I picked up the first volume of Descender the other day because of a recommendation from the owner, and seeing as how she’s never really steered me wrong before and that it was written by Jeff Lemire I figured I’d give it a try. So what’s the series about?
Christopher
for Riri, Amanda, and MJ, they have a company takeover to worry about, oh and that whole what happened to Tony business. There’s a pretty good cliffhanger at the end that sets things up nicely. Overall: 7 Recommendation: Read
body language, and King has a killer sense of self-awareness about Batman’s relationship to his “family”. Batman #33 is worth a read to see Jason, Dick, Duke, and Damian’s reaction to Bruce’s engagement alone. Overall: 8.8 Recommendation: Buy
Recommendation: Read — or, more specifically, look at it. 
Bitch Planet Triple Feature #4 (Image)** – This is how you do a spinoff series. First: “Life of a Sportsman” by Marc Deschamps and Mindy Lee goes into the toxic patriarchy of Megaton, with a story (and commentators) that are depressingly familiar to any pro sports fan (I’m thinking especially of Hockey Night in Canada’s Ron & Don). Sara Woolley hits us with “Bodymods,” which takes an extreme situation and renders it even more gross via the banality of the dialogue, Finally, Vita Ayala & Rossi Gifford present “To Be Free…” where a master thief breaks into the Archive of Corruptive Materials. Good stuff all around. Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy
Black Panther #18 (Marvel)** – I think it’s time I just admitted it to myself : this thing isn’t going to get any better. My respect for Ta-Nehisi Coates has kept me reading this book long after most folks have apparently left the building (sales started huge, followed by a standard attrition period, but lately they’ve been absolutely nose-diving), but as flawed as “A Nation Under Our Feet” was, at least there were some interesting, if overwrought, ideas at its core —the second major storyline, though, “Avengers Of The New World,” is just completely uninspired drivel. Coates seems to have made the quantum leap from struggling to find his footing in a new medium to bored veteran going through the motions without ever passing through the “solid pro storyteller” phase, and the once-reliable Chris Sprouse is turning out the worst work of his career on pencils here, as well (with Karl Story’s lackluster inks not helping matters), while back-half-of-the-book artist Wilfredo Torres’ stuff is just straight-up embarrassing. In theory, an issue that functions as a lead-in to the long-awaited resuming of hostilities between T’Challa and Klaw should at least be interesting, but in practice this issue is just a frigging drag. It took a year and a half for me to finally get it through my thick skull that this series isn’t ever going improve, but finally got the message. I’m out. Overall: 1 Recommendation: Pass
execution of editorial dictates, but that’s about it. Overall: 3.5 Recommendation: Pass
Logan
Violent Love #8 (Image)** – Frank J. Barbiere and Victor Santos continue to quietly toil away on the best book almost nobody reads, and ya know what? It’s their loss for passing on it. Our two protagonists finally “hook up” in this issue, and it’s well worth the wait as Santos proves that the only thing he’s better at drawing than noir-esque violence is — noir-esque love, hence the title. Some double-dealings are brought to light, as well, all delivered with a heavy (and awesome) sheen of ’70s grindhouse low-fi panache. The backup strip by Ryan Ferrier and Jamie Jones also continues to impress. Overall: 8.5. Recommendation: Buy
Unholy Grail #3 (Aftershock)** – If you’re a sucker for Arthurian lore, as I admit I am, this series pretty much has it all — but man, if you’re unfamiliar with the “source material” (a term I will always hate), I can only imagine how confusing this all would be at this point, because Cullen Bunn’s script pre-supposes fairly solid knowledge of the subject and the heavily-compressed timeline more re-interprets events than it does actually explore them. The whole Guinevere/Lancelot tryst takes center stage this time out, with an intriguing new origin for Morgana LeFay rising from it, and Mirko Colak’s art? Hey, it’s just plain gorgeous. DC needs to put these two on their next re-launch of “The Demon” fast. Overall: 7.5 Recommendation: Buy
Defenders #5 (Marvel) We catch up with our heroes shortly after they battle and capture Diamondback, which leaves Danny Rand hurt. On the way to jail,he is locked up with the Punisher,where a short skirmish takes place in the paddy wagon, where he escapes.The gang splits up scouring the city to find him. The reader finally sees he lands at Black Cat’s lair,where he unloads a striking betrayal. Overall: 9.4 Recommendation: Buy
Old Man Logan #28 (Marvel)** The last Marvel comic on my pull list these days, and were it not for a very sentimental attachment to Wolverine I’d have likely dropped it awhile back for no other reason than I’ve largely stopped reading Marvel. That said, I’m still really enjoying this series, and seeing Old Man Logan back with Hawkeye again as they confront the Hulk Gang is a nostalgic throwback for the reader (and possibly Logan). Ultimately, a really solid book – and one I don’t regret picking up in the least. Overall: 7.5 Recommendation: Read
fence” about this book for some time despite Crook’s utterly gorgeous art, but as of now, I’m “all in” again, no question. Overall: 8 Recommendation: Buy
Kevin wants most and what he’s prepared to do to get it, so the story is passive and reactive. There are just enough interesting hooks to keep me going, though: I love Mags’ magic crockpot, for instance, and Kevin’s relationship with his son is complex and real. Overall: 7.5 Recommendation: Read
they’re Underrated.
Sex Criminals #20 (Image)
Divinity #0 (Valiant)
Batman #30 (DC)** – It seems we’re getting as many “interludes” with “The War Of Jokes And Riddles” as we are actual chapters, but I probably shouldn’t complain too much since these Kite-Man stories are a lot better than the confused and disjointed main narrative which just can’t seem to gel. Tom King seems to have a real handle for this character, and Clay and Seth Mann’s art is sharp and striking. As a stand-alone, then, this is plenty good, but as part of the larger narrative, it just adds one more ingredient (albeit a better one) to a murky stew of storytelling. Overall: 6.5 Recommendation: Read
Giant Days #30 (BOOM! Studios)– The latest Giant Days is a delightful bit of relationship drama stew from writer John Allison with the usual hilarious reaction shots by artists Max Sarin and Liz Fleming. Daisy’s German girlfriend Ingrid is becoming a little too much for her friends Susan and Esther, whose respective affair with her ex-boyfriend McGraw and friendship with his current girlfriend Emilia all come to a head in one of the more serialized issues of the series. And it works thanks to years of character developments, and laugh out loud visual comedy like the goth Esther transforming into witch phase, shower curtain wearing Stevie Nicks as she tries to keep all the drama straight. Overall: 8.6 Recommendation: Buy
understatement of the issue. Greg Rucka and Nicola Scott continue their fascinating occult police procedural. What I dig about this series is how totally grounded and un-pulp-y it is (unlike, say, Weird Detective). Its magic has nothing to do with mysticism: it’s methodical and precise and not for nothing is the word “work” used to describe it. I trust this team that, in the image of this issue, the slow burn of the series will get explosive soon. Overall: 8 Recommendation: Buy
weak) Recommendation: Buy
Secret Empire #10 (Marvel) – So Nick Spencer and his bosses at Marvel editorial decided we needed one more issue of this nonsense than the originally-solicited nine, I guess, and aside from the fact that the army of artists (specifically Steve McNiven, Rod Reis, David Marquez, Paco Medina, and Ron Lim) at least turn in competent work for the most part, the best you can say for this thoroughly uninspired, predictably-resolved mess is — hey, at least it’s over with. Overall: 2 Recommendation: Pass. I purchased my copy, dumb-ass that I am.
Black Panther #17 (Marvel)– Wakanda has been in disarray for some time and T’Challa’s problems keep piling up. We find out the gods of Wakanda have gone missing, and the portals they have protected has been left unguarded, allowing rogues from T’Challa’s past to come through as well as other supernatural creatures.Lucky for him and Wakanda, Storm has come back into his life as his companion but also as queen and goddess for a people looking for a deity to believe. By books end, a fight with spider like creatures has affirmed T’Challa’s and Ororo’s belief in their path as heroes. Overall: 10 Recommendation: Buy