In a Vancouver of the future painted with ultramodern decay, a groundbreaking advancement in technology promises an end to entropy itself. But when an attack on this mysterious “Keeper Program” threatens the lives of everyone tied to it, retired Police Detective Bennie Strikman is called to investigate one last case. Lotus Land #1 delivers an opening chapter that shows off potential while dancing around what makes it interesting.
Written by Darcy Van Poelgeest, Lotus Land #1 is an interesting start to the series. At its core, the comic feels like it’s a typical detective story. A break-in. A murder. A detective who has a troubled personal life. It checks all of the boxes for this type of story. It also has something going for it in its world and the teased “Keeper Program.”
This is a rather typical future, dystopian, flying cars, crappy environment, again the comic checks the boxes. But, there’s some tech involved that may solve society’s problems and decay. What it is? That’s not really explained all that well, it’s the McGuffin at this point, the one detail that feels original but not focused on enough.
There’s Detective Strikman but his personal life seems like something we’ve seen before and his gift too has been used before multiple times in various genres. Where Strikman stands out is that he cares for his son, away from the city. It’s a role we don’t see too often in a character like this and out of everything it feels like something that’s original and really makes the character interesting. Yes, he has a gift he uses to solve crimes but it’s a gift that’s been done before. His demeanor is what we’d expect. So far, beyond that one detail, it’s a pretty standard detective story.
Caio Filipe‘s art is good. With color by Patricio Delpeche and lettering by Nate Piekos, it too doesn’t really break any new ground but overall it has a style that’s interesting and creates a world that’s fun to look at. The designs aren’t anything really new, but the team has delivered a comic that overall has a cool look to it that works well for the genre and characters so far.
Lotus Land #1 is a standard detective story. It’s entertaining enough and we’ll see where it goes and if it’ll stand out. It teases potential and interesting aspects. But, overall, it’s a noir detective story set in a dystopian future, a story we’ve seen many times before.
Story; Darcy Van Poelgeest Art: Caio Filipe
Color: Patricio Delpeche Letterer: Nate Piekos
Story: 7.5 Art: 8.0 Overall: 7.5 Recommendation: Read
BOOM! Studios provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle
