The Forged #11
(W) Greg Rucka, Eric Trautmann (A) Mike Henderson
Victory and her rogue Forged team infiltrate the Empire’s most impregnable stronghold—a planet-sized, high-value, high-tech armory—to thwart the Eternal Empress’s next assault. With no armor and no weapons, the renegades go head-to-head with a rival Forged team that has both, and a thirst for vengeance, to boot.
The Forged #10
(W) Eric Trautmann, Greg Rucka (A) Mike Henderson
NEW STORY ARC BEGINS!
Vic and the rest of the SCIMITAR-3 team have done the unthinkable and defied the Empress Herself. Even with their new allies known as the Phobes, they are outgunned, on the run, and hunted by Her Eternal Majesty’s mighty legions.
As the fugitive Forged struggle to stay one step ahead of their pursuers, the Empress’s machinations continue. What roles will the Cassandras and General Davian play in the inevitable confrontation?
Plus: the secret origin of the Empress is revealed!
An early preview of the highly anticipated upcoming series Lazarus: Fallen shows that lead character Forever Carlyle is not afraid to get bloody to prove her point. As she sets out to destroy the Families–the wealthy few running this “near future” dystopian world—she’ll need to make allies along the way. Helmed by Eisner Award-winning creators writer Greg Rucka and artist Michael Lark, and colorist Santi Arcas, the New York Times bestselling dystopian sci-fi series Lazarus is returning for a final installment.
Fans of Andor, Silo, and Blade Runner will enjoy this futuristic, and yet prescient, tale about what those in power will do to obtain more power and to silence those in opposition…and what rebels, whether genetically engineered or not, will do to stop them. Along with early preview pages from Lazarus: Fallen #2, a look at the process and cover artwork from the series tease a little of what’s to come soon.
Rucka, Lark, and Arcas are joined by letterer Ariana Maher, editor Alejandro Arbona, and graphic designers Eric Trautmann and Richard Howe for the new series, with issue #1 debuting June 25 (with a Final Order Cutoff deadline for retailers today, June 2). Lazarus: The Fourth Collection—a hardcover volume that collects Lazarus #27 and #28, and for the first time, the complete seven-issue run of Lazarus: Risen—is also now available, along with the first three collections, for those looking to catch up on the series ahead of Lazarus: Fallen.
The Lazarus series follows Forever Carlyle, an unkillable, genetically-engineered soldier, controlled by the mechanisms of her father, Malcolm Carlyle. Malcolm is the patriarch of one of the powerful Families that rose to rule the world after an economic-driven apocalypse. The Families now own everything and everyone; in this neo-feudalist order, you are either of value to the Families and made a Serf, or you are irrelevant, disposable labor, called Waste.
But the Families are driven by greed, and in their unending pursuit of more and more, each created a Lazarus—a man or woman created and trained to be the loyal instrument of their Family’s will. Forever Carlyle is the Lazarus of the Carlyle Family, raised to absolutely believe in her duty to her family, and with an unquestioning loyalty to her father. That time is over, and now Forever—with the aid of her younger sister and next iteration of the Carlyle Lazarus, Infinity—means to destroy the world her father created.
Lazarus: Fallen #1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, June 25, featuring a cover by Lark (Final Order Cutoff deadline for retailers is today, June 2; Lunar Code 0425IM294). Issue #2 hits shelves on July 30 (Final Order Cutoff deadline for retailers is July 7; Lunar Code 0525IM403), and issue #3 hits shelves on August 27 (Final Order Cutoff deadline for retailers is August 4; Lunar Code 0625IM356).
Greg Rucka and Michael Lark, the Eisner Award-winning creative team behind New York Times bestselling sci-fi series, Lazarus, are returning to their neo-feudalist world with the final installment, Lazarus: Fallen. For the new series, Rucka and Lark are joined by Lazarus colorist Santi Arcas, letterer Ariana Maher, editor Alejandro Arbona, and graphic designers Eric Trautmann and Richard Howe on the creative team. In Lazarus: Fallen, which launches this June, warrior Forever Carlyle is finally free from the control of the power-hungry Carlyle Family that wielded her like a weapon, and this time Forever Carlyle means to burn down the world of the Families…even her own.
The Lazarus series follows Forever Carlyle, an unkillable, genetically-engineered soldier, controlled by the mechanisms of her father, Malcolm Carlyle. Malcolm is the patriarch of one of the powerful Families that rose to rule the world after an economic-driven apocalypse. The Families now own everything and everyone; in this neo-feudalist order, you are either of value to the Families and made a Serf, or you are irrelevant, disposable labor, called Waste.
But the Families are driven by greed, and in their unending pursuit of more and more, each created a Lazarus—a man or woman created and trained to be the loyal instrument of their Family’s will. Forever Carlyle is the Lazarus of the Carlyle Family, raised to absolutely believe in her duty to her family, and with an unquestioning loyalty to her father. That time is over, and now Forever—with the aid of her younger sister and next iteration of the Carlyle Lazarus, Infinity—means to destroy the world her father created.
Lazarus: Fallen #1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, June 25, featuring a cover by Lark. The series will also be available across many digital platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play.
Best of Red Sonja Hardcover
writers: Various
artists: Various
covers: Jenny Frison
FC | 368 pages | Sword & Sorcery | $49.99 | Teen+
What better way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the She-Devil With a Sword than to revisit her greatest tales in an all-new hardcover collection? Brought together for the first time in a single volume, these storied sagas trace the legendary exploits of the Hyboria’s favorite daughter over five skull-smashing, tavern-wrecking decades!
From her earliest comic book appearances in Marvel Feature and the very first Red Sonja series — penned by such legendary talents as ROY THOMAS and FRANK THORNE — to her contemporary epics crafted by celebrated scribes like GAIL SIMONE, MICHAEL AVON OEMING, and LUKE LIEBERMAN and artistic titans like WALTER GEOVANNI, MEL RUBI, and LIAM SHARP, The Best of Red Sonja brings readers more than 350 pages of crimson-maned classics — including:
The Forged by multiple Eisner, Harvey, and GLAAD Award winning co-writer Greg Rucka, co-writer Eric Trautmann and bestselling artist Mike Henderson has sold out completely at the distributor level. The Forged #1 is being fast-tracked for a reprint in order to keep up with increasing demand.
In the 11th Millennium of the rule of the Eternal Empress, a squad of planet-smashing super soldiers find their routine mission to be anything but. These are the Forged. They take no prisoners. Embark upon an over-the-top pulp adventure of sex, violence, and sci-fi inspired by Conan, Heavy Metal, and other comics you tried to hide from your parents.
The Forged #1, second printing (Diamond Code FEB238279) and The Forged #2 (Diamond Code FEB230174) will both be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, April 19.
In the 11th Millennium of the rule of the Eternal Empress, a squad of planet-smashing super soldiers find their routine mission to be anything but. These are the Forged. They take no prisoners. The Forged #1 kicks off the action with introducing us to the sci-fi world while also delivering a lot we’ve seen before.
Written by Greg Rucka and Eric Trautmann, there’s a lot I liked about The Forged #1. It’s a sci-fi story featuring soldiers being sent on a mission they have a bad feeling about. If that sounds familiar, it’s because we’ve seen that exact story many times before. And that’s the bad thing about The Forged #1 as well. We’ve seen a lot of it. While the art is great and the setting and characters are interesting, at its heart is a plot that’s been done over and over.
The Forged #1 is forged from a lot of what’s come before. In the description it’s mentioned that it’s inspired by Conan, Heavy Metal and “other comics you tried to hide from your parents.” In its DNA is also Aliens, The Fifth Element, Starship Troopers, and a lot more. None of that is a bad thing but it also puts the pressure on to deliver something that’s a bit different from all of those elements. Unfortunately there’s only a little of that.
What gives the series hope is its core of characters, the actual tactical team being sent on the mission. Their comradery and interactions save the comic and make it entertaining enough to check out as well as continue on to the second issue. Likeable characters, though each fitting a certain role, keep things going and make the read worth it.
What’s also worth it is Mike Henderson‘s art. With color by Nolan Woodard and lettering by Ariana Maher, The Forged #1 is an intriguing start taking place mostly on a ship. It’s all rather unremarkable for the most part, creating an almost sterile feel to the issue. And that’s actually interesting. With intriguing character designs in the stories they tell, it’s a world that feels a bit “clean” but with a slight grime just underneath the surface. There’s some great colors that pop at times enhancing intriguing page layouts at key moments.
There’s nothing inherently bad about The Forged #1. It’s entertaining sci-fi action. It’s problem is so far it’s sci-fi action we’ve seen before. The troops getting their orders preparing for the drop on a mission you know is going to get fubar. It’s rather pain by numbers in that way. Still, it’s an entertaining read setting up potential for an intriguing world and hopefully more interesting mission to come.
Story: Greg Rucka, Eric Trautmann Art: Mike Henderson
Color: Nolan Woodard Letterer: Ariana Maher
Story: 7.65 Art: 8.4 Overall: 7.75 Recommendation: Read
Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: TFAW – Zeus Comics – comiXology/Kindle
Multiple Eisner, Harvey, and GLAAD Award winning writer Greg Rucka teams with writer Eric Trautmann and bestselling artist Mike Henderson to embark on an over-the-top pulp adventure in the upcoming series, Forged. Filled to the brim with violence and Conan-inspired science fiction, this new story will kick off in March 2023 from Image Comics.
Set in the 11th Millennium of the rule of the Eternal Empress, Forged follows a squad of planet-smashing super soldiers who find their routine mission to be anything but. These are the Forged. They take no prisoners.
Forged #1 (Diamond Code JAN230047) will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, March 15.
Eisner-winning series writer Greg Rucka is joined by series designer/writer Eric Trautmann, plus writers Aaron Duran and Neal Bailey, and six different artists for the six-issue miniseries Lazarus: X+66, which sets the stage for Lazarus’s sixth story arc, this July.
In Lazarus: X+66 #1, superstar artist Steve Lieber lends his talents to the trials and tribulations of Casey Solomon as she fights to survive Dagger training. Ever since she caught the eye of the Lazarus, Casey has learned that gaining the Family’s attention can be as much of a curse as a blessing. Will Dagger Selection destroy Casey, or will survival mean something worse?
Subsequent issues will feature art by Mack Chater, Justin Greenwood, Alitha Martinez, Bilquis Evely, and Tristan Jones. Each issue will boast a cover by series artist Michael Lark.
Lazarus: X+66 #1 (Diamond code: MAY170628) hits comic book stores Wednesday, July 19th. The final order cutoff deadline for comics retailers is Monday, June 26th.
Vampirella 1969
writers: Nancy Collins, Phil Hester, Mark Rahner, Eric Trautmann, David Walker
artists: Aneke , Fritz Casas, Jethro Morales, Colton Worley, Brett Weldele
covers: Robert Hack (a), Jack Jadson (b)
Fans & retailers, order the cover of your choice!
FC • 48 pages • $7.99 • Teen+
Vampirella first appeared on the scene in 1969 and quickly became a fixture of comics, horror and pop culture! Now, Dynamite Entertainment proudly presents a special, over-sized issue celebrating those heady days with a who’s who from their roister of all-star writers and artists! Just look at this line-up: Nancy Collins joined by artist Fritz Casas, Eric Trautmann joined by painter Brett Weldele, Phil Hester joined by artist Jethro Morales, Mark Rahner joined by artist Colton Worley, and David Walker joined by artist Aneke! Each presents a special tale showcasing the best of the former horror hostess from Drakulon!
