Lazarus Planet: Alpha #1 // Review
A Lazarus Volcano has exploded. Think of it like a magical mega-volcano that’s spewed weird energies all over Earth. In another era, this might have been something that would have played out over the course of a couple of issues of a single title. In 2023, it’s the opening to a mega-crossover event that will run through the first four months of the year. It all starts in Lazarus Planet: Alpha #1. Writer Mark Waid assembles a weird confluence of different characters against a major threat that is conjured to the page by artist Riccardo Federici and colorist Brad Anderson. The big crossover opens with a big, messy action issue that doesn’t allow any one hero a whole lot of time on the page.
Supergirl calls everyone she can to the Hall of Justice. Robin is taking the lead on the threat since none of the veterans are there aside from Batman, who isn’t holding together all that well. (Supergirl notes that the only thing that’s keeping him standing is “his general Batman-ness.”) Robin splits the assembled heroes into teams to handle a couple of different spots on the globe that are dealing with major problems. They’re going to have a hell of a time of it. This is a major disaster, and it’s only just beginning.
Waid’s splitting of the team is time-honored superhero group stuff that goes all the way back to the Justice Society in the 1940s. As reasonable as it is to set the heroes apart into two different teams against two threats with the same source...it still doesn’t allow nearly enough time with any one character to feel too terribly coherent. There are simply way too many characters in the issue to allow for much of a connection with anyone, so the overall threat feels like a big mess that simply isn’t framed properly. Individual moments hold together pretty well, but without a coherent larger picture, it all feels like a jumbled farrago.
Waid may not give every hero much of a chance to make an impression, but the art team manages to do a really good job with a very tight concentration of elements. Federici and Anderson’s work makes quite an impact on the page. Federici commits a lot of detail into the rendering without weighing down the speed of the action. There aren’t a whole lot of artists who can manage that. A lot of the success of the speed and impact of an issue rooted in action comes courtesy of Anderson’s colors. The sheer amount of depth and mood that Anderson lowers in over it all is somewhat breathtaking.
Big crossovers are always a mess. Waid is working with a really fun combination of different characters who don’t currently have their own series: Power Girl, Supergirl, Cyborg, and so on. Waid is giving an audience some more of what they’re missing in a quick, little sampling of different elements. It’s a nice gesture, but it’s too little time with any one character to feel like anything other than a rush.
