It shouldn’t be this hard to get a drink in Dublin.
Creative Staff:
Story: Gail Simone
Pencils: Nicolas Daniel Selma
Inks: Juan Gedeon
What They Say:
Lara Croft is on the hunt for the strange force that is terrorizing the survivors of the Endurance crew! As ancient mythological creatures appear to wreak havoc on Lara, so too do the ghosts of her past!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Tomb Raider has had a couple of decent if somewhat convoluted issues so far, largely because I hadn’t played the game and been familiar with some of those involved, but it’s been easy enough overall to get the gist of things as it’s unfolded. The second issue turned the story a bit more towards where it’s going with the arrival of the Solarii cult characters that want their piece of the artifact, having made it clear that Lara had been involved in something that she herself doesn’t remember being a part of and those that she knows confirming that it did indeed happen. That worked nicely for adding a new layer of mystery to it all and explaining some of the gaps in what others have been saying that she can’t quite figure out the context to. But now that she’s under a more direct threat, that gets pushed to the side a bit.
But not entirely, because this issue thankfully weaves a bit of back story into the present day thread. With Lara having met up with Reyes in the previous issue and now under threat from the Solarii here, we get to know more about her and that helps to cement her position in the present day as we really understand her. Going back ten years prior when she first met Roth is interesting and amusing since we get her by the numbers background that explains why she’s tough as nails, and that complements nicely her present day persona where that’s all still there but she has the added layer of concern and parental worry over her daughter Alisha. Reyes and Roth certainly make a pair from what little we see of them, but we also get to see how Sam and Lara react to their early time spent with Reyes before the storm that broke the Endurance ship apart. It helps to solidify that pairing quite well and also the kind of respect that they have and had for Reyes and her abilities. Which, of course, plays into the present.
For better or worse, the present day portion is all about the action in Dublin since the Solarii cultists want the piece that Lara supposedly has and are willing to kill anyone to get it. That has Alisha in danger but also your innocent bystanders out for a good time drinking. While it starts in the pub, Lara’s able to get it to move out into the streets and that helps to change the flow of the fight a bit, but it’s a cocky kind of flow change on Lara’s part since her confidence level goes up immensely when she takes down one of the guys and swipes his gun. She’s not exactly careless per se, but she feels more out of practice for this kind of situation and ends up losing control of the situation. But it’s the panic she’s feeling that makes it feel a bit more authentic when she realizes that Sam, back in London, is likely to be targeted by the Solarii as well and that keeps her from performing at her best. And since we know Sam is captured, that gives her a new focus to work towards, albeit one with a really huge detour ahead to the island.
In Summary:
I’ve felt a bit on the outside with this run of Tomb Raider for expected reasons with it following up events of the game I didn’t play, but with the third issue I’m starting to feel a lot more comfortable with it now and a bit more invested in it. This time around it’s less about the reveals of what happened on the island or why all of this is happening and more on the relationship Lara has with those from the Endurance, specifically with Reyes but that also ties Roth into it nicely. And it reinforces things with Sam as well, who has been a bit underserved in the book so far while she’s been gallivanting around trying to figure out what’s going on. The flashback pieces felt like they were well placed here and didn’t interfere with the flow of the story in the present while that segment was made pretty fun in general, especially with the artwork from Nicolas Daniel Selma and the kind of life that came from it. There’s some good fun here and I’m now finally starting to get a feel for Lara as a character rather than a moving object getting hit by a lot of unexplained events.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: April 23rd, 2014
MSRP: $3.50
