Review: Tomb Raider, Issue #2 (Dark Horse Comics)

Written by Young Jeohn

Adventures of the Tomb Raider continue as this epic video game is brought to life in the Dark Horse published comic book.

STORYLINE

In this issue, Lara and a professor she just met are running from some scary looking "enhanced" henchmen, who seem to easily ignore any pain inflicted on them. A high-speed chase, acrobatics on scaffolding, and a MacGuyver'ed motorcycle explosion later, they find their escape short lived when they realize the bad guys are close to finding what they came for. It's now a race between the two to find what humans have believed to be non-existent for centuries.

WRITING

The story is well written with lots of action. You as the reader will be so pre-occupied with reading this that you may miss your stop while riding the train or not realize your legs have become numb from sitting too long on your porcelain throne.

The characters' usage of modern technology is clever, bringing to light recent security issues that people have with being tracked on their cell phones, perhaps reminding the reader about the hot debate surrounding the US government's ironfisted demands for Apple to open up their phones to give them more snooping power.

I also think the writer has a thing for MacGuyver, as evident with Lara jimmy'ing this and chopping up that to create that ad hoc diversion or two. Though I don't quite think it's realistic for anyone to do a Tarzan on an airhose of a pneumatic nail gun, the out-of-the-box thinking is a good insight into what future issues of this comic might hold for us readers. And the future looks pretty exciting.

ARTWORK

First the good. Architecture, scenes, backgrounds, motorbikes, cars... anything inanimate is drawn well. There's good use of color, perspectives and moods. The layout is dead easy to follow, with good use of circles (like in issue one) for the non-linear actions that are all happening at the same time. It was a breeze to move from page one to the end without missing a beat.

Then there's the area in need of most improvement - the human being. Anatomy, expressions, proportions... to the less artistic, you may be looking at something that somehow doesn't feel quite right. It could be the left eye that's a little crooked. Or the right hand with a smaller forefinger than the pinky. Or the odd look on a characters face that should really express doubt instead of a blank with a raised eyebrow. It's something that should be worked on, but as with all things, it happens over time, not overnight.

CONCLUSION

I'm a stickler for human anatomy and movement, but despite that, the comic as a whole is put together well. The most important and major things necessary for a comic book to work are in place and this comic is no exception. A good story that's easy to follow, (and this is only issue 2!) with more action on the way will see the characters moving away from the city and into the wild. And we all know Lara's in her elements when it's time for her to explore the unknown.

FINAL SCORE

**** 4 out of 5 stars