Lazarus Gray is a New Pulp character from writer Barry Reese.
I have been reading his Rook series, but also enjoy Lazarus Gray as well as Gravedigger. He has a few other works, but those are the main ones I’ve been reading. I’ve posted on his previous works.
Gray is sort of inspired by the classic pulp hero The Avenger. He has setup a group similar to The Avenger’s called Assistance, Unlimited. He is located in a fictional town called Sovereign City (created by Pro Se Press publisher Tommy Hancock), and is part of the larger Sovereign City Project. He is also set in the same universe as Barry’s other characters, so has crossed over with them.
This volume, “The Adventures of Lazarus Gray, Vol. 4: Satan’s Circle,” is a collection of three items. First up is a short, two-page comic story that gives the background of who Lazarus Gray is, which first appeared in the third volume. It’s a good intro for new readers. The bulk of the volume is two novellas.
First up, we have a teamup with Lazarus Gray and friends with Thunder Jim Wade when both are attacked by a new villain called Leviathan. For those not aware, Thunder Jim Wade was a short-lived pulp hero inspired by Doc Savage. He was an science adventurer raised by a lost colony of Minoans located in Africa, and had their scientific secrets, which he used to create his vehicle, the Thunderbug, a combined plane-tank-submarine. He has just two aides who provide the Ham/Monk dynamic. (I did a review of the original series, as well as Pro Se’s collection of new stories.) I thought it was a good story, and Wade was handled correctly. Reese is familiar with the character, having provided a new Wade story for Pro Se’s collection. Maybe this will lead to occasional reappearances of Wade in future Reese stories.
The second story closes out the Eidolon and Darkling storyline started in prior volumes. The classic pulp villain Doctor Satan, whom Reese has used very effectively in past stories, is the main catalyst for a showdown that brings together Lazarus and his friends, along with Abigail Cross, Eidolon and the Darkling. We also learn more about the Darkling in this story. After the ramifications of this story, it will be interesting to see what the future holds for Abigail, Eidolon and the Darkling in the Reese universe.
Closing out the volume, we get an updated chronology of the “Reese Universe” that places both the Lazarus Gray stories (including the next volume), plus the Rook stories and a few others by Reese. I believe the fifth volume is largely finished and we may see it later this year. Can’t wait, as I’ve really been enjoying the Lazarus Gray series.
