Lazarus Gray is a New Pulp character from writer Barry Reese. I have been reading his Rook series. (He has other works as well, but those are the ones I’ve been reading).
Gray is sort of inspired by the classic pulp hero The Avenger. He is set in a fictional town called Sovereign City (created by Pro Se Press publisher Tommy Hancock), and is part of the Sovereign City Project that will see collections of at least two other characters from Pro Se.
Lazarus Gray is set in the same “universe” as Barry’s Rook character, and we get an updated chronology of the “universe” in the back of the book that places both the Lazarus Gray stories (including the next volume), plus the Rook stories and a few others by Reese.
This volume, “The Adventures of Lazarus Gray, Vol. 3: Eidolon,” is a collection of three items. First up is a short, two-page comic story that gives the background of who Lazarus Gray is. A good intro for new readers. Then we have a short story, and then a much longer story, more of a novel or novella.
The short story is about “Murder Unlimited.” Here, several of Assistance Unlimited’s past foes team up in a group to oppose them. But Lazarus and associates are able to defeat them. We also get some background of a classic pulp villain that has been a recurring foe for the Rook. Maybe he will return to plague Gray as well?
The novella, “Eidolon,” introduces a new character: The Darkling. This character is a dark vigilante, somewhat in the style of The Shadow. From the background we get on the character, he has a lot of characteristics similar to The Shadow, but is much darker. He is competing with Gray and associates — as well as Nazis — to try to obtain the bones of a demon. In the process, one of the members of Assistance Unlimited becomes the Eidolon, and another seems to leave the group as well. We also see the end of one of Gray’s reoccurring opponents.
Will the Eidolon and The Darkling return? That remains to be seen.
A fourth volume is planned, and it appears that these characters will re-appear. And Reese is apparently already working on a fifth volume. I look forward to them.
