Finally this April we got three new Lazarus Gray books: The Adventures of Lazarus Gray, Volumes 11, 12, and 13, from Barry Reese.
I was expecting to see these some time ago, as Reese had already written through 13, so I had hoped we’ll see the rest more quickly.
Lazarus Gray is a New Pulp character from Reese (The Peregrine, Gravedigger, and other characters and works). Gray is sort of inspired by the classic pulp hero The Avenger, and has a group of associates organized as Assistance Unlimited.
Gray is located in a fictional town called Sovereign City (created by Pro Se Press publisher Tommy Hancock), and thus 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.
In addition to the current members of Assistance Unlimited — Morgan Watts, Eun Jiwon, Samantha Grace, Abigail Cross, and The Black Terror — we will see some new additions to the group in these, as well as various guest stars. This time, each volume consists of a single novel.
First up, in Volume 11, is Thirty Pieces of Silver. The Puzzler, who we are told is The Black Terror’s main foe (I’m not sure if he is from the original golden-age comic stories or new), is on a mission from the Nazis. Aided by a mysterious man named Woland, he succeeds. He finds the 30 pieces of silver paid to Judas for betraying Jesus. But they have since been made into silver bullets. The Puzzler works out a deal to get his cousin out of Germany for the rest of the bullets.
As this is going on, several people, both magically adept and not, are seeing visions of a coming evil. Soon Lazarus and associates are joined by Nakam, a vigilante fighting against the Nazis in Germany (he was introduced in a prior volume), who has brought over The Puzzler’s cousin after being attacked by a group of female warriors: the Crimson Ladies.
They soon confront Woland, who Lazarus has figured out his real identity. He wants to use the bullets to cause the dead to come back to life (as zombies) in a bid to have Lillith (yes, the first woman and first wife of Adam) to reveal herself. She is the leader of the Crimson Ladies and a former lover of Woland’s.
Lillith and her followers join with Assistance Unlimited to put an end to Woland’s plot. To do this, the group must travel to met with Baba Yaga (yes, the witch from Russian fairy tales), who Lazarus has dealt with in a prior story and who is a descendant of Lillith’s. But in doing so, half the group gets sent elsewhere. Lazarus, Lillith, and The Black Terror meet Baba Yaga, who sends them to deal with The Quietas.
The rest of the team finds themselves in Africa, where the meet the current Revanant (basically The Phantom from the comic strips). We’ll meet his successor in The Peregrin works. The Revanant helps them, and due to this, Morgan Watts makes a startling discover about Assistance Unlimited. We’ll be seeing more of Lillith, though maybe not in the Lazarus Gray stories.
Next, in Volume 12, The Life and Death and Life of Lazarus Gray. This picks up from the discovery in the last novel, as some realize something isn’t right with Lazarus that may have started several volumes back when he was in Carcosa. Meanwhile they are also dealing with the return of Doctor Satan. Maybe for the last time.
We are introduced to a new character who has existed in Soverign City for over a hundred years: L’ Homme Fantastique. A Frenchman with a preference for wearing purple, including a slouch hat pulled low. He challenges those who have done evil. They either die in the challenge, or if they survive, are changed forever. And he has challenged Lazarus. I’m not sure if this character is wholly original or based on another.
Also, the associated group with AU, the Heroes, makes a major appearance. Lead by The Fighting Yank (a classic golden-age comic book character), the Heroes include The Golden Amazon (a U.K./Canadian pulp hero), Olga Mesmer (who appeared in comic stories in the spicy pulps), The Black Terror, and two new additions. One is The Blue Fire, a comic book character from Centaur Press (he only had one appearance), and El Demonio, a villain AU defeated and put in their private prison. They are later joined by Catalyst, a hero who appeared in The Peregrine series.
Will they be able to succeed in their quest?
At the end, there will be changes in AU. Morgan is made administrative leader of AU, The Black Terror leaves the group for a mission to Europe, and The Blue Fire becomes a formal member of AU.
Finally, in Volume 13, we have An Adventure of Lazarus Gray With Assistance Unlimited. Here the team faces a new threat: a mummy, Rama-Memnon, and his associate, Teddy Pumpkins. They team up with Rose Dorcas, who runs an insane asylum on the outskirts of Sovereign City and had her own mad plans. They devastate Soveriegn City, but are stopped by AU and some new and old friends. Rama-Memnon has a connection with Princess Femi, who Lazarus and AU battled and defeated in earlier volumes. Hopefully the city can fully recover.
We meet a new superhero: Nature Boy. He’s actually a short-lived superhero from Charlton Comics, all of three issues in 1956-57. You can read them online or in a reprint by Gwandanaland Comics. In the comic, the gods of the elements saved him when he was a baby and granted him powers. But here he’s another “creation” of Project: Cicada, like The Black Terror, though with nature-based powers. So he works for them, though will probably show up in future stories. Another new character is Wynona Jones. She is well skilled with firearms, and has dealt with threats like vampires and more. She will be joining AU.
Returning is Jakob Sporrenberg, who as Eidolon had been a former member (twice) of AU, but left due to his violent nature. He rejoins AU as the less violent The Observer after his experiences here.
I’m not sure when we’ll get Volume 14. I hope it’s not a long wait. In addition, if you check his timeline, you see references to a few other works that aren’t out yet.
The Sword of Hel, Worlds Apart, and The Chronicles of Lillith have been released, and I’ll be reading and reviewing the second two. I hope the others will appear soon and that we’ll also see more new stories with Assistance Unlimited set in the 1960s.
