‘The Adventures of Lazarus Gray, Vol. 14: Lazarus Gray vs. Fantômas’

Recently we got a new Lazarus Gray book: The Adventures of Lazarus Gray, Vol. 14, from Barry Reese. This one has a novel: Lazarus Gray vs. Fantômas.

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 (now the new leader of AU), Eun Jiwon, Samantha Grace, Abigail Cross, The Black Terror (absent here), Wynonna Jones, The Observer (formerly The Eidolon), and the Blue Flame. We get a new member in Daredevil, the classic Golden Age comicbook character (not the Marvel comics character).

This story, set mainly in 1944, has Lazarus come up against Fantômas. Yes, the French proto-pulp criminal and terrorist is coming for Lazarus. And it is somehow connected to his uncle, whom we meet for the first time in flashbacks. Fantômas forms a new version of Murder Unlimited to attack Lazarus, consisting of a woman named Black Diamond, Count Orlick, and Lazarus’ uncle.

But what is the aim of Fantômas? He attacks other Sovereign City heroes as well as AU. Along the way, a member of AU as well as one of their support staff is killed. Can they figure out what Fantômas wants and put an end to his reign of terror?

The epilogue gives us a small hint of what will happen in the next volume, with the appearance of another Golden Age comicbook character. I can’t wait to see it.

The timeline at the end of the volume has been updated, with three more Straw-Man volumes, and five volumes of a new series called “The Dark Society.” I have no idea when these will appear.