Tomb Raider comic #3 out today, and "Run, White Man, Run NOW! (AKA issue #2) reviewed

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Out today is the third issue in Gail Simone and Nicolas Daniel Selma's new Tomb Raider comic series (which I have discussed in length here and here). And to whet your appetite, three pages from the book have been revealed online by Dark Horse Comics.


Please beware spoilers below.




For the record, you can read my review of Issue #1 here. As for #2, well, this bridge between the video game franchise reboot and its top secret sequel is certainly starting to feel more Tomb Raider-y. There's young archaeologist Lara Croft jetting across the globe, supernatural foes with a basis in mythology, and a sinister group whose power-hungry goals are clearly going to put them on a collision course with our heroine. Plus there's the additional complication of Lara's stress-triggered memory loss on Yamatai. Evidently she's more of a sticky-fingered tomb raider than she likes to believe. Oops.

Overall, I was very happy with this issue. I didn't buy an unconscious character's ability to cling onto something in very trying circumstances, but otherwise Simone is doing a very good job in depicting the evolution of "softer" Reboot Lara - her internal debate about killing in self defense, for example - while still honouring the classic version of the character.

All I have left then to cover in this post is a few observations.
1) My favourite panel from Issue 2 - Lara looking especially angry and physically intimidating:


2) Reboot Lara Croft seems to be shaping up as something of a black widow. Friend, foe, or even family, she currently has a 100% fatality rate when it comes to interacting with white males. See my collected evidence below.




Sidenote 1: Please note how many of these men - "white knights" or their polar opposite - completely underestimate Lara because of her appearance, and disregard her solo capabilities. Fatal mistake, chaps.

Sidenote 2: Given the high death rate I would imagine this makes dating men rather challenging *wink wink*.


3) Could the rebooted Tomb Raider franchise, with its 21 year old Lara Croft, be set in the past - maybe circa 2002?

Check out the old style CRT TV in Lara's flat, the original PlayStation on the floor, and her mobile phone. Now certainly these things can be excused from a narrative perspective (Lara is a cash-strapped recent graduate after all) but these inclusions seem like otherwise odd, dated choices from artist Selma.

Then again, this theory is blown out the water by the fact that Lara sports a touchscreen smartphone and Beats by Dre headphones in the opening cinematic of last year's game. It is something to keep an eye on though.


Comments

Unknown said…
I need to get my hands on these comics. I am busy with the new Halo series. This reminds me, I need to play the game still.
3:25 PM
Anonymous said…
Loved it! Looks like they're going back to Yamatai? Wonder how that will tie in with the Viking in the cover of #6?? I especially loved Lara's "She's all I have" plea at the end - they should totally make that the subtitle of the next Tomb Raider game :D
- Heidi
1:10 AM
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