Reviews»Comic Books»Tomb Raider #11
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Kareem Ali 3.5

Tomb Raider #11

 

  • The good

    Action sequences. Auger Ramile becomes a more interesting character as his motives extend beyond Trinity, perhaps?

  • The bad

    Mr. Cruz is indestructible. Not really feeling the play storyline considering there have been no answers about Trinity. Still iffy on artwork

  • The ugly

    • Tomb Raider #11 has Lara moving forward with her life after the ordeal in Russia and rescuing Kaz from Trinity. She’s even agreed to be in a play being produced by Jonah even though she’s out of her element. So much so that the lead in the play is threatening to quit because Lara is so bad. It’s just Lara isn’t applying herself since she’s thinking about her next adventure and only agreed to be part of the play because not enough girls auditioned for all the roles. Jonah wants Lara to talk to Andrea, the lead, and try to convince her to stay on, and Lara agrees to do that. Lara humorously compares her current situation as being worse than Yamatai Island but memorizing lines isn’t the only thing Lara has to worry about since Trinity isn’t done with her and Kaz. After his miraculous survival, Mr. Cruz is visited in the hospital by another Trinity operative named Auger Ramile. He informs Mr. Cruz that he’s not there to kill him since the organization has considered his years of loyalty and service, and that he’s there to acquire any necessary information about Lara and Kaz. The organization is still intent on eliminating Kaz despite not knowing how much information she accessed or who she’s told about Trinity. And Mr. Cruz has just one request when it comes to Ramile dealing with Lara, and that’s to make her suffer. Since Trinity is determined to send as many operatives as possible in order to eliminate Kaz, is it possible for Lara to keep protecting her when she knows nothing about Trinity or will she receive some unexpected help?

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    I had some questions left over from last issue about Trinity and what it was in particular that got Kaz into trouble with them. Since it felt like the end of the story arc, I wished more was done to explain that. I also wasn’t thrilled with Mr. Cruz surviving everything he did including the helicopter crash and explosion. It not only seemed a bit excessive to me but he wasn’t that unique and interesting an antagonist to want to see him in another story arc. The start of this issue hints at how it could’ve been possible for him to survive and maybe a supernatural element but that remains to be seen since much still hasn’t been revealed about Trinity. Auger Ramile would be a more intriguing character but at first he would seem to be just slightly higher than Mr. Cruz but performing the same exact role. He would, however, be developed way more than Mr. Cruz as he would be more than just a psycho with a gun. His character development would also explain the decisions he would make this issue. So I am curious to see how things will unfold with him next issue.
    Lara is another matter, and obviously more complex since this is her series. But the cover of this issue and the story within serves as the perfect analogy for this series right now in that one has absolutely nothing to do with the other. The cover shows exploration, excitement, and Lara in action. This issue had Lara acting in a play. Yes, this wasn’t the entire issue and she did see some action with the story progressing but just like Lara felt out of her element, I felt this to be off as well. I don’t know why Jonah would be insistent on having her serve this role except maybe as a way to set up a big scene between Lara and Auger based on his behavior. And I would say there’s still a lot of potential with Trinity, and what it could mean to Lara considering Auger’s infatuation with her, but that’s mainly because nothing has still been revealed about Trinity. I do get the sense that some of this is being done to tie into the upcoming video game, and based on the name, it would explain why Lara is in a play and not on an adventure. So I think this will ultimately be a really good story arc. However, Jonah may want to see Lara act in a play but I don’t. And it’s not that I’m against character development, I just want an interesting character to have more intriguing situations and answers around her.

     

    SUMMARY

     

    Tomb Raider #11 is an ok start to a new story arc but the lingering questions from the last one carry over, and aren’t explored as Lara prepares for her role in Jonah’s play. There were entertaining moments such as Lara getting into action, and Auger being an intriguing character with his own deadly moves. However the story doesn’t advance much nor does it have meaningful character development with Lara. And Mr. Cruz’s remarkable recoveries just make me feel like his character has been extended for too long. I am still interested in Trinity as an organization so hopefully the developments this issue leads to more answers about them going forward, and Lara can be in more entertaining situations overall.

     

    Release Date: 12/24/14

    Writer: Rhianna Pratchett, Gail Simone

    Artist: Nicolas Daniel Selma

  • Rating ( 6.75 )
  • Total score 6.8

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