Reviews»Comic Books»Tomb Raider #6
tomb
Kareem Ali 4.5

Tomb Raider #6

 

  • The good

    All questions are answered including Lara's behavior at times. Plenty of action and the artwork for it is better than previous issues.

  • The bad

    Some of the mystical elements are perplexing from the requirements of the ritual being performed in the future as well as when an initial suggestion was planted.

  • The ugly

    • Tomb Raider #6 continues with Lara and Danny captured by the worshippers of the Solarii, who are on the verge of bringing back the madman Mathias. Lara can’t believe what she’s witnessing as her 2 captors are apparently Makara, mythological Hindu creatures who are part woman, elephant and crocodile. Lara thinks that’s impossible but it still doesn’t affect her determination to rescue her friend, Sam, because she calls herself a monster just like them, and she even warns them before they leave. However Danny tells her that they’re actually Matsu’s daughters covered in makeup, fabrics and prosthetics but they’ve been hypnotized into believing they’re Makara, and this is what the group specializes in to achieve its goal. Despite him giving her this information, Lara still doesn’t trust Danny, and with good reason since she doesn’t know how he got involved in any of this or why he’s been helping them. He states it’s because the Solarii are evil and he’ll do whatever it takes to prevent them from bringing back the Sun Queen, including stopping Matsu’s group. That’s difficult to do considering the two of them are tied up. So it’s a good Jonah and Reyes survived the shipwreck as well and no one has been looking for them but will they be able to help stop Matsu’s group or will they end up just like Lara?

    tomb
    This series has had some up and down moments for me, and not just due to my feelings about the artwork, but the revisiting of the story line from the game and, at times, Lara’s portrayal. But overall I’ve been enjoying this series a lot, and the best part of last issue was Lara in action and finally taking out her enemies in the usual fashion and with confidence. And when she gave herself up at the end of last issue I was hoping that momentum wouldn’t be lost as a result. So when the first page of this issue showed that Jonah and Reyes was alive it seemed pretty obvious how certain events would unfold. I did find some humor in the fact that Lara was intent on rescuing Sam but in order to do so she needed to be rescued by Jonah and Reyes first, so there was a lot of rescuing to be done this issue. However, from the moment Lara told Matsu’s daughters in the beginning of the issue that she’ll be seeing them all the way to the final page, it was an overall engrossing story and that was due to story twists and the almost nonstop action where everything was used from guns to fists to mystical disintegrating sparks.  Aside from the various rescue missions plenty of answers were given this issue regarding the nature of Matsu’s group and their true intentions and target. Even the way the mystical arts and prophecies have been used throughout this story arc was explained, and it worked for the most part but to be vague and avoid spoilers, I was slightly perplexed as to when the first opportunity for something that was prevalent throughout this arc presented itself. And one answer just led to other questions, and despite that qualifying as a spoiler as well that’s a testament to the confusing use of the mystical arts at times or in particular, the ritual necessary to revive Mathias.The most satisfying answer was regarding Lara and her behavior because things definitely come full circle, and more than that, it gives me hope about what lies ahead for her and the way she’ll approach those situations in her usual ass-kicking fashion.

     

    SUMMARY

    Tomb Raider #6 is an overall satisfying conclusion to the first story arc, and answers all the questions that have been raised throughout in an electrifying fashion, and at times literally. I felt that Lara’s portrayal at times throughout the series took a step back from what was established in the video game but the glimpses here and the explanation for that fits in the story wonderfully. The mystical elements didn’t tie together as neatly for me but at least served a purpose. And more so than that I’m looking forward to the next story arc because I believe the adventures ahead will be even better.

     

    Release Date: 7/23/14

    Writer: Gail Simone

    Artist: Nicolas Daniel Selma

  • Rating ( 8.5 )
  • Total score 8.5

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this: