Reviews»Comic Books»Tomb Raider #7
tomb7
Kareem Ali 4.5

Tomb Raider #7

 

  • The good

    Builds up the right amount of intrigue for new story arc and characters. Lara's development and assertiveness contributing to great action sequences. Immersive artwork

  • The bad

    Visions of a dead Alex initially felt like prophecies related to the Solarii

  • The ugly

    • Tomb Raider #7 begins a new story arc and opens with Lara reminiscing about a hike with Roth 10 years ago to the day. They’re enjoying this time together quoting poets and discussing school until talk turns to her Aunt’s funeral, his wife. They decide to leave those topics behind and just focus on enjoying the hike. So they start singing the Rhubarb Tart song, and Lara’s recollection of this hike is why she’s trying to get Joslin to sing this song with her in the present day. Joslin, who was very close to Roth and had an intimate relationship with him, doesn’t know the song and jokingly refers to it as a British thing. But Joslin completely understands the essence of Lara’s hike commemorating her time with Roth because he meant a lot to her as well, and when they reach the top of Snowdon, she understands even better while in awe of the view. However something happens to Lara when she goes to bury Joslin’s photo and plant some daffodil bulbs, and she’s not sure if it was a hallucination or real. A dead Alex emerged from the ground and grabbed Lara telling her that his sister is in danger and she has to help. Whether or not it was real, her reaction was very real as she almost ended up tumbling off the mountain. It seems as if Lara won’t get much time to reminisce about the good times with those she’s lost because the rush is on to save Alex’s sister from an unknown threat.

    tomb7
    The conclusion of the first story arc was exciting but I also felt confident in the series and the potential of what could lie ahead for Lara. And since I’ve been tough on it at times I have to point out first that the artwork was much better this issue. And it wasn’t in a “I’m getting used to it so I didn’t notice it” kind of way because I actually liked it. Whether it was the detail of Alex’s corpse when emerging from the ground surprising Lara or the details in the faces throughout the issue showing the appropriate expressions in the different situations, I could appreciate this and it added to the issue a lot. I could also appreciate Joslin’s reaction to Lara wanting her to sing because I didn’t know the song either so the humor worked in this case. It was shocking to see Alex’s charred corpse come out of the ground in such a manner, and even though the artwork made clear whose hand it actually was, it wasn’t explained until later why this occurred. Now, I like the fact that Lara still struggles with coming to terms with the horrific things that happened on the island and the loss of her loved ones because it makes the character more realistic, and more importantly, gives room for development. Batman or Spider-man pretty much carry the burden of what occurred in their lives without that being questioned so I’m glad Lara isn’t just a generic character either. However, the problem I did have with this initially was that it felt too similar to the prophecies and vision from the last story arc when that could’ve been avoided by having Lara mention Alex’s sister before this occurrence. Aside from that, this was an excellent issue as Lara would make the decision to travel to find Alex’s sister before those seeking to kill her could find her, and once again this was the more assertive Lara. The reason Alex’s sister, Kaz, was targeted and by whom wasn’t revealed this issue but the buildup was intense as she became a more intriguing character without being shown, and those looking for her mean serious business. The location may seem like tombs won’t be explored this story arc, if that’s important to you, but in a ghost city anything is possible. And if this issue is any indication of how events will unfold then there definitely won’t be a lack of action, and Lara is ready to impress.

     

    SUMMARY

    Tomb Raider #7 is a solid start to the new story arc, and has a great blend of character development, intrigue, and of course, action. Initially I was concerned about the vision of Alex coming back from the dead to warn Lara but it was explained, and could serve as character development. I was impressed with the building tension surrounding those seeking Kaz for competing reasons, and so I can’t wait to see how events unfold with Lara growing into her role with her newfound assertiveness.

     

    Release Date: 8/27/14

    Writer: Rhianna Pratchett, Gail Simone

    Artist: Derlis Santacruz

  • Rating ( 9.4 )
  • Total score 9.4

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