Lizard Men #3 & #4 (Advanced Review)

Steven Horry’s Lizard Men has just hit Kickstarter for the second half of its 6-issue run and just as I was due a catch-up on the third issue……I was lucky enough to get my hands on an advanced copy of issue #4.  Cue the excitement and cue the double-review shenanigans.

Issues #1 & #2 from Steve set the tone for a world not a million miles from our own but with the added element of Rock Star Dylan Zamani becoming Prime Minister and a whole secret society pulling strings from the shadows, the stage was set early on for something far more intricate and involved than was expected.

The third issue kicks off with Dylan straddling an existence between a dark, drug-filled past and the ultra-scrutinised role of a world leader….and Steve LOVES to mess with our heads along the way with this.  While the details of the white-suited strangers hiding in plain sight has been kept from us they are now starting to be fed to us at just the right time.  The plots to control the masses and manipulate the PM to their end sees more and more surprises cropping up and the build-up pays off as we reach a point in the story that keeps us guessing before leading into the next issue…

The fourth issue raises the stakes for the PM again and as we gain a bit more of a background on the team around him and how he got to power we’re brought back to the present with a jolt as Dylan’s predicament sees him gain some deeper knowledge of his own.  The past, the present and the potential future all seem laid out at the hands of the Lizard Men but our protagonist’s desire to buck the trend gets him to even more trouble than he could have expected as the world is flipped on its head by Steve yet again.

It feels like I’m left guessing at every page-turn with this one and even with a glimpse at the next issue I’m still in the dark on just where this one will go…..and holy shit that’s amazing.  The fresh feel the story has had from the beginning is still there and these next two issues are elevated again with the art from Catia Fantini & colours from Chiara Bonacini capturing a phenomenal balance between messed up madness and moments of clarity.  Another nod goes to Ken Reynolds on lettering too as he punctuates those key moments with his usual pen of awesomeness.

The vibrant mix of media politics, monsters in the shadows and character relationships are all explored while the world around the main characters seems to be spinning out of control and this means that as we edge closer to the final two issues….I’m still on-board for the long haul and probably moreso since that opening issue.  While I count down to issues 5 & 6 I’m hoping that there is more beyond that but we’ll see what surprises the creative team throw our way before then.

Head over to the latest campaign and get hold of the whole series…..

Lizard Men #4-6 Kickstarter

Keep up to date with what’s next for Lizard Men over on the titles Facebook page.  Check out the Comichaus website & app for the first three issues as well as the rest when they are available.

9/10

G-Man