Tony Black reviews Lucas Stand #6…
Final issue! Lucas jumps into the future for the first time and discovers what the influencer demon’s plans will lead to.
The final issue of this first run of Lucas Stand brings the titular character full circle for a bravura finish from Kurt Sutter & Catrin Kittridge. The penultimate issue saw Lucas thrown out of nihilistic 40’s Hollywood right into a future beyond the time he lived in, a future filled with uncertainty. What the writers choose to do as a way for Lucas’ journey to finish (at least for a while), is to have him facing not just how own demons but his own angels, placing him in a scenario where he’s rewarded for his pain and suffering. It’s a classic story trope, giving the anti-hero his own paradise, but it’s one they enjoy playing in to further develop Lucas’ character.
The future world he’s landed in has gone beyond apocalypse, having evolved to a point where humanity has regressed into a simpler species, one having rejected technology which we see brought to heel the cities and streets Lucas once knew. He finds love with a Native American girl, Emily, in a village, and indulges a simpler life away from the demon-killing where he attempts to leave the darkness behind, only to find the veil has been very much pulled over his eyes. Sutter & Kittridge, backed up by Jesus Hervas’ pulpy, edged panels, manage to depict a future world which is familiar & alien all at the same time, and while it would be unfair to talk too much in depth about the narrative choices they make, so as not to spoil the direction the story takes, it nonetheless makes sense in the context of Lucas’ journey.
It also helps them nicely set up a second run of comics if they choose to do so, with Lucas Stand ending not with complete resolution but rather a revived mission statement, and a character very much prepared to continue his bloody, vengeful & yet cathartic travels through time slaying demonic evil. On the strength of this visually impressive, tough cookie comic run, his story deserves to continue.
Rating: 7/10
Tony Black
Originally published December 18, 2016. Updated April 15, 2018.
