Lazarus Book 4: Poison (#16-21)

"I have seen the wrath of God in a Lazarus... and I had to look away" - Sister Bernhard

Time for the another look at the dystopic future world of Greg Rucka and Michael Lark's series Lazarus.  The titular Lazarus is a woman called Forever "Eve" Carlyle, the youngest of the five Carlyle children, genetically modified to have superhuman strength and speed as well as being able to recover from lethal injuries just short of decapitation.  The world she lives in sees every country ruled over by either a single family or split amongst a couple, this providing the main conflict of the series as the former USA and Canada are divided between the Carlyles who own most of the west and their bitter enemies the Hock family who run the eastern side.  In the last volume we find out that apart from Eve the rest of the Carlyles are very long lived and Jakob Hock had taken the errant Carlyle, Jonah, prisoner in an attempt to unlock the secret of their long lives.  A Conclave was called in book 3 and Eve defied orders from her father to assassinate Jonah and let him escape. After a duel with Sonia Bittner, Lazarus for Hock's allies the Bittner family which Eve won, Jakob was ordered to give up all the research he got from Jonah.  Instead he spat some kind of poison at Malcolm Carlyle and declared war on his family, which, thanks to various treaties and alliances would drag several other families into the conflict as well and it is some weeks later with war in progress and Malcolm still incapacitated that we begin Book 4.

This book also reintroduces us to the two characters Michael and Casey who first appeared in book 2.  Formerly of the social class "Waste", they were elevated into "Serfs" during the annual Lift; Michael on merit due to his extreme intelligence and Casey on Eve's recommendation after she bravely took down a suicide bomber.  Michael is now studying medicine at Stamford university and Casey is in the army.

Before the "Poison" arc starts proper, we have another interlude, this one called "Mercy". It follows the group of nuns who travel around the former US giving medical aid to those who can't otherwise access it.  The story is told via one of the nun's journals as well as computer readouts and online conversations. They are travelling into Hock territory, which is the most hostile of the three that control various parts of the US and Mexico.

The mysterious virus is delivered

The story deals with one of the nuns having a crisis of faith and getting involved with a plan to release a modified virus.  When she meets the person who is to give it to her, they are ambushed and the doctor with the virus kills every one of the soldiers and before dying, injects the virus into the nun.  With no options left to her the nun having fully lost her faith leaves the mission, which appears to be in a warzone now, but ends up being caught by Hock soldiers (it's possible she meant this to happen) and as she is being beaten, a masked Lazarus appears on the scene and destroys her assailants then reveals himself to be Joachim, Morray's Lazarus and that she is "safe now", she tentatively reaches for his hand and her cross swings off it.  Which ends the interlude on a note that will surely be picked up in later issues.

The Poison arc then starts in a place called "Duluth".  Carlye and Hock forces have engaged each other there, Carlyle hold the city and have to stop it falling to Hock or the whole tide of the battle will turn.  Casey's unit is fighting there and pitched combat takes place in the snowy town.

Fighting in Duluth.

Eve is at Carlyle's base in the Southern Sierra Nevada watching her father on a hospital bed the Hock poison that incapacitated him keeps mutating everytime the find a way to stop it. Bethany, Eve's sister, says "he's going to stay like that forever.  Until we either find a cure.. or lose the battle." Eve goes into his room and holds his hand:

Eve: "The war... it isn't going well. You planned for this.. I know you did...you had a plan. What do I do daddy.  Tell me what I should do..."

We then cut to Lazarus Sonia Bittner, her family having come over to Carlyle's side.  She is being purged of all Hock's chemical treatments which is somewhat unpleasant for her.

Eve looks in on Sonia.

Eve comes to check on her, and Sonia says she doesn't like being seen like this.  But Eve reassures her they have both seen each other at their worst.  Sonia thanks her for evacuating her sister and mother and she is grateful.  Eve is then called away to a briefing.

The war briefing mainly focuses on Duluth and how losing it would be "catastrophic".  They'd lose a supply line and Hock would have a foothold in their territory they could resupply from and begin a full blown invasion.  The tactic now is to clear Hocks air defence their so they can safely resupply and reinforce the troops there.  The decision is made to send Eve to Duluth.

Eve leaves and bumps into her sister Johanna who is a little annoyed she wasn't invited to the briefing, Eve brushes her off.  She goes into to see her brother Stephen who as the eldest is running the family now.  Stephen is being reassured by his male lover Rihan that he is a better man than his father.

Johanna, Stephen and Rihan.

Johanna tells Rihan to "fuck yourself off" and he leaves.  Stephen says she's a "full bitch" today. She tells him Rihan needs to know his place, "he's a jumped up serf who landed in your bed.  Not a member of the family".

Irritated, Stephen asks what she wants. She says she wants to help, but he and Eve won't let her and Eve just blew her off. "She not supposed to be able to do that" she says.  Stephen says she should concentrate on keeping her domain secure and leave running the war to him.  She says she gets the feeling that since the Conclave, Eve has been telling him Johanna's help isn't wanted.  But "she's not in charge of the family right now.. you are."

We then find out what Michael has been up to, he's been attending Stamford University. As he walks chatting with a friend, the principal brings Bethany to meet him.  He's been doing some theoretical work on "rapid in vivo predication and response in the HLA-complex".  She tells him to pack a bag and come with her.

Stephen is recruited by Bethany.

Then we hook up with his friend Casey in the barrack at Duluth.  She gets a promotion from Lance Corporal to Coporal for her general badassery.  A new guy joins them and they get "special assignment".  They sit down and are introduced to Eve, who says "you are mine now".

Eve: "Together we are going to secure Duluth and kill every last Hock son of a bitch we can find".

We then jump forwards to Eve taking out a squad of Hock soldiers.  She returns and the whole squad move out on patrol.

A Lazarus in action.

Michael meanwhile has been taken to the Carlyle compound where Malcolm lies in the grip of the Hock poison.  Michael is advised by James that this place holds a lot of top secret work and there are restricted areas he'll be shot if he enters.  He is taken into see Malcolm, and Bethany is there as well.

He examines him and says it's a systemic attack and is it adapting on the genetic level?  Bethany says it is hence their interest in his work. She tells him this is the probably the best equipped research laboratory in the world, he will have anything he needs to cure Malcolm.

Back in Duluth, Eve and the squad hunker down in a wrecked building until nightfall.  Casey asks if Eve remembers her.  Eve gives a potted account of Casey's experiences at the Lift and says, "we both know what it means to fight despite the pain".  Casey smiles to herself.

Then we cut to Johanna meeting up with her brother Jonah's ex-bodyguard. He says she betrayed him, he turned on her brother for her and now he's mopping floors.  She says he can have it all back if he does one little thing for her...

Stephen is talking with a man called Edgar (Morray) about the war situation. Bittner has collapsed in western Europe and D'Souza has been able to focus their attention to his forces in the south.  They need reiforcements.  Stephen isn't sure they can spare anyone.  Edgar says Malcolm had a plan for this, and Stephen says well he didn't share it with him. The conversation ends, and Rihan comes in and comforts Stephen.

Stephen feels the pressure.

At the medical compound, Marisol (Eve's trainer) is helping Sonia Bittner recover from purging all the Hock crap out of her system and getting her back in shape.  Michael is in the room studying and Marisol teases him saying she doesn't know who he is.   But puts him at ease and leaves with Sonia saying it was a pleasure to meet him.

In Duluth, Eve and her squad take down another Hock one.  Eve then says their intel is soft but the first air defence emplacement is about a klick and a half away. Suddenly one of the not quite dead Hock soldiers puts a bullet right through Eve's brain.  The others shoot him then go to their fallen commander who shows no signs of life.

Uh-oh...

The alarms back at the Carlyle medical facility go off to let them know Eve has "died".  There's something wrong.  The unit start squabbling about who's fault it is, turns out it was the new guy.  They anxiously wonder if she'll come around.  Those monitoring her say her core temperature is plummeting, "I think we've lost her."

When the unit realise she might actually be really dead, they decide to carry on their mission.  Casey takes control.  There are protests:

Casey: "We have our mission and we are going to complete it.  So grab your straws and suck it the fuck up."

They move out and leave Eve's body behind taking her sword with them.  Bethany contacts Stephen and tells him that they have lost Eve.  She wants to know if they should activate the "termination protocols."

The first protocol is to recover the body, which Stephen points out is in the middle of a warzone.  Stressed he says he'll inform Johanna who is having dinner with Jonah's former bodyguard Mason.  She authorises him to do something nefarious saying she update his chipset, he's to tell anyone who stops him that he's to escort "her" to Johanna.   He'll then bring her to Vancouver where she'll be waiting to "auction her off to the highest bidder."  Mason reluctantly agrees.

Johanna plots away.

Marisol is supervising Sonia Bittner, who is still weak after her system was purged fully of Hocks chemical enhancements.  Marisol says she is pushing herself too hard, Sonia says "every minute I am not ready is a minute I am not helping". James and Bethany have provided Sonia with new enhancements, which are bought in to her.  Sonia asks if Eve takes these and Marisol says, "since she was very young".

Casey's team creep through he snow in Duluth and make it to the first air battery, "now what?" one of them asks.  Then we cut to a Hock unit finding Eve's body.  Back at the medical facility James realises what happened, Eve stopped taking her treatment regime,  She's still going to recover it's just the process has been "retarded."

And Eve comes to and attacks the soldiers who found her.  She is feral to start with, but as James and Michael monitor her, her memories and personality come back online as well and James sends Michael to fetch Bethany.  He leaves and bumps into Mason who is sneaking about the facility.  Eve takes out the whole unit with ease and stands recovered, thinking about what to do next before walking out into the streets of Duluth.

Lazarus arises.

We then cut to Johanna meeting with family friend Arthur. He tells her Eve was almost lost but they have got her back.  Johanna says Eve might be the "only thing keeping this family standing".  He tells her representatives of the Moray and Carragher family are arrving tommorrow, they are coming to see if Carlyle can still head this alliance.

She says Stephen will reassure them, Arthur says "we both know he won't."  He suggest Bethany would make a better family leader in these circumstances.  She says Stephen won't voluntarily step down, and they'd never convince him.  Arthur shows her something on a computer pad and tells her to talk to him and do it soon.

In Duluth Casey's team move ever closer to their target.   They discuss their plan, and the new guy admits he really doesn't want to be here.  "Join the fucking club" says Casey. At Carlyle headquarters  Johanna finds Stephen's lover Rihan.  She says to him "I know why you haven't told him".  She says she knows he didn't tell Stephen because he might do something rash and send him to James for treatment:

Johanna: "And because you love him as much as he loves you...you don't want to get him into trouble."

Rihan takes the data pad.  He says he and Stephen have been together for twenty years.  Malcolm allows it but they are forbidden to marry. "I'm a serf.  That's all your family will let me be".

He says the tremors are getting worse and he's having a hard time maintaining his balance. Stephen hasn't noticed yet because he's been so overwhelmed with the war. He asks if Johanna is going to tell him.  She say no, she is offering a deal.  We don't find out what it is, because we see Rihan leave.

Johanna plans...

Then Johanna phones the people in charge of the security in the place to tell them she needs an alert putting out for an "illegal chipset". "I need all permission revoked immediately" she says.

Elsewhere, Sonia, Marisol and Michael are relaxing and chatting. Sonia says she has two sisters, Michael says he has none now.  Marisol is an only child.  Sonia says she and her sisters have never met their father, her mother says there would be "no point".  Marisol picks up a message and leaves saying she forgot to take care of something.

Mason is in a restricted area.  Suddenly Marisol attacks him and disarms him when she tells him he doesn't have the priviledges to be there.  He tries to tell her Johanna sent him, but she shoots him in the face.

One loose end dealt with.

Back with Sonia and Michael he asks her about the regime she is on, and that it's the same as Eve's.  He starts thinking because Malcolm would be on a similar treatment regime.  Marisol returns saying Eve is Sonia's favourite subject, when asked if everything is all right, she say "right as rain".

In Duluth, Casey's team finally engage the enemy. Under supressing fire "new guy" sneaks in and attaches an explosive to the air battery.  He slips away and there is a big explosion.  The team pull back and meet up again with New Guy.  Then their escape route is cut off by a tank.  It fires but not at them, at the Hock troops coming up behind them.  When they are all dead, Eve stands up in it and politely asks Casey for her sword back.

Eve sits on the tank and gobble some rations.  Casey tells her they really thought she was dead, she asks what happened "I made a mistake" says Eve (in the previous book Jonah planted the seeds of doubt over just what the treatments she takes are actually for).  They are going to attack another battery tommorrow and she orders them all to get some sleep while she is look-out.

Eve back in control.

The next day, Moray and Carragher arrive with their Lazari  which panics Stephen.  Johanna says to Johanna that they don't trust him with their father at death's door.  He sighs that he thought he'd do better than this.  He says Rihan won't tell him what she promised but she should "do right by him".  Then he goes to the meeting.

Michael goes to see Bethany who is by her father's bedside. He asks for some of her DNA.  She says DNA comparison has been tried and didn't work.  He knows that but because the toxin is so adaptable Hock must have used DNA from a member of the family to create it.   Bethany realises, "he fucking mapped Jonah".  They rush out of the room.

In Duluth Eve and her team use the tank to advance on the next air battery.  It comes under heavy fire and they move on to take a bunker in a strategic position.  The tank is taken out but not before they've blown a hole in the bunker. Then they rush with Eve in the lead and finish the rest off.  Eve tells them to fall back to this position, she's going to take out the fire team.

At the meeting, Carragher points out that their coalition is under fire across the world and it looks like Carlyle territory is about to be overrun and it looks like they are losing the war.  Johanna says "looks can be deceiving".  And things are about to change,

In the Hock control room.

Eve breaches the air support control room and kills everyone inside.  She then broadcasts on the Carlyle frequency that she is in control of target "Greyhound" and that their forces can advance.   The meeting back in headquarters are aso watching as Eve uses that air battery to destroy the final one.  The uplink of it's position has to be done manually and Carragher says she won't have time. "You underestimate my sister" says Johanna.

Casey's team are under heavy fire, and one of the is killed so they fall right back into the bunker.  Another is taken out, now only Casey and one more is left.  Eve takes out the final gun and the air is clear for Carlyle forces to move back into action she orders an air strike on the position she in to take out that gun now it's served it's purpose.

She goes and finds where Casey and the other soldier are holding the line from Hock attack. They move further into the bunker although Eve is hit a few times.  Johanna tells the watching people, "the tide just turned".  And would they like to stay for dinner to dicuss what to do next?

Things look grim for Eve.

After the airstrike Casey and the other one look for Eve.  She's been crushed under some masonry and lost a leg.  She looks quite dead and her sword has been broken.  "She'll come back" says Casey.

Back at the medical facility Michael's idea is working, it seems Malcolm might get better. Marisol appears and says "she's gone walkabout".  When James asks how, Marisol says:

Marisol: "She's a fucking Lazarus.. it was only a matter of time before she slipped the leash".

As they order a lockdown and James goes to track "her", we cut to Sonia Bittner praticing with her sword and suddenly a young girl with a sword walks in and introduces herself, "my name's Forever by the way.  Nice to finally meet you".

A new Eve appears...

And THAT is a cliffhanger!  I'd always been curious as to why Eve was so much younger than the rest of the family but I hadn't realised there would be a Eve production line in operation even though in retrospect it makes perfect sense.  It also makes the lack of love shown to Eve by the rest of her siblings understandable if she's just part of a long line of engineered killers abandoned and replaced when they finally get killed, the bodies used to udpate the next one.  Overall the book is tremendously exciting and great to see humble serfs Michael and Casey continuing to prove their worth to the "masters."  Michael Lark's artwork continues to impress, especially the snowy landscape of Duluth where visibility is almost zero sometimes but you can still tell what's going on.  And he continues to be master of depictions of hand-to-hand combat.  Greg Rucka builds a real web of intrigue with Johanna's machinations at the centre of it, and to be fair she does show more confidence and strength when dealing with the other families than "nice" Stephen does even if Bethany is the one being lined up to take his place.  Using Stephen's partner against him is a low blow, but perhaps neccesary if the war is to be won, and with the prospect of Malcolm recovering, thinks don't look as bleak for Carlyle at the end of the book than at the start.  We have as well as what's going on with the infected nun and the her being rescued up by Morray at the start of the book to be unravelled as well.  Look out for volume five coming soon to this blog.

Bizarro (#1-6)

"Me have the worstest friends" - Bizarro

One of the things I enjoyed the most about the DCYou (R.I.P) was the amount of six issue miniseries we got.  I've covered a couple, mainly All Star Section Eight and Harley/Power Girl, but there were plenty more.  They were a place to experiment and have a bit of fun with quirky scripts and non traditional artwork, but without the pressure of an on-going series placed upon them.  I really hope this trend of minseries survive the DC Rebirth, and by that I mean things conceived of as miniseries not an ongoing cancelled after six issues.  The poster child for the philosophy behind the most of the minis can be found here in Bizarro.  A very silly story yoked to some utterly fantastic artwork making for a nice self contained read. The story tells the tale of Jimmy Olsen, Superman's pal and red headed photographer for The Daily Planet, teaming up with Bizarro for a wacky road trip to Canada. Bizarro is a Silver Age creation, a "backwards" Superman who means the opposite when he speaks. Jimmy Olsen has decided to accompany him both to get him out of Metropolis where he is causing chaos, and also in the hope he can get a best selling book out of the experience, but of course nothing is that simple as they bump into various opponents and have some wacky adventures along the way.  Bizarro should be the sort of twee concept that I, as a frowny faced Brit whose comicbook year zero is 1986, should be genetically pre-programmed to hate.  So why do I think this is one of the best comics I have read in a long time (and I read a lot of good comics, no slights meant there)?  Read on, and be illuminated.

We begin with Bizzaro and Jimmy's road trip underway as Bizarro fiddles with the radio, plays eye spy and makes a mess eating is burger, Jimmy remembers how he got into this mess. Clark Kent told him a road trip to Canada would make a great coffee table book mainly as a way to get Bizarro out of Metropolis.  Back in the present, two mysterious government figures follow them saying Bizzaro is an "Omega" level being that needs to be watched.

Bizzaro, Colin and Jimmy.

Unfortunately a little later somehow Jimmy crashes the car into a tree and Bizarro makes a new friend he calls "Colin the Chupacabra" which is a tiny, fanged creature that takes up residence on Bizarro's shoulder for most of the rest of the trip.  Bizarro then carries the car into the next town which turns out to be Smallville.

They are pointed in the direction of "King Tut's Slight Used Car Oasis" to sort their travel problems out.  King Tut has an Ancient Egyptian theme to his used car emporium although his daughter Regina refuses to put the Queen Tut costume on and play along. Bizarro, Jimmy and Colin arrive with the wrecked car.

Immediately King Tut almost talks Jimmy into purchasing a second hand sports car.  But Bizarro puts a stop to him "ensorcelling" Jimmy. "If worstest friend Jimmy says unfix this car, you unfix this car" he says.  Jimmy, Bizarro and Colin leave the car with them.  Jimmy takes some photos of Bizarro who asks Jimmy if he is his "worstest friend?"  When Jimmy asks him to repeat the question he goes off in a sulk. But Jimmy says he's never been on a road trip with Superman so he must be Bizarro's friend, much to Bizarro's delight.

Jimmy being tactless.

King Tut is in his office praying to Osiris to give him power when Regina comes in and says she wants to quit and set up an artisanal chocolate business.  Suddenly three Egyptian gods appear and give him a staff to "change the world".  They leave and transform into three aliens who look a lot like Colin.  They have a good laugh and them go off to find "Ch'ck" who crashed ages ago.

King Tut uses the staff to make Regina wear the Queen Tut costume.  Jimmy and Bizarro are having to share a bed in the motel and King Tut starts summoning the entire town to come and buy cars from him.  Bizarro isn't affected but Jimmy is.  Bizarro wakes up wondering where Jimmy went and goes looking for him.

He finds him along with the rest of the town at King Tut's Slightly Used Car Oasis in a hypnotic trance about to buy an expensive car.

Bizarro: "You am not let my people go, Tut".

They start battling with Tut using the staff to throw cars at Bizarro which don't damage him, Bizarro retaliates with his laser eyes setting the cars on fire, much to Tut's distress.

Bizarro to the rescue!

Bizarro gets knocked out of the sky and says to Colin, "Bizarro okay.  Me fell on brain." He sends Colin to bring Jimmy to his senses. Colin climbs onto Jimmy's head and starts biting him.  This breaks the hypnosis just before Jimmy signs an expensive contract.

While Bizarro smashes up cars and the shady government official comment off-panel about the possibilty of taking Bizarro down one day, Jimmy has Colin bite Regina's head and brings her back to normal as well, "aw no.  I'm in the costume" she groans.

Inspired by a comment from Jimmy, Bizarro uses his super-hypnosis on King Tut and makes him believe he is a chicken.  Jimmy then takes the magic staff and snaps it in half.  Everyone gathered at the car lot come back o their senses somewhat confused as to why they are there in their pajamas.

Later that day Regina awards medals to Bizarro and Jimmy made them medals saying they are "No.1".  Jimmy is embarrassed, but more pleased when Regina awards them the red convertible as thanks for saving the town.  But after they leave, Regina declares to her clucking father, "goodbye Regina Tuttle, hello Queen Tut.  And for you I will destroy Bizarro".  And she joins the magic staff back together.

A stopoff in Gotham City.

Jimmy, Bizarro and Colin stop off and collect some provisions.  Then later stop off in Gotham City to get some fast food.  The Riddler bumps into Jimmy and shakes his hand saying "always nice to meet a fan" before running off.  The pursuing Batman bounces a batarang off Bizarro's head.

The next city they stop off in is Central City, home of The Flash. They are looking for The Flash museum and get into an argument over directions.  Bizarro stretches out his arm to point and hits The Flash in the head. "Did Superman just punch me?" says a dazed Flash as Jimmy, Bizarro and Colin sidle off whistling innocently.

As they drive to their next destination, the shadowy pursuers get clearance to engage Bizarro.  Jimmy points out to Bizarro they've been followed for miles, so Bizarro blows flame breath at their car and brings them to a halt. Jimmy, Bizarro and Colin then drive on and stop off in "Ol' Gold Gulch".

It's a real live Wild Western ghost town and after dressing for the part, they meet "Chastity Hex" who is looking for a criminal called "Jeremiah Blackhearse."  It also turns out this place is a literal ghost town as night falls and all the ghosts come out to play.

Chastity Hex.

Chastiy Hex goes off looking for her mortal villain while Bizarro, Colin and Jimmy go for a wander round.  They go to a saloon for a drink when suddenly a ghost bursts in and says "he's a'coming back" and the ghosts panic.  Bizarro throws back a hand and whacks Jerimiah in the face. But Jerimiah knocks Jimmy down and escapes in the stampede of ghosts.

Several ghosts on horseback arrive, the leader is "El Papagayo" and it is him the rest of the town are afeart of.  As the ghosts start robbing the townsfolk, Bizarro says he's going to "un-stop" them. He fires his lazer eyes at him but the go straight through, El Papagayo retaliates with his guns but ghost bullets go right through Bizarro.

El Papagayo realises they are evenly matched and so him and his parrot ghost possess Bizarro and Colin.  We get a good look at Bizarro's insides.  His mind is a maze, his heart is enormous and his brains are in his fists.  Jimmy tries to snap Bizarro out his trance then he comes too, but he's being controlled by El Papagayo now.

Bizarro gets possessed.

Pleased with his new body, "I feel if I can do anything", El Papagayo starts causing havoc as Bizarro.  He finds out Chastity is a Hex and asks if she's related to Wild West era Jonah Hex.  She says they thinks she is and El Papagayo says it would be a pleasure to "crush Hex's lineage."  She shoots Bizarro, but the bullet has no effect.

He then starts clumsily flying round lasering things.  Jimmy goes for his signal watch that summons Superman.  But it's gone.  He realises the Riddler took it in Gotham City, and we get a couple of panels of the RIddler activating the watch and suddenly finding Superman behind him.

Jimmy has an idea, and goes to the saloon where there is a bugle, some ghosts advise him to blow it and he does.  It summons Jonah Hex and friend's ghosts.

Jimmy: "I figure ghosts beat ghosts".

And Jonah Hex and his hawk fly inside Bizarro and forces El Papagayo and his parrot out of Bizarro and Colin.  He ties them to his horse and then Jeremiah Blackheart runs up possessed by one of El Papagayo's gang.

Jonah Hex sorts the baddie ghosts out.

Chastity hits him with the butt of her gun and knocks the ghost out of his body and Jonah takes it from there.  Jonah and Chastity complement each other on their hats, then the ghosts depart.

Ready to leave, Bizarro is hungry and Chasity wants a lift.  If they get her to Branson she'll split the fuel costs and she dumps Jeremiah in the boot of their car.  They head off for Branson and Bizarro says, "what could go right?"  And they pass a big sign advertising Zatanna's show there.

They reach Branson and Chastity drops off Jeremiah at the Bail Bonds Office then splits.  Bizarro wants to go see Zatanna's magic show and Jimmy reluctantly agrees even though he hates magic himself.

They attend the show and for one trick Zatanna requests a volunteer and Bizarro goes up on stage to be part of the trick.  She magics a portal and he disappears through it. He pops out inside the Rock of Eternity, the wizard Shazam sends him on his way and he pops out in Gemworld where Amthyst is battling an enemy, then he's off into The House of Mystery which pushes him through the portal and he finds himself in hell where Etrigan is enjoying breakfast.  Next he arrives at the Parliament of Trees agruing about some bureaucratic stuff. He winds up in a place called Skartaris with a Tyrannosaurus Rex behind him.

I love this page so bloody much.

After the magic show, Jimmy knocks on Zatanna's dressing room door and asks if she can get Bizarro back. She realises the portal is actually something only a very advanced magic practitioner could make. Then Bizarro pops out of a rent in the fabric of space in a smart suit saying he can do magic now.

He does his spells backwards like Zatanna, and when she tries to remove his powers, he takes hers away instead.  Jimmy demands Bizarro give Zatanna her magic back:

Bizarro: "I will. Me hate magic.  Why you always construe me?"

Jimmy: "That's not a word!"

Bizarro: "Em Eurtsnoc".

And this turns Jimmy into "Jimzarro" and makes Bizarro a normal person. Jizarro decides he's going to rearrange the town to make for better photgraphs for his book.  As he flies off, Bizarro says to Colin "I don't talk like that do I?"

Oops, Jimzarro is created.

Bizarro can't do the backwards magic to turn Jimmy back, "harder than it looks, right?" says Zatanna. Jimzarro is picking up buildings and putting them in more aesthetically pleasing postions.  Zatanna says there may be more trouble as Branson is the location of several leylines, Jimzarro rearranging the city could "open a citywide dimensional tear that could suck us all in".

As Jimzarro causes havoc, Bizarro bumps into a young woman and they flirt with each other. Bizarro pretends not to know who Jimzarro is as he does so.  Then Jimzarro is bought down to earth, he is being possessed by Deadman, another of DC's magic characters.  Jizarro looks sad that no one understands him, is this what it's like for Bizarro all the time?  Bizarro says he pretended not to know him "just to fit in".  Is this how Jimmy feels?

They share a silent moment then Zatanna, her powers returned, puts them back in the correct bodies.  Zatanna also magically undid all the damage Jimzarro caused.  Zatanna takes her leave but says Bizarro isn't a bad sorceror she'd be happy to take him on as an apprentice. After she leaves the two shadowy figures confront Bizarro, Jimmy and Colin.  They are agents of ARGUS, and they have a job for them.  They want the three of them to break into Area 51.

Ah the USA and it's competing shadowy interests.

We then cut to Bizarro, Chastity, Colin and Jimmy standing in a police style line-up having been caught trying to break into Area 51.  Bizarro has a special collar on that restricts his powers.  They are stuck in a jail with lots of other aliens.

We then flashback to the two Argus agents - Meadows and Stuart - telling them that the army has been illegially holding captured aliens and their tech since the 1950's.

Jimmy: "I thought ARGUS was already a shadowy government agency.  Why don't you tell the other shadow government agency to back off?"

Meadow says it's more complicated than that.  Jimmy says they want them to make a mess so ARGUS can come in and clean it up and get ahold of the weaponry in the process.  Stuart says they'll get "Vegas, all expenses paid and fifty K for you and your team".  So Jimmy agrees.

They check into a luxury hotel in Las Vegas, Jimmy has invited Chastity to come along as well.  Jimmy gives Bizarro a hundred bucks to go gamble with and is astonished when Bizarro wins big at blackjack.  For this they get upgraded to the penthouse suite.  We next see all four of them in natty suits, which Bizarro spent all his winnings buying.

Colin is the prison king.

Back in the present Chastity recommends they grab the meanest alien they can and rattle it into taking them to the bossman. He challenges a pink alien that is related to the Green Lantern Kilowog who recommended earth as a great vacation spot.  He stand up to take Bizarro on and sees Colin.  Immediately he backs down and says he'll take them to "the Big Munk".

Jimmy: "Colin is the scariest thing in the universe?"

Colin shrugs and grins. Flashback to vegas.  Jimmy leaves Bizarro and Colin at the bar.  He left his phone and it rings.  Bizarro answers it doing an impersonation of Jimmy.  The voice asks "Jimmy" if the "Bizarro moron is there" and that he should hurry up so they can get the book published and "you can stop pretending to like the chalky Frankentein and come home."  Bizarro crushes the phone.

In the prison, Bizarro is acting cold towards Jimmy and says he will handle things.   The Big Munk comes out and Bizarro insults it. It jumps and holds onto his collar and scratches away at him.   The three aliens who gave the magic staff are there too and it turns out Colin is the missing Ch'ck.

The wardens declare a lockdown, but Big Munks scratching at Bizarro's collar has broken it and now he has his powers back. He gets blasted into the room holding the captured alien tech, and Jimmy gets the Thanagar Hawkman wings and club while Chastity wears a jetpack and holds dual laser pistols.

Time for a prison break.

After some fighting, General Sam Lane appears to put a stop to it.  He says he imprisoned the aliens because they showed no sign of wanting to obey the law, like a certain Bizarro he can think of. Then Jimmy, using the communication eyeglasses the ARGUS agents gave him projects Lois Lane, General Lane's daughter.

She says if he doesn't free all the aliens she'll run a story about about it, "how many "L's" in "Unlawful detainment"?" she says to him.  He reluctantly agrees and sets the aliens free.  Jimmy makes sure they all get to take their alien tech with them as well, the ARGUS agents seem pretty relaxed about their failure.

Chastity leaves with the pink alien, off to bounty hunt in the galaxy.  Colin aka Ch'ck also takes his leave and both Bizarro and Jimmy hug him.  Now Jimmy and Bizarro are alone, Bizarro agrily accuses him of only wanting to hang out with him for a book and that he doesn't even "dislike" him:

Bizarro: "You no call Bizarro ding-dong and dum-dum. You mock me for trying to do the wrong thing. You even no want to leave him in Canada!"

Jimmy says Bizarro isn't easy to be around. Bizarro smashes the car and flies off leaving Jimmy stranded in the middle of the boiling hot desert.

Abandoned Jimmy.

Jimmy wanders the desert, dictating his last will and testement into his phone.  He admits "I managed to piss off the kindest, sweetest creature on the planet.  Way to go, Olsen. Jackass".  He collapses, then a car drives up with King and Queen Tut inside.  Queen Tut commands him to get in the car as he is "the key to destroying Bizarro".

Bizarro is back in Metropolis but he is sad.  Superman comes and finds him and they sit and talk as after flying together proves somewhat destructive. Bizarro tells Superman about his fight with Jimmy, and Superman calls Jimmy an "idiot".  Jimmy the Idiot meanwhile has been tied up at the top of the Seattle Space Needle.  To tempt Bizarro more, Queen Tut uses the staff to hypnotise all of Seattle.

Back with Superman and Bizarro, Bizarro admits he misses Jimmy. Superman tells him "friendships aren't about destinations, they're about journeys".  He says Bizarro should find Jimmy and apologise like a real friend would.  Bizarro hugs Superman then says how will he find Jimmy.  Just then all the TV screens come on an Queent Tut issues her challenge to Bizarro who comments this is most "un-convenient".

Bizarro goes flying off.  We then cut to Colin on his ship who also sees the broadcast.  He tells his fellow aliens to turn around and head back for earth.  They agree because "it is technically our fault."  Bizarro arrives at the top of the Space Needle and turns King Tut back to normal.

That's not good enough for Queen Tut and she blasts Bizarro with the alien staff.   She keeps up an energy blast and Bizarro tries pushing it back.  Then suddenly Chastity and the pink alien appear, and Zatanna rises up through the ground and Deadman pops up, Meadow and Stuart drop down from a chopper and Meadow unties Jimmy and then Colin and Big Munk arrive too.

Bizarro League to Jimmy's rescue!

Everyone pounds on the energy sphere surrounding King and Queen Tut then Colin uses a remote control to switch it off.  Regina returns to normal and says she still wants to be a chocolatier.  Her dad says she can do Egyptian themed ones and they can sell them at the car lot.  Bizarro gives her some diamonds so she can start her business.

Jimmy hands the alien staff over to Stuart and Meadow.  He says there is no power left in it but their bosses won't know that.  Everyone bids Bizarro and Jimmy farewell, Zatanna takes King Tut and Regina back to Smallville.  One person hasn't gone though, Colin has decided to stay with Bizarro, "boo-ray!"

Bizarro shows Jimmy a new car he bought, when Jimmy asks how, he chews a lump of coal into a diamond.  Jimmy looks like he's about to yell at him for not doing that before, but they both laugh their heads off instead and set course for Canada.

No Canda for U!

Unfortunately Canada has been forewarned of their arrival and the mounted police meet them at the border to turn them away.  They do it very politely though and give them a gift basket of Canadian delicacies.  The final page has the caption "Metropolis.  3033 miles [and a whole other miniseries*] later..."  The star leads to an editorial note that replies, "Yeah?  Let's see how the trade sells".  I bought the trade in a shop, was that not enough DC?  *sob*  Anyway the story ends with Bizarro telling Jimmy he's now an intern at the Daily Planet so they can see each other every day. "Oh... Boo-ray" says Jimmy, the end.

What a joyously fun little miniseries this was.  I was wondering how Bizarro might work as a main character but the big lug comes over so lovable in the writing and artwork that he's a lot of fun to read about.  The story is peppered with some wonderful cameos and in-jokes and amazingly the story hangs together very well based as it is on several disparate incidents.  It's lovely seeing everyone come to the rescue at the end.  Bizarro inspires loyalty and affection it seems and it was great seeing him interact with Superman and take advice from him.  Compared to the gloomy, angst ridden Bizarro of the New 52 this is night and day in comparison. Heath Corson's script is smart and funny and really nails Bizarro's odd speech mannerism, but it's the art I love most of all.   I think if you've read enough of my blog you'll know I have a preference for exaggerated, "cartoony" art like the stuff here by the talented Gustave Duarte.  I realise of course that style isn't appropriate for every type of story of course, but here where the story is completely goofy and funny it works gloriously.  Just looking at the pictures makes me smile, and it is very much indicative of how the DCYou was all about taking risks with the look and feel of their various series and miniseries.  Ah the DCYou, how we miss you.  Well in the grand scheme of things this miniseries will probably be retconned and removed from DC continuity, but in my own version of the DCU it stands proud.  A very enjoyable read all round.

30 Days Of Night: Juarez (Bloodsucker Tales #1-8)

"My name is Lex Nova.  I find girls" - Lex Nova

This is the other story that ran with Dead Billy Dead, which I looked at last month, in the Bloodsucker Tales miniseries.  It's back being drawn by Ben Templesmith, but it's the first story not written by Peter Niles.  Matt Fraction takes up the challenge of writing for the series with a very angry story about the disposable women of a Mexican town called Juarez. The star of the story is an private investigator from the US called Lex Nova who has read about the fact that up to four hundred women have gone missing over the years in the town and off his own back has decided to look into it as he thinks it might be connected to a case he's worked before. The storyline is actually a seven part main story called "Juarez or Lex Nova And The Case Of The 400 Dead Mexican Girls" and a one chapter prequel called sub-titled "Alex Gorodetski And The Case Of The One Missing White Girl or The Beginning".  Which is something of a mouthful, so for the purposes of titling this post I have simply used Juarez.  Lex Nova is a quirky chap, he has an internal "PI's monologue" that he unfortunately can't help giving voice to, which gets him into trouble a couple of times.  It's a pretty bleak story as it turns out normal people can be just as monstrous as vampires and it pulls no punches in its look at life in a dirt poor Mexican border town. We begin with the "Case of the 400 Missing Dead Girls."

It starts with a young woman, naked with ropes round her wrists running across the desert. She trips and falls and several people in black leathers and motorbike helmets surround her. Then blood starts flying.  We cut to Lex Nova arriving in town saying it smells like "tortilla and dead girl out here" and goes into a bar.

Lex Nova

He narrates to himself looking at a newspaper headline declaring "400 Dead Or Missing Girls in Juarez Mexico".  He tells himself that the girls work the nightshift at the local factories and:

Lex: "Some call it coincidence. Or a serial killer.  Or serial killers.  Or a serial killer and a copycat serial killer.  Whatever s'bullshit... I know who's killing those girls."

We then cut to the burial of Titania Acosta and the priest comforting her family.  Then we see a flashback of two of the town policemen, Garcia and Martinez finding the remains of the Titania the girl being chased at the start. She's been mutilated and her breasts cut off.

Back with Lex, he confronts Mr. Acosta saying to himself that he knows Acosta wants to talk.  When Mr. Acosta tells him he's saying that aloud, Lex pulls a gun on him.  Mr. Acosta tells him his daughter worked in a factory, like all the other girls in Juarez, "then one day she doesn't come home."  Suddenly three shadowy figures come into the bar, one armed with a basebat bat with nails in it.

A welcoming commitee

Then we cut to a vampire called Bingo who wears a clown nose, and his two girls, Halo and Echo (who is mute).  They are entertaining some normal men and then the whole thing turns into a bloodbath.   When it's over, Bingo spots the same newspaper headline about the four hundred dead girls and says to the girls, "we found Uncle Zero".

We then return to Lex driving a van he took from one of the men who attacked him, he pulls the spiked bat off his face and smashes a post box with it as he passes.  He goes to the Acosta house where there is a priest helping them pray.

Lex makes himself at home as Mr. Acosta shuffles off drinking.  Their son Joe asks him about LA where Lex used to live.   He thinks the girls are being killed by the chupacubra  The priest tells Joe to take his mum for a lie down so he can be alone with Lex.

Lex and the priest.

He and Lex sit on the back of Lex's stolen truck and smoke.  The priest says events in Juarez have caused him to lose his faith, he's lived there all his life and watched it turn into a "death camp".

Priest: "We made our daughter's slaves.  We made our daughters whores.  Now we've made them cattle.  And Juarez a slaughterhouse.  So fuck God."

He says he doesn't believe in God anymore, he just turns up for the comfort of the community. He tells Lex he might get some information from Pilar, Titania Acosta's sister. She works the factories then she works the town, "she is already lost".  But Lex goes to find her.

Bingo and his girls are waiting in the border queue to cross into Mexico and Bingo is getting frustrated.  When it comes to his turn he mesmerises the borderguard into thinking three scribbled on bits of paper are their ID.  Then Bingo tells him to blow his head off in front of the little girl in the car behind, and the man obliges.

Bingo in action.

We then see the two cops being reamed out by what appears to be the civic leader of Juarez for not finding who is killing all the girls.  When they leave however, two men come out of the shadows and the man, Eduardo Reyes, says the police have nothing, "I've run the maquiladora [factories] since before you were born. And I've been killing whores even longer."  If people get close they buy them or kill them:

Reyes: "Who cares for the whores of Juarez?  We give them lives.  We give them work. And then we give them death."

We then see Lex struggling through the mass of girls trying to find Pilar.  Then we join the priest, someone is in for confession.  It is one of Reyes's men and he starts to confessing to all the murders of the girls.

Pilar is in a truck cab with a fat guy.  She is about to suck his cock when Lex runs at the vehicle and punches him out through the window.  Meanwhile as the man - Paco - in confession keeps going through the names of those he killed, the priest explodes in rage and drags the man out of confession and beats him to death with a chair.

No Hail Mary's for Paco.

Bingo the vampire is just outside Juarez and says he can't smell Uncle Zero.  He puts Echo out on the road as bait. Lex is driving the fat guy's truck with Pilar still inside.  He drives past Echo and recognises her, saying that means "the whole Zero family circus is here."  She asks what he means when he calls them bloodsuckers and he clarifies he's talking about vampires.

He takes her to a house and tells her to get inside and he'll park the truck up outside town.  There are goats around the house, there won't be for long.  Then we see Bingo talking to Reyes and a couple of his men.  They've roughed them up and Bingo can't believe that "y'all been rapin' and killin' all these girls cos y'all are rich and bored and yah can. And there ain't nobody to stop it."

Reyes says the girls are trash and it is his right.  Bigo cuts him off saying he's a vampire who has done some terrible shit in his time because people are just food to him:

Bingo: "I do it - We do it - Because we have to.  You crazy bastards do it 'cuz you want to."

Bingo tells Reyes he wants to do business with him, then he and his girls go upstairs to sleep until sundown.  One of Reye's men says this is "evil".  Reyes notes the irony of that statement, then says "it's power" actually.  We then cut to the fat man whose truck Lex stole waking up in the back with a bunch of dismembered goats.

"Chupacabra!"

We then cut to Lex helping the priest bury Paco's body.   "Well.. he had it coming" says the priest when Lex comments on the situation.  In town the man who woke up with the goats is trying to get the cops to take him seriously.  The kid Joe does take it seriously as the chupucabra and reports it to a friend over the phone.

In the priest car, Lex tells him that there are vampires involved with these killings.  The priest asks angrily if he thinks everyone in Mexico is retarded?  Lex says he's a detective who gets the job done. The priest says, "There's no boogie man in Juarez.  Just us."

He tells Lex there are four guys behind the killings. "There crime is that they're rich. They're bored.  And they have the power to get away with it."  Lex asks what "this crazy fucking priest wants."  The priest says "I want them to pay".

Joe steals some cash from his mother's purse and starts to leave the house when Lex appears giving him a fright.  He tells Lex that his dad is at work and leaves.  He bribes (don't tell Donald Trump!) the border guard and cycles to El Paso and uses the resources there to look a LA Times newspaper story with the headline "Detective Sought In Missing Girl Case."

Back at the Acosta's, Lex has bought all of them bar Joe together.  He tells them they are still a family so "don't fuck it up".  And he departs with a shovel.   Before he goes, he takes the goat into the shed and feeds on it, confirming that he is a vampire.  Joe and his friends are peeking in through the window and believe it confirms he's the "goatsucker."

Lex's secret revealed.

Lex and the priest have a plan to draw out Reyes using Paco's phone.  Reye's takes the call.  When he hangs up he tells his men that Paco has been kidnapped.  His men are more worried about what Bingo is going to do now it's nighttime.

Bingo is pacing the room saying he's depressed Uncle Zero isn't here. When Halo tries to comfort him with all the feeding they can do he tells her to shut up and that he wishes Echo could talk so he could shut her up, but he does love making her squeal.

Joe calls in to the police he has information on a man connected with recent homicides in the town. The priest and Lex meanwhile are digging up Titania Acosta's body.   We then see Joe being interviewed by the police and he fingers Lex Nova for the murders.  He says he and the priest are together a lot because the priest wants to save him "because he's crazy and eats live goats."

In the truck with Titania's coffin in the back, Lex admits he woke up hungry.  The priest asks if it was for him?  Lex says human blood is a no no for him, "even though it's what you want the most".  Then he throws the priest out of the truck saying he's going to do the thing now.

Back at Reye's place, Bingo and the girls have been having an orgy of blood and murder having been supplied nine girls.  Reyes angrily tells his men to deal with them, "use fucking garlic.  Or crosses or whatever.  You've seen the movies."  He also tells them to "read that woman's book" referring to Stella Olemaun's "30 Days Of Night Book" on dealing with vampires.

He's about to buy a corpse "to keep the FBI up north" as he's been told it's a American one. One of the cops accompanys him.  They drive out into the desert where Lex is waiting. When asked his name he says "Don't say Lex Nova" four times, before saying "Cornelius".

Oops busted.

The cop says he is Reyes and says that this is the corpse of a girl Paco was screwing on the side.  Lex says she was a bad girl from Corpus Christi, ran away when her dad cut off the money. He saw her with Paco, then didn't see her with him no more.  Paco told him where she was when he popped him, so here we are.

"Reyes" asks what her name was.  "Olivia Honeycutt" says Lex. "Reyes" then points his gun at Lex saying the body is Titania Acosta and he's a cop.  We then cut to the Acosta's.  The mother tells Pilar she is a whore and to be out of the house by sunrise or she'll call the police.

Back with Lex. The cop is dead and Lex smells the real  Reyes lurking nearby.  He still has the blackmail money and as he drives off he says he'll give half to the Acosta's and half to the church.  A happy ending.  But the police are now on his tail.

At Reyes's place, his men burst in on Bingo armed with crosses and stakes.  They try and stake Bingo through the heart but he just regards it with bemusement.  He kills the man and the girls grab the other who has "some explaining to do."

Lex meanwhile is kneeling on the ground surrounded by cops.  Joe identifies him and they find the body of Titania in the back of the truck as well as all the cash.  Lex Nova is placed under arrest.  We return to Bingo who has Reyes hanging upside down and he quizzes him about Lex, when Reyes says he called the girl "Olivia Honeycutt" Bingo responds with "of course he did.".  He lets Reye's down after being told Lex is in custody by one of the cops.

Echo is locked in a cage.  Halo sneaks her a necklace and says she'll leave the cage open for her.  Bingo comes in, and says Lex, "the bane of my fuckin' existence." is now in a cage.  Lex is indeed in a cell and has been very badly beaten.  As he lies on the floor, Bingo and Halo come visit. He bends the bars and drags Lex out and tosses him around.  "Where's Olivia?" asks Lex.  Bingo doesn't want to talk about that.

Bingo beat a badly injured Lex.

He asked who helped Lex and Lex's internal monologue gives away the priest's involvement.  Bingo picks up Lex and carries him out of the building to the church.  Reyes meanwhile has called in on the Acostas about their daughter.  Pilar is talking to Joe about leaving with her before Juarez kills them both. But Joe says he wants to make a website of all the things he's discovered regarding Lex, and Pilar leaves.

Bingo dumps Lex in the church and leaves him.  "I was dying" Lex says to himself.  Pilar is thumbing a lift and Reyes pulls up and gives her a ride.  Lex is having a near death experience which involves being on the deck of the Enterprise.  Then he says he's just fucking around, all you feel is cold and darkness.

The priest and Echo find him and the priest desperately asks her to make him like her. So she cuts into the priest's throat and the blood splashes in Lex's mouth.  He rises up, totally animalistic and marches over to Reye's home where Bingo is sleeping. Reyes arrives at some sort of community centre and says the people killing all the girls are "sequestered in my home as we speak.  Join me and raze it."

Vampire Lex is not a nice sight.

As Lex, a snarling montrous beast starts fighting with Bingo, the house begins to burn.  The last we see of Lex is him screaming "Binnn..go It Endssssss".  Then we cut to the outside of the house as it burns up with Reyes looking smug as it does so.

Then we leap a year forwards.  Reye's gives a speach to the townsfolk that he is subsidising a new housing project and that anyone who lost a girl will qualify.  He says he has become friends with the Acostas especially after the loss of their second daughter (which confirms he killed Pilar). He walks through the room and says "your daughters are safe with me."

The priest is giving a sermon on greed.  He says it is the blackest of human weaknesses.  It creates dangerous, thoughtless humans.  No one is safe and only they can save themselves:

Priest: "Taking care of one another - struggling with that burden is when we are at our most divine."

When he finishes he goes outside with a bottle of booze.  He sits by a grave stone with "Lex 2005" written on it. "Fuck it we tried" he says as he sits by it and the sun starts to go down.  And that brings the "Case of the 400 Dead Girls" to a depressing close.

The priest knows the truth, though it doesn't help him.

But we have a prequel, "Alex Gorodetski and The Case of the 1 Missing White Girl" still to go.  It starts with him mulling over the fact that a missing white girl and a million dollar reward for finding her gets you a lot of media attention.  She is sighted everywhere including L.A.  And he thinks to himself, "if you had a dollar for every lost little girl in Los Angeles... you could actually afford to leave".

We then see Lex, although at this point in time he's Alex Gorodetski doorstepping someone as he investigates the missing girl. The woman asks if he is a lawyer and he says look at his car, does she know any lawyer in L.A who drives a "Nova."  He questions her and we see the missing girl is called Olivia Honeycutt.

He leaves, narrating to himself, although his monologues are just in his mind right now.  He is getting paid for this 800 dollars a day plus expenses.  "Olivia Honeycutt's been missing for 5600 dollars now".

Mr. Honeycutt asks him over the phone if he has found anything new.  Alex says that before Olivia disappeared there was a Halloween party. He found a photograph. Who was the clown?  Mr. Honeycutt says "I don't remember any clowns".  No one remembers the clown but he reflected in the mirror clear as day.  He manages to get all the photos taken that day assembled but still no one remembers the clown.

The Curious Case of the Clown at the Party.

After seeing one of the photographers, he leaves and the man calls up a "Mr Zero".  Later Alex is poring over the photos and talking to himself, back at his flat when a voice off panel says "what kind of detective talks to himself?  I'd want my money back".  Alex says he's the clown in the photo and the clown introduces himself as "Uncle Zero".

Next we see him hanging upside-down, Bingo is gloating over him along with Halo.  The girl in the corner, Olivia, says "the lady took my necklace.  Are you here to save me?"  Bingo says they have left Olivia's bloody nightshirt in his office and evidence of some other missing girls too.  "Not the most subtle frame job in the world but it'll get the job done".

Then Uncle Zero, whose face we never see, says to bring Olivia closer so she can have her first feed.  She opens her fanged mouth and her long tongue comes curling out and then:

Alex: "You wanna know the stupidest thing I ever did?  I bit first.  And that was it for me. I couldn't hear anything.  I couldn't think anything".

He bites off her tongue and vamps himself. So Olivia becomes Echo the mute vampire from the first story. Now he's a vampire the others have no use for him and let him go.

And Alex's fate is sealed.

He returns to his home which has police tape outside.  A neighbour woman spots him and asks if he did all those terrible things to the girls they said he did.  "No I tried to save them" he replies.  Then he breaks her neck and sets the building on fire.  And that brings the Juarez storyline to a close.

Dark, bleak stuff.  Unlike the Barrow stories, this and Dead Billy Dead have given us evil practiced by non vampires.  Reyes and his men are complete monsters preying on the hopelessness of the town they rule over. With corruption running rampant they are able to rape and kill the "nothing girls" with impugnity and it takes an outsider in the form of Lex, who admittedly is there because he mistakenly believes vampires are responsible, to actually investigate the murders properly.  The fact that a priest who has lost his faith could be driven to murder when he hears the confession of one who is part of the girl killing ring pretty much sums up the level of frustrated impotence he's been toiling under as more people turn to him for help as their daughters are taken from them.  Lex is another vampire whose managed to suppress his thirst for human blood and just as well considering the raving monster he becomes when he drinks it.  The prequel showing that biting a vampire will cause you to become one yourself neatly ties things up with the revelation that Echo is Olivia and the one he bit and explains why she was willing to revive Lex so he'd kill Bingo who's been torturing her ever since.  Ben Templesmith's art is excellent as usual and Matt Fraction's writing is tight, funny in places and shows a deft talent for dialogue.  Good stuff, but not for the faint of heart.