The suspect, Atkinson, dies leaving behind only hints that a woman is involved. Strikman needs to find out more, but does he have any relevant leads to follow? Find out in Lotus Land #2 from BOOM! Studios.
LOTUS LAND #2
Writer: Darcy Van Poelgeest
Artist: Caio Filipe
Colorist: Patricio Delpeche
Letterer: Nate Piekos of Blambot
Editor: Allyson Gronowitz
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: December 20, 2023
Previously in Lotus Land: Former detective Bennie Strikman is called in to work on a case in the city. Someone has tried to shut down the Keeper Program. He leaves his son Ethan behind and goes to Evermore to talk to Mr. Heister, the man in charge of the Keeper Program, who tells Strikman that the suspect, Marcus Atkinson, is a member of the Program. Interfering with the program could kill him. And Heister reminds Strikman that he has ties to the Program through his son. Strikman agrees to help. He finds Ethan’s mother, Tabby, and talks to her briefly before getting called back to Evermore – Atkinson has moved swiftly and is holding Heister hostage. Strikman races to get to the scene and reach Atkinson to talk to him. He only gets a sentence before the tactical team arrives and takes Atkinson out.
FUTURE NOIR
By the end of the last issue, Heister was dead, beheaded by Atkinson. As Lotus Land #2 opens, his new body is constructed and a voiceover talks about he feels the last day he had among the living was the day he was shot by a woman. Heister regains his body and asks for Strikman. When he arrives, Strikman asks if there is any chance to bring Atkinson back. The strike team did their job too well, severing his connection to the Keeper program entirely. Strikman points out he can no longer give them any answers. Heister mentions that Strikman did reach him and talk to him. Strikman tells him he got there too late.
Strikman leaves, and we realize he was the one thinking about the girl who shot him. He wants to find her, and he feels that she needs him as much as he needs her. He checks in with his son, and then someone knocks on his door. It is Parker, Atkinson’s husband. No one will tell him about what happened. Strikman questions him. Atkinson was agitated toward the end, and he had nightmares, nightmares about a girl who was drowning. Strikman drops Parker off but offers to meet with him again to try to help him remember more.
Strikman meets with Lundi and Wickstrom. Parker had not told them about Atkinson’s dreams. Wickstrom leaves first. Lundi is drinking more than usual and talks about feeling rattled. He then leaves to go home to his wife. Strikman goes outside and finds himself thinking about the girl, the dream, and Lundi’s rattled nerves. He goes to Parker’s house.
Parker is dead, and Lundi is there. Strikman accuses him of drowning the girl, making sure Atkinson got killed, and now taking out Parker. But Lundi does not know why he did it. His wife left him six months ago, he says. And now he knows there is something he must do. He launches himself off a balcony and into traffic.
DREAMS OF THE PAST OR FUTURE?
The opening scene of Lotus Land #2 is mesmerizing. It starts out with a device like an artificial heart which we realize as we see blood vessels become fused to it. Then the organs of the chest cavity appear, then the ribs that protect them. We aren’t sure who it is until the medical assistant asks Mr. Heister if he is okay. We just saw him killed at the end of the last issue, completely beheaded. Now he is back and suddenly we learn some of the ramifications of the Keeper program. This is a world that cannot support its entire population, yet some people get the luxury of extra lives.
Heister’s house is on the coast. When Strikman goes to see him, he cannot help but admire his view of the sunset over the ocean. Strikman takes some time outside as he is thinking, and the background is breathtakingly beautiful. This is a golden sunset against a purple sky, and those colors are echoed by the rippling waves. But this is only a moment in time. As the investigation continues and Strikman struggles to make connections with what he knows, the weather turns to a steady rain, the kind of rain that cannot help but feel like melancholy.
BOTTOM LINE: A GROWING MYSTERY AND DWINDLING LEADS
Lotus Land #2 picks up the pace of the mystery while feeding us more tidbits about the Keeper program. There is a train of thought about the strange girl which is repeated, and each time we get a slightly different context. The undercurrents run deep and are intriguing.
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Lotus Land #2
Strikman’s past haunts his present as the leads to his current investigation keep disappearing.
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By day, she’s a mild-mannered bureaucrat and Ms. Know-It-All. By night, she’s a dance teacher and RPG player (although admittedly not on the same nights). On the weekends, she may be found judging Magic, playing Guild Wars 2 (badly), or following other creative pursuits. Holy Lack of Copious Free Time, Batman! While she’s always wished she had teleportation as her superpower, she suspects that super-speed would be much more practical because then she’d have time to finish up those steampunk costumes she’s also working on.