The official story is that Strikman killed Parker and Lundi. Strikman takes a chance to trust Wickstrom, and they look for the girl who shot Strikman. Where will this search take them? Find out in Lotus Land #3 from BOOM! Studios.
LOTUS LAND #3
Writer: Darcy Van Poelgeest
Artist: Caio Filipe
Colorist: Patricio Delpeche
Letterer: Nate Piekos of Blambot
Editor: Allyson Gronowitz
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: January 24, 2024
Previously in Lotus Land: Heister was dead, but after a new body is printed for him, he asks for Strikman, wanting to know if they can bring Atkinson back. The strike team did their job too well. Strikman remembers a girl who shot him and feels he must find her. Atkinson also said something about a girl. Strikman goes to see Parker, Atkinson’s husband, who confirms he was having nightmares about a drowning girl. Strikman also meets with Lundi and Wickstrom. After they talk, Strikman decides to see Parker again, but when he gets there, Parker is dead, killed by Lundi. Lundi does not know why he did it, but he gets a strong compulsion that ends in him throwing himself off the balcony. And Strikman gets shot by the girl.
A DARK AND TWISTED PAST
Lotus Land #3 opens with Strikman remembering he was shot by the girl he was looking for, but he also recalls that in the muzzle flash, he saw a different face. He is more convinced he needs to find her, and that it will be dangerous. Strikman makes it to Tabby’s house and lets himself in. She is surprised, but when she sees his wound, we learn that she has special powers – healing powers. Strikman sort of apologizes but asks her if she will be part of Ethan’s life. She claims that Ethan does not need either of them.
Strikman finds Wickstrom. She informs him that everyone is looking for him, including her. He brought Lundi’s weapon and tells her that it should match the metadata on Parker’s wound. The official story, she says, is that Strikman killed them both. They both know this does not make sense. Strikman has taken the chance that she is the kind of cop that he was, one who wants to know and understand what actually happened. It was a good chance to take.
Researching on her own, Wickstrom found a possible match in Shelly Waters whose last known residence was Frasierview Hospital which shut down twelve years ago. They go there, and Strikman remembers the Hospital as a place for treating children with mental illness. At least that was the official story. Strikman was a resident there. He also met Tabby there. This leads into some of the brilliant storytelling this book provides. The history is vital for understanding the current murders, and it is being revealed piece by piece. But it also makes sense because Strikman is diving into his own memory of when he was a kid. He did not understand what was going on when he was younger, but now he is starting to piece things together.
Strikman was always a destroyer. Tabby was a healer, and he got to know her because he got injured a lot. No one understood why they were at the hospital. Some kids ran away. Some were taken away. Strikman looks out at the grounds, remembering roughly where those kids were taken, and decides they should explore that path now.
They find an abandoned, elaborate underground facility. Their drone, providing a small beam of light, reveals some photos on a wall. Wickstrom engages the databases. The photos are of missing children. She expands the light. There are dozens of more photos, including the one Strikman is looking for.
PUTTING THE PIECES TOGETHER
One thing that stands out in the art of Lotus Land #3 is how damaged Strikman and Tabby, and presumably any other survivors like them, are. Strikman has some amazing abilities, yet in this world not only is he not a hero, but we understand they are part of what has put him into danger. Tabby’s healing seems both familiar and perfunctory. How many times over the years has he been put at risk, and how many times has she been responsible for fixing him? Their weariness makes sense, but now we really start to wonder even more about Ethan.
The story may take place well into the future, but Frasierview Hospital looks as though it was a well-preserved nineteenth-century facility which makes it extra creepy. Inside, it is in ruins. The walls and ceilings are rotting. The floors are strewn with garbage and broken furniture. Some mattresses have been pulled to the floor, but some institutional bunk beds are roughly intact. Strikman’s memories of the place mainly focus on the playground, but those also look heavily institutional and unwelcoming. This place is a memory Strikman does not want to return to, but he understands that he must.
BOTTOM LINE: A SINISTER SECRET
Lotus Land #3 is an expertly crafted mystery where the truth appears ever more elusive. The murders have an odd thread of connection between them, and anyone who understands this may find themselves to be the next target.
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Lotus Land #3
To find the girl he is looking for Strikman must reconnect with his own past.
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Writing10
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Art9
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Coloring10
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.