Mad Cave Studios launches Lazarus Order, a fantasy horror comic created by actor Sloane Morgan Siegel, alongside designer Benjamin J. Stockham, artist Juan Doe, and letterer DC Hopkins. The story takes place in a medieval world where a sacred order of plague doctors uses divine powers to fight vampires, werewolves, and the Rattusvir disease. But there is a price: using these gifts consumes the user until they disappear.
The balance between divine power and narrative wear 🩸
Siegel and Stockham build a system of rules where the doctors' powers are not an infinite resource. Each supernatural ability drains the bearer's vital essence, creating a constant risk mechanic. Juan Doe's art, with dark tones and detailed strokes, reinforces the atmosphere of decay. Hopkins' dialogues and the panel structure aim to make the reader feel the weight of each decision. There are no invincible heroes, only warriors with an expiration date.
Being a plague doctor: the worst job in the Middle Ages 💀
If being a doctor in the Middle Ages was already bad (bloodletting, strange potions, and a miserable salary), now imagine you also have to fight werewolves while your own body fades away. The doctors of Lazarus Order have the worst life insurance in history: you use your power and you turn to dust. Luckily, at least the beak and cloak uniform remains iconic. Of course, as for retirement, you'd better not count on it.