Longbox Junk - Lobo (vol. 3) Part 2

Welcome back to Longbox Junk and my look at the second part of the Lobo series that it seems EVERYONE hated!

I'm serious.  I've searched the internet for information on this series and 99% of what I found was negative.  Most interesting to me is that, except for some reviews of the trades, ALL of the information I found was actually from before the first issue of this series even came out!  There is VERY little to be found beyond the advance hate and chatter about the first issue.

But I'm gonna be honest here and repeat what I said in the first part of this series review. . .I really don't think it's as bad as people were thinking it was going to be.  

It seems there was a LOT of fan backlash, but I wonder how many people actually read the comics themselves instead of basing their opinion on Kenneth Rocafort's advance preview character design. . .which I discovered most of the hate centered around. 

Let me restate: Most of the negative things about New 52 Lobo I found on the internet were NOT about the comic itself, but about ONE SINGLE PICTURE that came out in advance of the comic.  THIS one picture soured reader opinion before the first issue even hit the stands!

  I think it looks pretty good, myself. . .

In my opinion, this comic was dead before it even had a chance to prove itself.

That said. . .

On an actual reading of the first half of this series, I found it to be pretty good.  It's basically a sci-fi western tale of a tragic anti-hero.  A man of former privilege hiding himself in the dark and violent world of bounty hunting after blaming himself for the death of everything he ever loved.  There's some good stories that can be built around that solid core.

So how does the back half hold up? Let's find out!

LOBO (VOL 3)

DC  (2014 -2016)

ISSUE 8

SURROUNDED

SCRIPTS: Cullen Bunn

PENCILS: Cliff Richards

COVER: Leonardo Manco

While on a mission for Void Whisper to take out an informer, Lobo is attacked by mind-controlled assassins. Tracking the source of the devices used to control them, Lobo is captured by a deadly rival and enslaved by one of the devices himself. 

As Lobo continues to work for Void Whisper in trade for information, the story remains interesting and extremely readable.

This time out, we see him infiltrating a lavish party, only to almost immediately get captured and turned into a mind-controlled slave with a nice bit of squeamish body horror as he is infected by a spider-like parasite that squirms around just under the surface of his face.

There's a very nice mix of action and intrigue in this issue. It's almost laughable how badly Lobo fails at stealth. . .but in a good way.

Overall, this issue is one of the better ones of the run, with an ending that makes me want to jump right into the next one. . .

ISSUE 9

SKIN DEEP

SCRIPTS: Cullen Bunn & Frank Barbiere

PENCILS: Szymon Kudranski

COVER: Leonardo Manco

With the unexpected help of Citadel operative Wyvern Cross, Lobo manages to escape being a mind-controlled slave and take down his target. Afterwards, he receives his next assignment. . .Sinestro.

A very nice ending to Lobo's current assignment, with some extremely creepy panels filled with spiders crawling over him and burrowing into his skin.

WARNING: If you don't like spiders, DO NOT read this issue! 
There are spiders every-friggin-where!

Excessive spiders aside, this is a really good issue. The writing is interesting enough to keep it from falling into a "Get assignment, finish assignment" two issue formula rut, and the art remains very strong.

Overall, a great ending to another good two-issue arc. Unfortunately, it looks like another crossover is on the way with Lobo's next assignment being Yellow Lantern Sinestro. Hopefully it works out better than the weak Superman issue.

ANNUAL 1

BEWARE HIS MIGHT

SCRIPTS: Cullen Bunn

PENCILS: Robson Rocha

COVER: Leonardo Manco

Lobo tracks Sinestro to his hidden base, but discovers that the leader of the Yellow Lanterns put a kill contract out on himself in order to test Lobo.

I was happy to see that this crossover issue turned out a LOT better than the Superman issue. 

I'm not a fan of the Green Lantern series of books and stuff related to it like Sinestro, but found myself enjoying this issue quite a bit. I especially liked the twist that Sinestro took out a contract on himself in order to draw out and test Lobo for his own purposes.

There's a different artist at work here as well, and probably one of the best that I've seen yet on Lobo. His work is highly-detailed and every panel invites the eye to linger. He draws Lobo a bit more feral than previous artists, but the quality of his work doesn't make me mind a bit.

Overall, this annual is one of the best issues of the whole series in terms of both art and writing. A very pleasant surprise.

ISSUE 10

REDS

SCRIPTS: Cullen Bunn & Frank Barbiere

PENCILS: Robson Rocha

COVER: Leonardo Manco

With Lobo now working for Sinestro and collecting power rings across the galaxy, he is given his toughest assignment yet. . .take down the Red Lanterns. 

I guess it's official. Lobo has become a Green Lantern spinoff book. After establishing the new status quo in the Annual issue, this regular issue is all Lanterns.

Worse. . .although the art remains extremely strong, the sleek assassin Lobo has been replaced by a bulkier, more feral rendering with a wild mane of hair, a bare chest, and a fraggin' skull belt buckle.

Yeah. . .it seems that in an effort to backpedal from fan backlash, DC has taken a sudden swerve with this character, trying to hang him on the Green Lantern hook and get him back to the more "traditional" Lobo.

It's sudden, it's "too little, too late" (with only 3 more issues left) AND it's pretty disappointing that DC couldn't stick to their guns with the new "Sci-Fi Jonah Hex" character they created.

ISSUE 11

PAID IN BLOOD

SCRIPTS: Cullen Bunn & Frank Barbiere

PENCILS: Robson Rocha

COVER: Leonardo Manco

Lobo battles his way through the stronghold of the Red Lanterns as he brutally fulfills his contract with Sinestro to take them down. . . 

This issue is pretty much all fighting as the new, more brutal and feral Lobo fights his way through the Red Lanterns.

The art is the only star of this one. It's simply amazing in places, but it's in service to a pretty mindless story.

Overall, if I wanted to read a Green Lantern book, I'd read a Green Lantern book.

ISSUE 12

OVERDOSE

SCRIPTS: Cullen Bunn & Frank Barbiere

PENCILS: Robson Rocha

COVER: Leonardo Manco

During an assignment gone wrong, Lobo breathes in some sort of poison that causes hallucinations, making him attack his employer and become a hunted man himself. . . 

And then all of a sudden. . .the whole Red Lantern/Sinestro thing is gone and we get a story about Lobo taking on a small time assignment killing some drug runners and going a bit insane after accidentally breathing in some of the burning drugs.

Overall, I was glad to see things shift away from this being a Green Lantern crossover book. 

Oh. . .wait. There's Hal Jordan making a last page cameo. Lovely.

What we REALLY have here is a contrived piece of filler trying a bit too hard to explain why Lobo isn't a sleek, cold assassin any more and why he's suddenly a shaggy, bulky, brutal brawler now.

At least the art is good. In places, it's even great. A damn shame that it serves a story gone REALLY bad.

And finally. . .

ISSUE 13

END OF THE LINE

SCRIPTS: Cullen Bunn & Frank Barbiere

PENCILS: Robson Rocha & Ethan Van Sciver

COVER: Leonardo Manco

Lobo goes on a drug-fueled rampage that can only be stopped by renegade Green Lantern Hal Jordan. 

And finally we come to the end of things for New 52 Lobo's regular series. Unfortunately, it's not a very good ending. It's not really an ending at all, to tell the truth.

After a brutal battle with Hal Jordan that ends with Jordan dropping Lobo from orbit and almost burning him to death on re-entry, Lobo is saved by Wyvern Cross and told he'll be given refuge at the Citadel. . .but Lobo kills him instead and the comic (and series) just. . .ends.

First off, this comic references events in Green Lantern Annual AND Omega Men. . .so crossover hell right there for those wanting the whole story. THEN it doesn't even end Lobo in Lobo's own comic! There's a blurb at the end telling me to check out Batman/Superman #29! I did, and it has NOTHING to do with the end of this issue.

What I'm trying to say is that, as the end of a series, Lobo failed pretty badly. You have to read THREE other comics to get the story and even if you do, there's not a real ending in there.

A sad ending to what started out as a pretty good series. A damn shame is what it really is.

CONCLUSION

A look at the following pictures will tell you a lot about what went wrong with the back half of Lobo:

Lobo from the beginning of the series. . .

And Lobo from the end of the series. . .

In the short space of 14 issues, Lobo went from an entirely new character. . .a slick killer for hire with a tragic past reminiscent of a Sci-Fi Jonah Hex in many ways. . .to a feral brawler with a bare chest, shaggy hair and fraggin' skull belt buckle.  Not only that, but after issue 9, Lobo pretty much turned into a Green Lantern crossover book.

The art remained consistently good from the first issue to the last (except for the God-Awful rendering of Superman early on), but the story started to swing in the wind after 9 issues to the point that without reading other comics, Lobo became almost unreadable.

Overall, I'd say that this series is a perfect example of a company not standing behind their decisions.

DC made a mistake in calling this character Lobo in the first place, but THEN they utterly failed in trying to keep the character IN character and let it become its own thing.  Instead, they buckled under pressure and failed at the backpedal as well.

It's a damn shame, because this character was pretty interesting.  

Like I said. . .a bit derivative of Jonah Hex, but the series COULD have been a fun Sci-Fi Western comic if only DC hadn't tried to hang the character on the Lobo hook.

All I can say is just what I said before: Read this without thinking "This ain't Lobo!" and you get a pretty good Sci-Fi Western. . .at first.  Unless you're a Green Lantern fan, just stop at the Annual.  Everything after that is crossover hell and the "Ending" is probably one of the weakest I've seen for an ongoing series.

Up Next. . .

What happens when there's a Terminator in town and nobody from the future around to 'splain just what the HELL is going on? Find out in Dark Horse's "Terminator: Enemy of My Enemy" 6 issue mini.

Be there or be square!

Longbox Junk - Lobo (vol. 3) Part 1

DC's Lobo is one of those characters I really like. . .but only in small doses.

Some of my favorite mini's and one shots of my entire collection are Lobo.  With a great creative team and done right, Lobo is one of the most hilarious characters out there.  He's been the headliner for a couple of ongoing series, but for me they seem really watered down, compared to the shorter mini's and one shots.  I guess it's hard to keep the right level of comedy and brutality going long term.  

He was originally created as a parody character, poking well-deserved fun at the grim-n-gritty direction comics were going in the 90's, but his satiric origins didn't stop him from becoming a huge hit for DC for quite a long time.

THAT SAID. . .

The series at hand is NOT Lobo as you might know him. 

 It's a highly-controversial total reboot of the character done during DC's New 52 days that seems to be pretty much hated by. . .well. . .EVERYONE.

Almost every existing review I could find on this series is negative in some way.  It seems that the Lobo revamp pretty much exploded many a head of comic fans with rage.

Which brings us to the Longbox Junk at hand . . .

I found this whole series on the cheap (13 issues plus the annual for 10 lousy dollars!) and decided to see for myself if it was REALLY as bad as people make it seem. . .or if it was a bandwagon hate situation where people wanted the Lobo they knew and would just automatically hate anything else.

So. . .Lobo.  One of the most hated characters of the New 52.  Is it really that bad?

Let's find out!

LOBO

(Vol. 3 )

DC 2014 - 2016

ISSUE 1

TARGETS

SCRIPTS: Cullen Bunn

PENCILS: Reilly Brown

COVER: Aaron Kuder

Former Royal Bodyguard turned Bounty Hunter Lobo takes on a seemingly-impossible contract to find and take down 8 assassins in 8 days before they take out their target. . .the planet Earth. 

Not a bad first issue at all. It nicely sets up a fairly simple storyline. . .8 targets, 8 days. . .and gives a bit of background via flashback to Lobo's previous life as a cultured Imperial Bodyguard. We also get to see where Lobo is now as he takes down his first target. . .a ruthless and cold bounty hunter that doesn't much resemble the caring man he was before.

The art is slick, sharp, and somewhat cartoony (in a good way) for the main parts of the story, sketchy and more pastel colored for the flashbacks. All of it is very nicely done, with the sharper main art being perfect for the hard sci-fi bounty hunting action.

Overall, I was impressed with this first issue. I've heard a lot of bad about this series, but I can't really say anything bad about this issue. 

If I HAD to find something disappointing, it would be wanting to know more about how Lobo got from the Imperial Palace to becoming a sort of science fiction Jonah Hex. . .but hopefully that will be in issues to come. As far as THIS issue goes, it's a winner!

ISSUE 2

PARTNERS

SCRIPTS: Cullen Bunn

PENCILS: Alisson Borges, Reilly Brown & Nelson DeCastro

COVER: Aaron Kuder

Lobo is forced by his employer to team up with 3 other "specialists". The unwelcome alliance is put to the test as Lobo takes down a murderous cyborg that unleashes a biological weapon on Shanghai. . . 

A second strong issue as Lobo takes on some supporting characters. . .Luna, a sharpshooter. Emily, a 14 year old hacker. And Rave, a mysterious guy who hasn't revealed his "specialty" yet.

I like the mix of characters and am definitely getting a "Sci-Fi Jonah Hex" feel from this issue even more than the previous one as Lobo reluctantly teams up and lets his team know he hates them all, even though they prove useful during the mission.

The art also remains strong, with the main story parts benefitting from a clean, sharp style and the flashback rendered in a more finely-lined and less heavily inked way that really stands out.

All in all, this issue continues to be a pretty strong hard sci-fi story by way of Jonah Hex western. The only thing I didn't really like about it was that the biological weapon Hex. . .er. . .Lobo. . .didn't stop caused a small zombie apocalypse, so we got some zombies for no reason other than. . .zombies.  Also, there's no real explanation as to WHY Lobo's employer decided to team him up, other than wanting to have some supporting characters.  

Other than those two small things, this issue is another winner!

ISSUE 3

GHOSTS

SCRIPTS: Cullen Bunn

PENCILS: Reilly Brown

COVER: Aaron Kuder

Lobo continues to bond with his new "team" as they work together to take down a target who can shift in and out of reality. Afterwards, they track their next target to Metropolis. . .home of Superman. 

Although this issue is still pretty strong, the story is starting to slip away from "Sci-Fi Jonah Hex" and toward more superhero comic book fare. 

What I first thought was a pretty simple setup (8 targets. . .8 days) is beginning to show its weakness as a bit of "Villain of The Month" creeps in. 

That's not to say the issue is bad, it's just that this particular target is a bit weak and cliche. Fortunately, the flashback storyline showing Lobo as an Imperial Bodyguard on his homeworld beginning to realize something is very wrong with the Emperor he is sworn to protect remains very interesting. 

I have to say that the flashbacks are probably more interesting than the main story, and would like to see more of it than the usual 2 pages worth per issue.

Overall, despite the weakening main storyline, this issue was still good. I'm still really liking the "Sci Fi Jonah Hex" style of it and the flashback scenes are a great addition.

ISSUE 4

. . .AND THEN SUPERMAN

SCRIPTS: Cullen Bunn

PENCILS: Allison Borges & Reilly Brown

COVER: Ben Oliver

Lobo and his team track their next target to Metropolis. Unfortunately, Superman has no intention of letting a ruthless bounty hunter work in his town. . . 

DC didn't wait long before trying to throw in a crossover issue. Too bad this one doesn't really work out.

The whole issue feels unnecessary. . .a crossover for a crossover's sake. It definitely feels forced. Thankfully, the flashback scenes showing Lobo's homeworld falling apart around him save the issue.

Overall, this issue feels out of place. It doesn't help that this is probably one of the worst renderings of Superman I've seen. The art is fine when it comes to Lobo and the other original characters, but Superman is just bad. If you're gonna try to lure readers by crossing over a more popular character, at least put some effort into it.

Looks Super-Stoned in the top right panel.

Moving along. . .

ISSUE 5

MYTH AND LEGENDS

SCRIPT: Cullen Bunn

PENCILS: Alisson Borges, Reilly Brown & Cliff Richards

COVER: Ben Oliver

Lobo's next target turns out to be his biggest challenge yet. . .a Xrexian who, like Lobo, is the last of her kind and descended from his people, just as deadly and skilled as he is and claiming to know the secret behind the destruction of Lobo's homeworld. 

After last issue's extremely underwhelming Superman crossover, this issue returns to form with a pretty strong entry concerning the last survivor of a related race inhabiting a planet nearby Czarnia (Lobo's Homeworld) that was caught in the cataclysm when Czarnia was destroyed.

He sees her as nothing but a target to be taken down, she sees Lobo as a chance to resurrect their race, and teases him with the possibility of learning what was actually behind the destruction of his planet. . .which he blames himself for.

Overall, I liked the meaty chunk of story this issue contained. . .especially when compared to the weak Superman cash in crossover issue just before it.   One of the best covers of the series so far as well.

ISSUE 6

FIRST KILL, FINAL KILL

SCRIPTS: Cullen Bunn

PENCILS: Cliff Richards

COVER: Ben Oliver

In the bloody finish to the first Lobo story arc, Lobo's team is decimated during a final confrontation with The Pariah. 

And so we come to the end of the initial "8 days, 8 kills" storyline. Lobo's team (except Emily, the teenage hacker) are brutally killed by The Pariah, but he manages to defeat her and bring the contract to a close.  Too bad I found it hard to care about the demise of his team.  They had been barely fleshed out at all.  Luna was a sexy sharpshooter in a cowboy hat who I assume was there to fill a missing boob quota, and Rave was just a guy who double-fisted revolvers and looked cool in a trenchcoat.  RIP. . .I guess.

Most of the issue was the bloody battle between Lobo and Pariah, but a good chunk of it was flashbacks to the ultimate destruction of Lobo's homeworld after Lobo killed the Emperor, who had gone insane and whose life force was tied up with that of the planet itself. In trying to save the planet, Lobo was ultimately responsible for destroying it.

But during the battle with Pariah, she revealed that she had been hired to poison the Emperor and drive him insane. . .but she dies before she can reveal who hired her. . .thus setting up the next stage of the story as Lobo sets out to find out who it was.

Overall, I really liked this issue and thought it was a great conclusion to the first story arc. 

There was an artist change in this issue as well. The usual sharp, somewhat cartoony art was replaced by one of the artists who had been doing the flashbacks. His thinner-lined, more angular art style was very well suited for the dark nature of this issue and was an unexpectedly welcome change.

And Finally. . .

ISSUE 7

WHIP

SCRIPTS: Cullen Bunn

PENCILS: Cliff Richards

COVER: Leonardo Manco

Lobo strikes a deal with Kadra, the leader of the Void Whisper assassin's guild. He'll work as her head Enforcer in exchange for information leading to who hired her assassins to destroy Earth and Czarnia. 

The first issue of the next Lobo story arc is a strong entry that digs into the dirty underbelly of crime and contract killing. 

I liked the return to the "Sci-Fi Jonah Hex" style that had been left a bit to the wayside as the last arc finished up.   Unfortunately, it looks like along with this new direction the flashbacks to Lobo's previous life are gone. . .but on the good side, the artist of those flashbacks is illustrating the main story now and it lends a whole new, grittier look and feel to the story.

Overall, a strong start to the new arc, with a grittier feel to both story and art.

CONCLUSION

Coming into this series cold, with very little knowledge of the character other than he existed and it seems everyone hates him (I never saw an issue of this on the stands of my local comic shop when the New 52 was rolling and didn't read any of the series it crossed over with), I found myself pleasantly surprised to find myself liking it.

Is it perfect? No.  Is it great? No.  It's not close to being perfect OR great.  But to me, it IS good and doesn't deserve the hate that it got.  What it actually reminded me of a lot was Jonah Hex. . .but with a hard Sci-Fi twist that Jonah Hex's future adventures in HEX never quite pulled off.

Let's address the elephant in the room here.  

No. . .it's NOT Lobo by any means.  It's played pretty straight, with hardly any humor.  It's a violent sci-fi western story with a tragic anti-hero.  I think that DC made a mistake in trying to hang this series and this character on the Lobo hook.  As its own thing, it MIGHT have lasted longer than 13 issues and not gotten the practically universal comic fan hate I see when I read anything about this series.

Overall, I say put aside comparisons to the original Lobo and knee-jerk reaction to unwanted character reboots and give this series a chance on its own as a decent sci-fi western story and some pretty good Longbox Junk.

Up Next. . .

The back half of New 52 Lobo. . .where it all goes TERRIBLY wrong as DC tries to figure out how to backpedal away from the discontent over the questionable decision to reboot Lobo as an entirely new character.

Be there or be square!