Review by Comix
The time between WW1 to the late 1950’s really was the Golden Age of comics, hence its rare alchemical name. A time before the silliness of the Silver Age and the downer of the Bronze Age, it was those beautiful few decades that helped shape the world of comic books. Art was learned, characters were dreamed, and the industry had no precedent, allowing for stories and imagination to run wild with possibilities. Lobster Johnson is the perfect homage to those old tales; filled to the brim with Nazis, spies, and a hefty load of locked-room mysteries. Originally conceived as a fictional comic character in the Hellboy universe, he has broken out on his own, having his own strange stories to tell for fans in the real world. You can finally read the comics that Hellboy himself grew up reading!
Lobster Johnson was first released in his own work in 2007 and now has two graphic novels under his belt as well as several appearances in Hellboy and B.P.R.D. The third collection, Satan Smells a Rat, brings together several of his more recent adventures into a handy picture-and-word sandwich for your eyes, man oh man, what adventures he has. Set in the 1930’s, Lobster is one man vigilante team determined to clean the streets of mobsters and monsters. In his first adventure of the book, he fights a race against time as he attempts to stop German spies from dumping a skin-melting fog on the populace of NYC . With no time to rest, the next night, our hero finds himself chasing after a small-time crook, who leads to a big-time operation. Following that action-packed story is one of assassins, MONKEY assassins, who only like their Lobster one way. Cooked. These and other delectable tales await you in within the pages of his sordid life.
I’m a bit ashamed to admit that I hadn’t read any Lobster Johnson until this third collection. I wouldn’t say it was laziness, more like, I never really came across it in my travels. Until now. Man, have I been missing out. If you have a bit of a weak spot for heroes with guns and fancy noir-talk, totally grab this book. It stays very true to its premise of being an older, Golden Age comic that a young Hellboy would pick up between the two world wars. The work has this great gritty appeal of early crime comics mixed with pulpy, Lovecraftian horror, that really brings back a bit of that older magic. Also, he shoots everything which is something that has largely been left to anti-heroes and villains in our squeaky, post-Marvel fandom. The fact that you can still root for a man with a trigger finger and not feel dirty about it is pretty awesome.
The writer, which I’m sure I don’t have to tell you, is indeed Mike Mignola, though he does share duties with his long time brother-in-arms, John Arcudi. Arcudi , while mostly seen working on B.P.R.D. and other Hellboy related comics, has also penned Predator, Aliens, and even Batman. Together, these two have managed to create a smooth comic, with catchy taglines and very clear image of where they wanted Lobster Johnson to go. They make it look so easy. The art is done by a variety of different talents, such as Kevin Nolan who done work for companies all across the board to relative new-comer, Joe Querio. Despite the different talent, the work has a consistent feel throughout the whole comic and really ties together the overall story. It probably helps that separate colorists (not the artists) did all the color work and established a set collection of colors and hues.
So, this collection isn’t quite out yet, but definitely put it on your list next time you go see your local comic book guy. The stories are more or less stand alone, so there is no need to get the back issues to understand what’s happening. If you really want to though, there are the other two collections, which I’m sure are just as awesome as this one. Otherwise, be patient and wait the week out, it’ll definitely be worth it.