We are two issues into the latest LoJo series, and things are starting to really heat up.
Written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi
Illustrated by Tonci ZonjicAfter a grenade fight with two renegade wrestlers, the NYPD declares Lobster Johnson public enemy number one. Can our hero find out who was behind the wrestling rampage with the police hot on his tail?
David: Whoaaa boy. In a packed second issue of Get the Lobster from Mike Mignola, John Arcudi and Tonci Zonjic, we are given everything from action sequences to LoJo at his most Batman-y, and even maybe the beginning of who LoJo really is. Could that be the case? What did you think of this issue Brian?
Brian: This was yet another damn fine LoJo adventure. I really dug the look into the potential past of the Lobster, as well as the further development with the wrestlers.
Let’s not bury the lede here – this issue has the first real hypothesis as to who Lobster Johnson actually is, and it basically boils down to: possibly were-panther grandson of a pirate.
Let’s lay out some odds here – what are the chances that Cindy is actually on to something here?
David: Well in her mind she isn’t. She thinks it’s ridiculous and tosses it aside, so that’s probably the last time we touch on that for a bit. However, it wasn’t certain (in that story) that LoJo was the child of the were-panther clan, as there were the two brothers. He could be related to the other son of The Lobster pirate man. I have to wonder if we’ll get further into that in this series after Cindy tossed that out as hogwash, or if we’ll go deeper.
And I do think she’s onto something, as we’ve continued to see increased emphasis on the “were” side of the world. I mean, you’ve got Daimio, you’ve got the folks down near Mexico in Abe’s solo series, and god only knows what else there is out there. I have to ask, do you think this were thing is only going to get bigger, or do you think it’s just coincidentally timed?
Brian: At first I was dismissive of the were thing, but it would sort of help explain how LoJo can sneak away from things so easily (like a ghost as a cop says this issue) – maybe he gets away because he morphs into something else? That seems like a stretch, but I could buy it.
As for the bigger tie in to the Mignolaverse, I think that’s a possibility. Every few years, we see Mignolaverse stuff all coalesce together and make sense, tying in disparate elements into something useful. This could be one of those times, where everything just sort of comes together and takes up a new place in the universe. Think vampires from a year or two ago, for instance.
David: But at the same time, the vampires thing never really became a thing. It’s just another piece that kind of floats around in the universe, maybe for the team to pick up eventually or not.
I have to ask, did you recognize the dude at the end with the robo arm? That was not someone I immediately picked up on, and like with the last issue and the Devil Dwarf, I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to.
Brian: I didn’t recognize him either, but I am notoriously bad at recognizing people in comics. Who is this Bat-ish man, I ask?
I think it was more just showing more experimental science like the Devil Dwarf’s brain. But, again, I’ve been wrong about this stuff countless times.
David: If Mark did these reviews, we’d probably realize immediately that was Gustav Strobl’s second cousin on his mother’s side who is tangentially connected to Herman Von Klempt through their Squash club. I wish I had his brain.
Let’s hit on Tonci Zonjic. Do you ever feel like you can run out of positive ways to talk about his art? The guy is maybe the most underrated artist in comics today. If I were DC, if I read that issue and saw everything from LoJo confronting Cindy on, I’d give him a blank check to draw Batman. Not that he should, but that man deserves all the esteem in the world for his art.
Continued belowBrian: I am such a fan of Zonjic’s that I would watch him draw Power Pack, let alone Batman.
That said, I would actually like to see Zonjic do something that isn’t pulp-y, just to see how adaptable he is. That was the nice part about the research sequence – it was Zonjic doing something different, and I thought he did a great job, especially with the post-Pirate sequence.
But that scene with Cindy’s window was undoubtedly his Batman audition.
David: Yeah, his abilities as a visual storyteller really would translate to any type of title. Sure, his work fits well in pulp style stories – and that may be his preference – but I think he could do anything. That said, so many sequences in this issue just work so well thanks to the way he depicts a scene or a page. I really love the way he works with Cindy, in particular, and her body language and very gestural movements helps underline what Arcudi is conveying with his script so well.
Plus, the dude colors his own covers, as Scott notes in the letters column. After seeing that, there’s a little part of me that wonders how the issue would look with him coloring instead of Dave Stewart, but that’s crazy talk, isn’t it? He’s so good.
Brian: That is an interesting idea, but I think that Stewart’s, perhaps, most important role in the greater Mignolaverse is to be that binding agent. His colors connect the work of guys with absolutely unique and defined styles like Mignola, Stenbeck, Harren, Crook and Zonjic. That is extraordinarily hard to do, and takes someone with a really exceptional knowledge of what coloring is/means to do so. I think, while it would be great to see Zonjic run wild, Stewart grounds the work squarely in the Mignolaverse.
Anything else to add before we slap a grade on this?
David: Just that I really dig the character work here. It’s pretty interesting to see the relative desperation LoJo has in this issue. He’s not one to do what he did to Cindy, and I’m curious if he’s protecting himself or her. It seems like this is going to be a serious game changer of an arc to me.
Brian: Yeah, I agree. We’ve seen the Lobster in some pretty precarious situations in the past, but we’ve never seen him sweat this much before. Cindy is either going to bust something wide open, or he’s afraid she’s barking up a tree that will get her killed.
David: Definitely. I’ll give this issue an 8.5. It was a notably good issue for the Lobster, and with killer character work and art, this is just a really well-crafted and enjoyable issue. I think this is shaping up to be the best Lobster Johnson mini yet. What about you?
Brian: 8.5 Sounds right on the money to me, too.
Final Verdict: – 8.5 – Buy
