Written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi
Illustrated by Tonci ZonjicWith a city swamped in dead gangsters with claws branded into their foreheads, mob boss Arnie Wald seeks the assistance of a deadly mystic and her strange partner to take down the vigilante known as Lobster Johnson!
Despite being a few days late, the flaming claw of justice that is Mignolaversity is back! This week, David Harper and Brian Salvatore take a look at Lobster Johnson: The Burning Hand #2, so click the cut to see what they thought of the latest from Mike Mignola and co.
Brian: We’ve woken up from our almost two week-long slumber with claw marks on our foreheads, and are ready to dive into the second issue of Lobster Johnson: The Burning Hand! The first issue was a particular favorite around the MC offices, and I can’t see #2 being just received anything less than enthusiastically. But i feel like we always come out riding the praise train hard and fast, so let’s take a slightly different approach (although one that will eventually put us right back in the same place we usually dwell). David, what about this issue didn’t work for you?
David: I wouldn’t say anything didn’t explicitly work for me. I’d say my biggest issue with this one is that it, way more than the first issue, acted as an introductory one. We got a feel for Lobby, we were introduced to some of his supporting cast, we saw his “Batcave” and you know, it took away a lot of the mystique that made the first issue so fantastic. What about you?
Brian: You pretty much hit the nail on the head: this is more of a #1 issue than #1 was. That said, I still ate this up with a spoon – just about every reveal had me smiling. The mystique might have been lifted, but it was done in an artful way – it wasn’t as if Alfred flipped the switch to the Batcave’s fluorescent lighting rig and we see the wire connecting the DSL to the Bat-Computer.
David: Yeah. And having read The Iron Prometheus previously, I can say that I already knew these characters, but it was still a nice issue. For me at least, the best part of this book is Tonci Zonjic’s art. That guy is a straight up monster, and it’s kind of shocking how much he’s improved since I first saw his art. I’m really digging it.
Brian: I agree, Zonjic is really on his game here. He manages to keep things simple and sleek, without ever looking under drawn. Dave Stewart, longtime Hellboy/B.P.R.D. colorist, really deserves some credit here, too. Little details, like the orange goggles Lobster wears, or the vivid reds (something Stewart brings to Fatale also) might strike some as garish, but I think they fit in with Zonjic’s clean lines to create these striking images.
David: Oh hell yeah. Dave Stewart is a coloring gift from the gods. That guy has worked on so many amazing projects and made them so much better than they would have been otherwise.
The story itself was nice. I like the continued proliferation of the creepy small guy in the white suit, and I like the arrival of his “mystics” at the end. Question for you: was that the Black Flame at the end? That confused the hell out of me. I could not tell for the life of me.
Brian: I don’t see how it couldn’t be – the look is similar and his head has, you know, a black flame surrounding it, but I was left with that same question. I mean, it makes sense – in the B.P.R.D. series of the same name, the Black Flame is discussed as a World War 2-era villain that’s persona is adopted in modern times, so I would think this is the O.G. Black Flame.
David: That’s true. Well in that case, that is super awesome. Although I don’t understand how the Black Flame could wear a fedora. That seems like it wouldn’t last very long.
For the most part, this issue was all about identifying the chess pieces and starting to put them in play. It did a good job at that, but for me, nothing about the issue was really that remarkable besides Zonjic’s art,. What else do you have to add?
Brian: When you put it that way, it makes the issue seem slight and, while I don’t think this is a ground breaking comic, that does a little disservice to the issue itself.
Because you and I are relative youngsters, we only have a passing familiarity with the old serials that would be shown in movie theaters. But what we do have is a familiarity with the Indiana Jones series, which is based on those old serials. To me, this feels a lot like an Indy film – the first issue was the set piece that opens the film, this issue is catching the viewer up on who exactly this Dr. Jones is (he’s an archaeologist, he’s a professor, he wears a fedora and a leather jacket). So while this issue may not be setting the world ablaze, in the context of the miniseries (and especially for folks like me who have never read The Iron Prometheus), I think this issue works quite well. I’d give it an 8.0. You?
David: Oh, I wouldn’t say it was a bad issue by any means. It’s the nature of the beast. I’ve long noticed that with the way these Mignolaverse minis are told, the second issue is quite often the weakest of the lot. I think it’s just the way it works, but it isn’t bad by any means. As you said, the atmosphere and feel is still spot on, and it really makes it a fun book to read. It’s just a bit of a transitional issue. It’s a 7.5 for me, but that is in no ways a burn. That just means it is a solid buy rather than something that blows me away. Ain’t nothin’ wrong with that. TOZOZO FOR PRESIDENT!
Brian: He’s got my vote.
Final Verdict: 7.75, Buy
