While Mike Mignola is best known
for his Hellboy franchise, and its spin-off series, B.P.R.D. (the Bureau of
Paranormal Research and Defense), his truly unsung creation is a character
called The Lobster (published as Lobster Johnson). Such a character works so
well in the Hellboy universe, sometimes referred to as the “Mignolaverse,”
precisely because he is a throwback to the pulp heroes of the 1930’s and
1940’s.
As a major fan of pulpy heroes and
pulp-inspired superheroes like Batman, I have enjoyed this series probably more
than any other comic published after the year 2000. This is the only ongoing
series in recent memory that acts as a meditation on the mystery men and
pulp-action heroes from the Golden Age of pulp magazines. It builds its own
mythology while giving credence to the tropes and conventions of pulp fiction
in an incredibly entertaining and fresh way.
The Lobster’s story is very easy
to follow if you have never read a Hellboy comic, so it works very well as a
standalone saga. Within the Mignolaverse, the public, in modern times, believes the Lobster to be merely a fictional
character called Lobster Johnson that was created by a retired detective turned
writer. He did exist, however, as a vigilante in 1930s New York. He had
a group of assistants (similar to The Shadow’s agents) that helped him fight
crime and injustice. He is unique amongst masked crime fighters in that his
true identity and origin remain a mystery.
Like most other men of mystery, The Lobster was an expert combatant. He
usually wielded a pistol that has been dubbed by some as “The Lobster’s Claw.”
He has been known to use other weapons on occasion as well. Like The Spider
before him, The Lobster could be very violent at times. After killing mobsters
and criminals he burned his calling card, a lobster claw symbol, into their
foreheads.
The Lobster also seemed to have incredible endurance, at times living
through explosions and heavy gunfire. No explanation has been given as to how
he could survive such attacks. He did, however, possess technology that was
advanced for its time. He used a bulletproof vest on occasion, and he also
possessed a radio that was small enough to fit inside his helmet. Inventions
like these, along with help from his assistants, may explain his ability to
survive. He is not invulnerable though, as he has been shown to get injured and
even bleed.
His first appearance was in a
backup story featured in Hellboy:
Box Full of Evil #1. The
story was called The Killer in My Skull and featured a scientist,
Stanley Corn, that worked for Zinco-Davis Laboratories. The scientist is
responsible for the deaths of 4 other lab workers, killing them with furniture.
The Lobster determines that Corn was doing “brain research” and that the
scientist has been able to use his mind to telepathically kill. Corn shoots
himself after The Lobster confronts him. Then Corn’s brain launches out of his
skull and attempts to kill The Lobster. The Lobster reacts and the brain dies.
It’s a pretty strange first appearance for any character but Mignola’s art
serves this bizarre tale well.
The Lobster received his own series beginning with Lobster Johnson: The
Iron Prometheus #1 (published Sep. 5th, 2007). The Lobster’s
stories vary from full 5-issue mini-series to short stories and one shots. As
of this writing, there have been 31 issues and 6 trade paperbacks released for
the series. His universe and mythos allow for genre-bending tales, from
straight up horror stories, sci-fi, crime fiction or just good, old-fashioned
high-stakes action-adventure. If you have never heard of The Lobster, have been
thinking about branching out into other parts of the Mignolaverse or just want
to read great action-adventure comic books, you can’t go wrong with this
series.
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