Lobo's Back (DC, 1992)

My scanner is kaput. I just want to get that piece of info out right away. As a blogger who irregularly posts, a scanner is most essential. Especially since this blogger blogs about comics...books with pictures, basically. So yeah, I'm a little bit p.o.'d that my 'Made in Taiwan' scanner decided to give up the ghost today...and I've only had it for about 6 months. So I hope anyone who reads this understands why there aren't any panel scans and things like that. Luckily Comics.org had a cover scan. (Edited to add: Special thanks to Maxo from Great Caesar's Post for providing the three panels scans you see below. Check out his blog, whydontcha?)

So anyway, Lobo's Back.

Previously, I wrote about Lobo: The Last Czarnian and it's re-issue in the brand new collection, Lobo: Portrait of a Bastich. Well, Lobo's Back is included in that collection as well. Joy.

This time, the Main Man is killed. Shocking but true. I didn't know he could be killed but for the purpose of this mini-series he could, so there you go. Hard up for some hard creds, Lobo takes up a seemingly easy job looking for a bounty called Loo. He finds Loo at the end of issue #1, they fight and Lobo gets bushwhacked by Loo's partner, Brother Feces.

No, seriously.



Lobo is literally cut in half by a midget who lives in a pouch (tied to Loo's belt) filled with shit. Hey, if that won't make you interested in picking up Portrait of a Bastich, I don't know what will. The remaining three issues of this mini-series deals with Lobo's attempt to go back to the fight and square things off. See, Lobo, for some strange reason, ends up in Heaven after being cut in half. Heaven can't handle him so he gets transferred to Hell...and Hell won't have him either. Seems he was having too much fun in the depths of the Inferno. So Lobo gets reincarnated back to a new body; first as a woman and then as a rabbit before finally going back to his own body and getting the upper hand on Loo and Brother Feces.

This being a Lobo comic, there are lots of mindless fighting and swearing and bodies getting ripped to pieces and stuff. A fun, fun comic perfect for the entire family. But like most or I should say, all, Lobo comics, the plot is paper thin and the action scenes are repetitive. Lobo acts like a jerk, kills people, moves on. Lather, rinse, repeat. Now imagine four issues (about 96 pages) of that. No wonder we rarely see Lobo nowadays. His shtick got old pretty quick back in the 90s. His cameo in 52 was probably what prompted DC to bring back his old books for the new generation of readers (if there are any).

The "Lobo" creative team are all here (Giffen, Grant & Bisley) with Christian Almay coming in for one issue covering for Simon Bisley. Like the The Last Czarnian, a Lobo comic is always fun to read but I'm not sure if it has any lasting appeal. Lobo is written to offend and nothing more. He's like the weird biker boyfriend your sister used to date: he seems like a cool guy at first because the grown ups don't like him but later you realise, he's nothing but a waste of space. Just like Lobo. I thought he was funny when I first read him but fourteen years later...meh. Yes, I called Lobo a meh.

Still, if you're not easily offended and are curious to read Lobo's early adventures then by all means get the Lobo:Portrait of a Bastich trade paperback that includes this mini series and The Last Czarnian. But for Heaven's sakes don't pay retail price for it. You hear me, you bastiches?!