Review: Lobster Johnson #1

Lobster Johnson is one of my favorite characters. First introduced in the pages of Hellboy, and eventually received his own mini series a few years ago. The best thing about Lobster Johnson, is that we know next to nothing about him. We know that he is a vigilante who brands evil doers with a lobster claw after he has dealt with them, has no problem killing, and rarely speaks. We don't really get that much insight into who is supposed to be the main character, but that doesn't matter. It's the supporting cast of characters that really shine.

This mini starts with a great action scene where Johnson saves a couple from some “ghostly native americans”
, who turn out to be not very ghostly or native american, and that is the only time we see the titular character until the final page. The rest of the book follows a reporter trying to find out more information about why these “ghosts” were terrorizing people. And as with most pulp stories, she digs a little too deep it looks like trouble for our intrepid reporter.

This series, as well as the previous series, have a great pulp sensibility to them. This series takes place in the early 30's and the art conveys that time period to a tee. Tonci Zonjic's art is great. He does the time period justice, and his figure work, while simple, is fantastic. With a few simple lines he is able to convey a great range of emotions on the characters faces.

If you are a fan of the Mignola-verse or just like classic feeling pulp stories, definitely check this book out