Lobster Johnson: Get the Lobster #1

By Mike Mignola, John Arcudi, Tonci Zonjic & Dave Stewart

Fans of the Lobster, rejoice! After a string of much shorter stories, we’re finally jumping into a juicy five part mini-series with Get the Lobster.

The long-time writing team of Mike Mignola and John Arcudi are back with the true pulp hero of the Hellboy universe and this yarn should be a bit different and maybe even more revealing than previous installments. The intrepid reporter, Tynan, is back at it and this time she’s working on a piece about who the Lobster is (a five-part exposé…see what they did there?). The cops are rabid to get their hands on the titular vigilante as well, but throw in a couple of deranged killer wrestlers who are more than they appear, and you’ve got yourself one hell of a story.

This first issue really didn’t let the reader in on many of the details, and some of the book felt kind of random at first. It all looks like it could start coming together next month, but Get the Lobster #1 was appropriately wacky in some places, and somewhat confusing in others. This title tends to be relatively bizarre given the supernatural and horror leanings of the Mignolaverse as a whole, so eventually the pieces start to fit together, however subtly at this early stage. There wasn’t quite as much action from the Lobster himself, relatively speaking, but the story is definitely shaping up to be something quite interesting for this character. Admittedly, there were moments in issue #1 that felt a little repetitive, but overall this was another solid installment for the title.

Tonci Zonjic is back on art duties and he really retains the classic look of the Lobster quite well. Some of the other characters look somewhat cartoony at times which can feel slightly out of place for the tone of the book, but overall everything is business as usual and the majority of the facial expressions are terrifically done with a very sincere quality. The environments and character designs are perfectly suited to the era of this story and really help pull the reader into the pulp vibe that underlies Lobster Johnson.

Dave Stewart, as always, really helps provide a lot of added depth to each panel which further serves to enhance the pulp feel of the book. His colors in Get the Lobster #1 look more vibrant and detailed than usual for this particular title which really brings everything to life and adds a very dynamic sensibility to the action.

Overall, this was a great installment in the Lobster Johnson title. This book is a great departure into the realm of pulp action for the Mignolaverse that retains the bizarre elements we all love about the world of Hellboy. This particular mini-series seems like it will go a lot deeper into the title character than previous stories, but at the very least we’re definitely in for an exciting read.