Lobo's a monosyllabic knuckle-dragger, but probably still gets the best lines here?

I found this in the garage, while looking for one of the Legends of the Dead Earth annuals I thought I had (and I did! That's four bucks I'll keep in my pocket) but until I looked it up the other day, I would've sworn there was a Lobo annual in LotDE. There wasn't, but man, wouldn't that have been fun to write? 40 pages of Lobo going "aww, diddum widdle pwanlet blow up? What'cha gonna do, nancypants, cry 'bout it?" and then exaggerated stories about how he kicked the living crap out of everyone in the so-called Heroic Age, from Superman down to the Red Bee. It would end with him having a cheerful guffaw that annoying planet was long gone, then having a coughing fit; before it was time for his pills and bowel irrigation at the nursing home...Anyway, on to this comic: from 2010, Green Lantern #55, "The New Guardians, chapter three" Written by Geoff Johns, pencils by Doug Mahnke, inks by Christian Alamy, Tom Nguyen, Keith Champagne, and Doug Mahnke.

Most of these GL comics I got from the cheap bins, but two surprises right off the start: this looked like a multi-part story completely within the title. Usually, the first chapter was here, then over to Green Lantern Corps or a myriad of other books, but this was maybe setting up one. Also, it opens in Montana! Specifically in Grass Range, Montana: I'm not sure I've ever even been through there, but it also may not be drawn with any reference besides "outsides." The Crispus Allen Spectre investigates a dead cow, which warns him to "stay away!" in a Red Lantern bubble. Meanwhile, in New York City, we find Lobo throwing down with Hal and Atrocitus, already in progress, with a two-page spread that I hope Mahnke got some folding money for on the back end.

Hal and Carol are momentarily unsure who they should help on that one, but Hal gets a message from the White Lantern that Atrocitus has his mission. So, killjoy Hal muzzles Lobo's dog, then runs him over with his own bike. After going over the rules, which Hal admits he doesn't really follow either, Hal does get a good shot in with giant green brass knuckles--the big green boxing glove wasn't going to cut it there, I suppose. This issue moves fast, without a lot of transitions, as Sinestro is also there, and coldly throws the works at Lobo: a giant skeletal hand, what looks like metal tentacles, and some chainguns. A disgruntled Lobo wonders "what god ate a rainbow and threw it up across the universe," then Carol tries to contain him, which only works for a few seconds, and Lobo whispers to her what he really loves...which catches him a power-construct slap. Dex-Starr takes on Lobo's dog, who was not expecting red rage vomit hairballs; Lobo tells him to suck it up.

Finally, since the bigger mission with the power ring entities had priority, Hal reluctantly tells Lobo if he wanted Atrocitus, he would have to go through all of them. Lobo scoffs, "yeah, I'm the one with screwed-up priorities," but still leaves; and Hal isn't quite sure why. Sinestro suggests, Lobo was afraid of Hal, that he still had a little Parallax in him. But, the real reason is, the one who set the bounty on Atrocitus was...Atrocitus himself! Not because he hated himself, as we'd see later in Red Lanterns, but because he needed the others to work with him. Job done, Lobo ponders his payment: a red power ring, 'cause if you can't beat 'em...

Also this issue, and possibly more of a draw than Lobo at the time: the secret origin of Dex-Starr! "Dex-Starr" Written by Geoff Johns, art by Shawn Davis, with special thanks to Jamie Grant. It's a tear-jerker, as little kitty Dexter is adopted by a lonely woman, who is later killed in a home invasion. He's then given the boot from his home by the cops, under the guise of not contaminating the crime scene, then grabbed by some punks who put him in a bag and throw him off a bridge; making him a veritable beacon of rage, perfect for a Red Lantern ring. We don't see him murder the punks, but that's gotta be a given. The story ends with Dex-Starr sleeping cuddled against what I think was his owner's skull, as he promises to find and kill her murderer. "I good kitty." I don't know if Dex-Starr ever did, though; because comics: he's been sucked into other things, and if he did find the killer, would it be like Batman finding Joe Chill? Would he have a reason to keep hating? (Probably because they weren't fully codified until later, Dex-Starr doesn't seem to follow the same rules as other Reds; but that could be just because he's a cat and always has a certain baseline of hate running in the background.)

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Somebody or other brought this up on Blue Sky the other day (and if you need an invite, lemme know!) and if I didn't randomly find it in my garage foraging the other day! From 2004, the Authority vs. Lobo #1, "Jingle Hell!" Plot by Keith Giffen, script by Alan Grant, art by Simon Bisley.

Al Kennedy recounts Alan Grant's research for this one: calling Warren Ellis to ask who the #### the Authority was. Although, I'm pretty sure their star was on the rise by that point, while Lobo's maybe wasn't. That said, I distinctly recall a Stan Lee interview where he said Lobo was the main DC title he liked, so...there's that, I guess. This was the post-millennial Authority, with the newly-reincarnated Jenny Quantum, who was currently three years old, and the rest of the team was spectacularly not well suited to the task of parenting the semi-precocious little waif. Wandering off to an unexplored area of their massive extra-dimensional Carrier, she stumbles across a copy of the Lobo Paramilitary Christmas Special from a few years prior, where the Main Man snuffs Kris Kringle. Distraght, Jenny wants her team to find Lobo, and make him pay.

Said Main Man, was currently pissing away a bounty by gambling away his internal organs, and after losing is approached by some tapeworm-looking aliens for a job: they want the Authority dead, for killing their god/host. In return, they offer Lobo the massive biomass of said host, a colossal chunk of meat and whatnot. Sold American! Meanwhile, the adult members of the Authority were discussing whether or not they should hunt down Lobo, or tell Jenny Santa wasn't real. Hunting down Lobo seems easier? Midnighter is grudgingly forced to bite the proverbial bullet, and take Jenny to the North Pole...which is, surprisingly, full of reindeer corpses, dead elves, and the remnants of Santa's workshop! The rest of the Authority is doubtful, until Jack Hawksmoor takes a Door to Times Square; and they remember in the comic, "bombs dropped down every chimney." NYC is a post-apocalyptic nightmare, a city of the dead and dying.

The team quickly realizes, maybe this wasn't all Lobo's doing, but Jenny's: she altered reality without realizing it. While the Authority questions survivors of the massacre, the Sugarplum Fairy and Frosty; Lobo tracks down the Ship in the Bleed, and fight time! Eventually, Jenny throws Lobo through a Door to the wreckage of Santa's workshop, and confronts him with his comic; which Lobo is surprisingly thrilled to see: it was a collector's item! But also fiction, part of a licensing deal he did years back. Lobo confronts Jenny with the knowledge that by making it real, she killed Santa! She explodes with power, resetting everything, and knocking out Lobo. But what to do with him: they weren't even sure Lobo was killable. They have to settle for taking pictures of Lobo, beat by a three-year-old, which would kill his rep if they got out. Also, the alien meat-corpse's orbit decayed and burned up, so there wasn't any payout coming for him to keep fighting. Still, Lobo doesn't seem to mind; as Jenny seemed to impress him...and he makes a deeply creepy comment as he leaves. 

The Authority has a right merry Christmas, maybe not noticing that Jenny had lost some of her innocence. I don't think I loved this one at the time, but I'm not a big Lobo fan anyway, and can't remember the last time I read an Authority story. I think I stuck with them through maybe Ed Brubaker's run, then was done with them.

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I'm not a Lobo fan by any means, although I did just recently buy the McFarlane Lobo figure since I saw it cheap--come to think of it, I think I was shorted his chain! Ah, I probably have one around somewhere. I'm not sure he looks right, or on-model today; at first glance this made me think if Lobo's heyday had been during Curt Swan's run. From 1990, Adventures of Superman #464, "The Day of the Krypton Man, part 2: Blood Brawl" Story and pencils by Dan Jurgens, finished inks by Art Thibert.

Of course, this issue predates his first mini-series, although he did appear on the cover of L.E.G.I.O.N. '90 #13 the same month as this issue. This wasn't quite as svelte and polished as that New 52 version, but Lobo is much less biker-burly than usual today, even if he's still looking to pick a fight with Superman. With a teleporter named Raof and super-Superman fan Bibbo in tow, he senses Kryptonian presence in the South Pole; but Superman is actually just arriving in Metropolis then. Supes was late for a morning meeting, and having recently returned from space exile, he was wondering if he could still balance a double life. That is immediately complicated by Lois Lane inviting Clark to dinner, to catch him up on what he had missed. Uncharacteristically, Clark snubs her, coldly; then seems confused as to why she was upset. He then senses intruders near his Fortress, and changes costumes--momentarily seeming to appear in Kryptonian garb!

Superman is understandably not thrilled to find three drunks in his house, even before Lobo sucker-kicks him. (The kick just seems wrong, though: too graceful? A Lobo kick would be more like starting a hog than any kung-fu.) Lobo thinks he's more than a match for the over-rated Man of Steel, and he might be right: with his brutal fighting style, he was dishing out more than Supes wanted to take. The fight takes an unusual turn, though, when Lobo gets into the Kryptonite stored there; and Superman gets into a Kryptonian power-armor suit: Lobo eventually wins, though, blasting the armor apart with missiles from his space-bike. Victorious, he then blacks out; as does his new fan Bibbo, leaving Raof to fly them away.

But, Superman was of course fine, and glad to see them leave; having used the armor to create holograms of his defeat. A technology he hadn't known how to use before, but could now...somehow. And still hammered, Lobo visits some aliens he had made a bet with, but his memory was understandably a bit fuzzy. Worse, Bibbo had been wearing his recording-goggles backwards, so he had been taping himself and missed the whole fight! There's also some subplot pages, with Ma and Pa Kent trying to cover Clark forgetting Lana's birthday; pretty obviously the influence of whatever Kryptonian macguffin was in play here. Read more!

When we looked at Superman: the Man of Steel #30, I didn't think we would see this follow-up issue anytime soon, yet here we are! From 1994, L.E.G.I.O.N. '94 #63, "We Fight and Fight and Fight" Written by Tom Peyer, pencils by Arnie Jorgensen, inks by James Pascoe.

The title and the cover make it seem like this is going to be an all-out Superman vs. Lobo slobberknocker of a brawl...and they don't fight at all here, really. Lobo drags Superman to the End of the Line bar, to finally show those barflys and drunks that Superman really was his sidekick. A bit of violence ensues, until one inventive thug slaps a rocket on Lobo's back--"on that little spot on my back I can never reach!"--and launches his ass at a sun! Superman of course saves him, and while Lobo begs him not to tell the guys he had to be rescued, Supes still lets it slip before he takes off.

Sixteen pages of this one go to the book's ongoing plots: Stealth and Vril Dox fight over their son, a surprisingly articulate baby; Lady Quark brings in Garryn Bek for desertion, but may be revealed to be something else; and Strata's attempt at a romantic gesture does not work out at all. I'm not sure how the Lady Quark plot worked out, but that one looked interesting.
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So, I was watching Mystery Science Theater 3000 on Pluto TV the other day, and The Sword and the Dragon was on. In one of the host segments, you can see some of the Mads' comic collection; including in the bottom left corner, Superman: the Man of Steel #30!

There was a plain cover version, but this issue is best known for being packed with Colorform-style vinyl clings that you could put on the cover, or on glass: I've lost a number of them from my copy here, left on mirrors or windows when I moved! I just bought two still-bagged copies when I was on vacation, but was able to dig up my old one. "Resurrection!" Written by Louise Simonson, pencils by Jon Bogdanove, inks by Dennis Janke.

Lobo is on his way to earth, to kill the recently returned Superman, since he felt he should be the only one coming back from the dead. On his way, Lobo inadvertently (and/or carelessly) destroys an alien space mausoleum, and the cheesed off aliens follow him to try and kill him; but instead give Superman and Lobo something to team up against! Meanwhile, Superman discovers he's now even stronger; surviving an alien disintegration blast, punching Lobo into orbit, and no longer needing to breathe! (The latter was part of John Byrne's depowering of Superman in the relaunch; although I wonder if it was the last power to return.)

After driving off the aliens, Lobo feels like Supes did him a favor, so agrees to leave Metropolis alone and wait for a rematch. Which, a helpful editorial box notes, was coming in two weeks to L.E.G.I.O.N. '94 #63. That book wouldn't have anywhere near the print run this one did; so it might be some time before I bump into it.

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"The End" Week: Captain Atom #57!

We mentioned this one last month: it's a War of the Gods crossover! An Armageddon 2001 crossover! The conclusion of the four-part "The Quantum Quest" and the title's last issue! And a complete mess! From 1991, Captain Atom #57, "Elsewhere (Quantum Quest, part 4)" Written by John Ostrander, pencils by Mike Gustovich, inks by Romeo Tanghal. And it's got "The End?" right on the cover!

Captain Atom has been defeated by Shadowstorm, an evil version of Firestorm. (Who was in no way as cool as the Blackest Night version, Deathstorm.) Meanwhile--or "Elsewhere," which is used like 21 times this issue--the War of the Gods raged on, as Waverider searched the possible future timelines of earth's heroes, trying to find and stop the one that would become the tyrant Monarch. And, for some reason, an entire page of Captain Atom's last issue is devoted to the Captain Marvel vs. Lobo brawl from L.E.G.I.O.N. '91 #31!

Shadowstorm unleashes the darkness in normal people, turning them into his dark army. But Captain Atom isn't quite beat yet: he had withdrawn into the quantum field that gave him his powers, and created an entire universe (!) to live the life he might have had if he hadn't receved his powers. But, playing God to change the outcome weakened the reality, until Atom destroys it and faces a dark version of himself. (All of which seems a lot more like Solar, Man of the Atom or Dr. Manhattan than Captain Atom.)

After defeating his evil self, Atom confronts Shadowstorm and lures him into attacking with his army, which Atom destroys. (Rather casually, rather than trying to save the people transformed?) Atom has Shadowstorm's number, as they wreck up an Eastern European city, and Shadowstorm turns into another evil version of the Captain! Unknown to them, Dr. Fate and earth's mystic heroes are simultaneously trying to "stabilize a planet made mad by the War of the Gods," while the witch Circe tries to tap into their spell: unknown to any of them, it weakens Shadowstorm through his connection to earth, and Captain Atom destroys him. The Captain then flies away, again somewhat coldly, leaving the damaged city and injured citizens behind, heading for Armageddon 2001...

Somewhat famously, Captain Atom was intended to become the evil Monarch...until a leak forced DC to try and change Monarch's secret identity to Hawk, of Hawk and Dove. This was pretty obviously setting up CA as the baddie--and he didn't have an annual contradicting that, like Hawk and Dove had, either. Still, the Captain had almost five years worth of development, that was virtually ignored ever since; since he's almost always portrayed as the soldier, obeying the orders of his superiors. Even though that doesn't make a lot of sense, considering his origin, either.

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"Ah! A hit! The way you make your living!"

Getting comics from the quarterbins (or dollar bins, or whatever) is a sliding-scale of quality: sometimes, you find books that are good for a quarter, but not something good enough that you'd pay full price for. And sometimes you find a treasure. Like today's book! From 2000, Hitman/Lobo: That Stupid Bastich! Written by Garth Ennis, art by Doug Mahnke.

I thought this issue actually came out after the series had ended, but it was still a couple issues from the end. The author's note on the opening says "Clearly, this story takes place before most of the cast was slaughtered." So, um, spoilers? Anyway, Lobo shows up at Noonan's Bar, and starts a fight with Tommy's pal Sixpack, and Tommy has to throw down with him. Hijinks ensue.

Hitman was set in Gotham City, but very rarely ran afoul of Batman--in fact, this Gotham was a lot more like New York and surprisingly infested with organized crime. So, it's not surprising when the mob goes after Tommy, who's barely a step ahead from Lobo. But he sees a way to kill two birds with one stone...

Tommy has Sixpack put his team back together, Section 8: "A caped drunk an' a superteam fulla the criminally insane." Together, they manage to knock out Lobo long enough for Bueno Excellente to, um, marry Lobo and videotape the whole thing. Tapes were made, and Tommy promises they've been sent to all sorts of parties. "The next time you're fighting Superman, don't be too surprised if he's laughin' his ass off." Pissed but unable to do anything about it, he takes off, as Tommy, Noonan, and Sixpack have a laugh about Sixpack pissing in the gas tank of Lobo's bike. (No spoilers, but you probably know what happened to Tommy, so I guess Superman probably did get that tape...)

I'm not a fan of Lobo, but I do enjoy the occasional story where he gets a bit of what's coming to him.
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"But, I don't see how exactly L.E.G.I.O.N. '91 would tie into War of the Gods." "Well, if I knew the answer to that one, I'd be the writer."

Although, DC was able to get a Millennium crossover into Legion of Super-Heroes, a book set a thousand years away from the crossover. And those are usually the crossovers I enjoy, the ones set far afield from the main event; or the ones following a supporting character's POV. Today's book almost gets there, but not quite: L.E.G.I.O.N. '91 #31, "Where Dreams End" Written by Alan Grant, art by Barry Kitson. And a Dan Brereton cover!

While the regular storylines continued, like Dox trying to wrangle his team, a more sour than usual Lobo wants to blow off some steam and hit his favorite space dive bar. Co-incidentally, that's where Captain Marvel lands, after getting zapped in the main crossover book. Lobo wants to pound CM, but CM doesn't want to fight over an accident. However, after he sees a bar patron Lobo stuffed into a toilet, Captain Marvel is more than up for teaching him some manners. Sadly, he's zapped away before he can complete the lesson.

Picked this up with a pile of other quarter books in Everett, WA last weekend. Still haven't worked through that lot...
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