Lobo #2 Review

If there’s one thing I love its comics set in space. And if there’s another thing I love (what can I say? I’m a big-hearted guy) it’s a good old fashioned caper. So when information started dropping earlier this year off the back of the re-invented Lobo’s appearance in DC’s villains’ month, I was tentatively excited.

The first issue, however, as discussed by our own Brian Salvatore, did suffer from a slightly jarring lack of symmetry with regards to lining up what fans might have expected from a Lobo re-launch to what they actually got. And what they got was the standard ‘charismatic anti-hero with a specific set of skills and a moral code that helps him justify the trail of bodies that he’s left behind’ trope. It was entertaining enough, but there was nothing in the first issue that truly cemented Lobo as anything other than a standard devil-may-care cool guy and, if there’s one archetype that comic-books have seen enough of it’s definitely this one.

“Lobo” #2 has both of these in spades, but combines them with a sense of levity that could have pushed Lobo’s character in some more interesting directions. As it stands, however, it still plays a little too by-the-numbers to be fully enthralling. Lobo, a characteristic lone wolf, is teamed with a posse of human mercs to facilitate his continuing attack on the targets he’s been contracted to take out. Lobo doesn’t like the idea of working with ‘Earthers,’ but gives in without much of an argument, and, really, that’s about the extent of the conflict we see in this issue. Lobo manages to dispatch two of the supposedly unkillable killers on his list with relative ease, but the lack of any real danger for our protagonist really only serves to undermine the reputation of his opponents, instead of bolstering our belief in Lobo’s skills.

In fairness to Brown, his work on this issue is crisp and dynamic, excelling during the fight scenes that see his incarnation of Lobo contorting and cavorting with confidence and panache. Brown’s previous work on multiple “Deadpool” issues is very visible in his recreation of Lobo and, when our titular hero is wielding his sword there’s almost no difference in their physicality at all.

DC has plenty of lovable rogues in their arsenal, even their fair share who aren’t averse to serious wet-work, but there are really few characters in either of the big two that are as murderously manic as the Lobo that was. Bunn’s proved he could add a sense of humanity to a criminal who started off decidedly one-dimensionally, and netting Brown for the project could’ve meant that the outrageously OTT destruction that he brought to the page in his “Deadpool” days could’ve made its way to DC’s roster. But, after all the streamlining and updating, the Lobo that they’ve finally delivered just feels a little too forgettable to make it worth adding to your pull list.

It’s understandable that, in a world of Lokis and Bucky Barneses, DC might be looking to offer up more sympathetic variants of their iconic villains. It seems, however, that in the rush to recreate a character for a new generation they might have ended up losing the traits that made Lobo interesting in the first place.

Final verdict. 5.7 – A passable enough read from a competent team of creators. Still, its lack of character leaves me pining for some uproarious 90’s carnage.

Get the full review from Multiversity Comics here