Hellboy Universe Essentials: Lobster Johnson TPB Mike Mignola, John Arcudi Artist: Tonci Zonjic Letterer: Clem Robins Colorist: Dave Stewart Cover Artist: Mike Mignola
Lobster Jhonson was born as a joke, as very probably Hellboy itself was. Just a giant sized fist that can pack a punch, right?
Presented as the idol of Hellboy’s infancy, he used to be just a character and set of figurines the red kid avidly collected. Soon enough, in one of those familiar leaps into the universe we are used to, those stories Hellboy was reading are now available for us.
Lobster Jhonson, lobster claw in hand, was Hellboy’s inspiration to fight paranormal criminal activities. But, was the Lobster real? Or just a story, a myth?
Did he really fight the Nazis, or a pack of monkeys? Is he a bit like Dick Tracy, only more monstrous?
This is the early collection of five issues of the very first story Lobster Johnson ever appeared in Lobster Johnson: The Burning Hand.
As Kath Obrien in the introduction says:
The Burning Hand pulls you right into a standalone rollicking, supernatural crime story that doesn’t require you to have read anything else in the Hellboy universe before—it is simply a ton of fun all on its own. But that doesn’t mean it won’t leave you wanting more—and worry not, there is a lot more Lobster waiting for you after this.
There is indeed more, because, at the same time, Dark Horse released a big omnibus volume about our hero, its whopping 448 pages filled with the adventures that fascinated and inspired Hellboy as a kid. Check it out by clicking here.
“Hellboy Universe Essentials: Lobster Johnson” is on sale since March 9, 2022.
Genre: Action/Adventure, Crime, Horror
Format: FC, 128 pages; TPB
Price: $14.99
Age range: 14
ISBN-10: 1-50672-504-X
ISBN-13: 978-1-50672-504-8
Up next comes a collector’s item, we love these huge BPRD volumes and their weird apocalypse, as you can see in our previous posts.
B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth Volume 4 TPB Writer: Mike Mignola, John Arcudi, Cameron Stewart, Chris Roberson Artist: James Harren, Joe Querio, Laurence Campbell, Mike Norton, Tyler Crook Colorist: Dave Stewart Cover Artist: Laurence Campbell
Well. Hellboy is dead. Hell is in total and utter chaos and has been almost destroyed. The hell we know in this universe may or may not have anything to do with the apocalypse we are witnessing as it unfolds, the one that might destroy human kind since it began in the conflict known as War on the Frogs.
There are gigantic spore wielding monsters everywhere, a type of kaiju, creatures known as the Ogdru Hem. The B.P.R.D. continues to lead the defense against the apocalypse from Japan to America, and some heartwarming sad stories are thrown in throughout the volume for good measure.
Liz gets possessed; the Japanese take on a split on dimensions is a fascinating read; and the Sword of Hyperborea issues we have covered in the past get a whole new meaning when agent Howards and a team try to liberate a small town of a monster, one that only the sword of Hyperborea might help to kill.
Demons purged from ancient exorcists; demons who come to Earth but are confronted with these zombie froglike creatures that have infested human cities…, there is a lot of horror to be enjoyed in these 416 pages.
Maybe the most enjoyable thing of the frogs and this apocalypse in particular is that is supernatural in nature and very far away from our own viruses, pandemics, wars and mistakes.
In Hellboy’s B.P.R.D. universe, the humans are the heroes, the enemy is foreign, alien or trans dimensional, and our usual mistakes get to be put on perspective against the immensity, coldness and fundamental strangeness of the universe.
“B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth Volume 4” is on sale since March 23, 2022.
Genre: Horror, Action/Adventure
Publication Date: March 23, 2022
Format: FC, 416 pages; TPB;
Price: $29.99
Age range: 14
ISBN-10: 1-50672-431-0
ISBN-13: 978-1-50672-431-7
Featured image by Mike Mignola and Laurence Campbell, all images belong to Dark Horse Comics
