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Review: ‘Lobster Johnson: A Scent of Lotus’ #1

Published

11 years ago

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Lobster Johnson’s newest adventure reminds me of John Carpenter’s Big Trouble in Little China. Mignola and Arcudi channel this wonderful sense of camp with Johnson that makes the book an absolute treat to read. The backdrop of Chinatowns, and familiar Chinese imagery add to this camp, and create the perfect setting for a new pulp mystery. Mind you, like any of Lobster’s adventures, a lot of time is spent setting up the conflict and hardly any engaging in it.

WRITTEN BY: Mike Mignola & John Arcudi
ART BY: Sebastian Fiumara
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse
PRICE: $3.50
RELEASE: July 24, 2013

A Scent of Lotus is often engaging. Especially when Lobster is on the page. About a third of the issue is spent with Jake, a detective on the same case as Lobster. His story fails to excite. If only because it’s the same tried and true police procedural dialogue and mystery we’ve seen a thousand times.

The story of the antagonist is much more entertaining. There is a certain level of intrigue to what exactly is going on in these pages. It’s never quite clear what their agenda is exactly, and for that reason things don’t get stagnant like ol Jake’s story.

As for Lobster, he’s truly a joy. His panels pop with a certain intensity that is lacking in the other stories. He’s constantly on the move, and pushing the story forward. The page where he descends from a rooftop perch with a flurry of gunfire is reason enough to pick up this issue.

Fiumara’s Lobster is simply awesome. The attention spent on Lobster’s eyes is fantastic. The eyes are often a shining beacon on the page when no other light is present; Fiumara even has them stand out over a muzzle flash. No other feature of Lobster is more defining, and the art reminds us of this. Everything from page 18 to 21 is incredible. Culminating in a wonderful small moment where Lobster checks out a couple of slugs that have been caught by his bullet proof vest.

In fact it is small moments like that, that are the issue’s strongest. Arcudi’s and Mignola’s script is busy and jam packed. A lot of exposition needs to be communicated in a short period of time, and while it feels that Lobster is lost in the shuffle. The script slows down to show blood running down an alley, or a man sweeping the floor. These moments allow for the script to world build inside this pulp alternate reality. It works incredibly well to make the action at the end of the issue impactful and exciting.

Unlike most Lobster adventures, this one continues on next month. This is both a positive and negative. The book ends on a fantastic panel that will leave you wanting more, but feels so overstuffed with exposition and little to no resolution. A fun romp through Chinatown, but as it stands not a whole lot more. Let’s see if next month is a more fun.

2.5/5 Skulls

Reviewed by – Jimbus_Christ

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‘The Toxic Avenger’ Returns with Cover Artwork for First Issue of New Comic Book Series [Exclusive]

Published

5 days ago

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May 13, 2024

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With a remake on the way and a new 4K restoration of the original classic now streaming, it’s a good time to be a fan of Troma’s The Toxic Avenger. Additionally, Matt Bors — the founder of The Nib and a political cartoonist who has twice been named a Pulitzer Prize finalist —and acclaimed artist Fred Harper (Snelson) are collaborating on an all-new 5-issue comic book series starring the satirical superhero of the Troma Films cult classic films!

TOXIC AVENGER #1 will land in stores on October 9, 2024.

While you wait, you can exclusively check out the issue #1 cover art from Fred Harper below, along with a set of emojis designed by Harper for the extremely online teens of Tromaville.

“The Toxic Avenger delivers what Troma fans want,” said AHOY Comics Editor-in-Chief Tom Peyer. “The series has violent action, gross mutations, bursting pustules, eye-popping visuals, and trenchant humor.” 

“If there was ever a superhuman hero for these toxic, miserable times, Toxie is the one!” said Lloyd Kaufman. “Only AHOY Comics and Bors & Harper could pull this off…er…mop this up! Toxie and the Troma Team can’t wait ‘til you read -no, experience – the art and stories that the Toxic Avenger Comic Book will explode in your brain, your soul, and your heart. Above all, remember – Toxie loves you and so do I.”

“This series will combine elements of the original films with the Toxic Crusaders cartoon and characters in familiar ways, updated to tell a story of environmental devastation, corporate control, and social media mutation,” said Bors. “The Toxic Avenger is first and foremost an environmental satire, one about a small town and its unremarkable people trapped and transformed by circumstances they don’t control. The story Fred Harper and I are telling is about people frustrated by authorities telling them not to worry about their life, that things are fine, even as their dog mutates in front of their eyes. And at its core it is about a powerless boy, Melvin, who finds out he can be incredibly strong, hideously mutated, well-admired, and incredibly heroic… but still ultimately powerless over human behavior.”

In The Toxic Avenger, teenager Melvin Junko helps run his parent’s junkyard in Tromaville, a small town in New Jersey where nothing much ever happens — until an ill-timed train derailment of toxic waste transforms Melvin into a hideously deformed creature of superhuman size and strength: the Toxic Avenger!

Under a media blackout imposed by Biohazard Solutions (BS) and their PR-spewing Chairwoman Lindsay Flick, Melvin emerges as a hero fighting against BS and the mutated threats that keep popping up around Tromaville.

Eventually Melvin uncovers a vast conspiracy more far-reaching than he could have ever imagined — but he knows if everyone is simply made aware of the crisis, they’ll act to stop it. Right?

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