Lobster Johnson Omnibus Volume 2

Lobster Johnson #1, 5-6

by Mike Mignola, Tonci Zonjic (Illustrator), Ben Stenbeck (Illustrator)

Further your collection with the adventures of Mignolaverse enigma Lobster Johnson!

After years of captivating fans’ imaginations from the pages of Hellboy and B.P.R.D ., the pulp-style adventures of Lobster Johnson took the limelight in their own series of comics adventures. From gangsters to Nazis to an army of monkeys, the Lobster faces classic foes in strange new ways. His adventures continue in this omnibus hardcover edition, collecting trade volumes The Iron Prometheus , The Pirate's Ghost and Metal Monsters of Midtown , A Chain Forged in Life, and the short story "The Killer in My Skull.” The second volume of this collection features writing by Mike Mignola, John Arcudi and Tonci Zonjic with art by Zonjic, Ben Stenbeck, Kevin Nowlan, and more!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Graphic Novels Comics

472 pages, Hardcover

First published August 23, 2023

About the author

Mike Mignola was born September 16, 1960 in Berkeley, California and grew up in nearby Oakland. His fascination with ghosts and monsters began at an early age (he doesn't remember why) and reading Dracula at age 13 introduced him to Victorian literature and folklore from which he has never recovered.

In 1982, hoping to find a way to draw monsters for a living, he moved to New York City and began working for Marvel Comics, first as a (very terrible) inker and then as an artist on comics like Rocket Raccoon, Alpha Flight and The Hulk. By the late 80s he had begun to develop his signature style (thin lines, clunky shapes and lots of black) and moved onto higher profile commercial projects like Cosmic Odyssey (1988) and Gotham by Gaslight (1989) for DC Comics, and the not-so-commercial Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser (1990) for Marvel. In 1992, he drew the comic book adaptation of the film Bram Stoker's Dracula for Topps Comics.

In 1993, Mike moved to Dark Horse comics and created Hellboy, a half-demon occult detective who may or may not be the Beast of the Apocalypse. While the first story line (Seed of Destruction, 1994) was co-written by John Byrne, Mike has continued writing the series himself. There are, at this moment, 13 Hellboy graphic novel collections (with more on the way), several spin-off titles (B.P.R.D., Lobster Johnson, Abe Sapien and Witchfinder), three anthologies of prose stories, several novels, two animated films and two live-action films staring Ron Perlman. Hellboy has earned numerous comic industry awards and is published in a great many countries.

Mike also created the award-winning comic book The Amazing Screw-on Head and has co-written two novels (Baltimore, or, the Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire and Joe Golem and the Drowning City) with best-selling author Christopher Golden.

Mike worked (very briefly) with Francis Ford Coppola on his film Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), was a production designer on the Disney film Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) and was visual consultant to director Guillermo del Toro on Blade II (2002), Hellboy (2004) and Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008). He lives somewhere in Southern California with his wife, daughter, a lot of books and a cat.

Reviews

[Абрахам Хосебр · Rating 5 out of 5]

Другий том неперевершеного динамічного палп-шедевру про Нью Йоркського віджиланте нарешті розкриває історію його протистояння з Мемнан-Саа, а також завершує конфлікт з Ісоґом і босом банди. Проміжна історія - про гіпербопейських роботів. Врешті решт оріджин так і залишився туманним, а смерть і наступне повернення героя вже розкривається в "Черв'яку Завойовнику" і в BPRD.
В кінці на читача очікує суперовий розділ додаткових матеріалів зі скетчами і артами.

P.S. Хорватський художник серії Tonci Zonjik справжнісінький геній!

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This second omnibus is a dense plug of Lobster Johnson goodness, though there's also quite a bit of so-so storytelling here. Lobster Johnson is the Batman of the Mignolaverse, a punch (or shoot) first, ask questions later kinda guy. These stories are mostly street-level, featuring Lobster and his crew taking down crime.

It's all quite fine, but the real winners are the two longer-form tales. This was the case with the previous omnibus too - when given room to expand the narrative, Mignola, Arcudi, and especially artist Tonci Zonjic excel wildly. These mysterious, sometimes supernatural narratives look great and are terrific fun. Lobster Johnson doesn't necessarily have the world-building complexity of the Hellboy stuff, but the pacing and art make these fun reads nonetheless.

[Rumi Bossche · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back again with some Lobster Johnson goodness, really one of the best creations in the Mignolaverse, this should not work as its a c noir character, but its so good and chock full of action and crazy weirdness. These books are fun as hell.

[Etain · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice cap off to complete my lobster Johnson collection. I really hope this series continues in the future. It never really reached its full potential in my opinion.
Uncharacteristically we got an afterword by the letterer instead of a forward by the writer.
Also I noticed that there's a printing error where two of the pages are swapped around. So if you're a stickler for that kinda stuff stick to the tpbs

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stories don't have quite as much of the magic as the first volume but the art is phenomenal throughout. Moody and atmospheric period work by experts at their craft.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

While not as deep as my favorite BPRD stuff, the good stuff here far outweighs the bad. Guess I should start with the bad bits. First, the characters are thin. Lobster has no actual personality. But that makes sense since this type of character works best with no discernible back story or motivation. Well actually he does have a motivation. “Justice”.

With the exception of Harry, the rest of the crew isn’t much more than a support team. There is a love story that fizzles out with the courageous lady reporter. But nothing much is done with this. Seems like a missed opportunity to me, but what do I know? This is my biggest nitpick, because many side characters are in almost of these stories and giving them some weight would have boosted the tone and made them more memorable.

As for the good parts. We are treated to pulp stories that all focus somehow on the supernatural. The longest stories are always the best. There is art from Jason Armstrong, Tonci Zonjic, and (my favorite) Ben Stenbeck. Also colors by Dave Stewart. Any time he does not do colors on one of these stories, it just doesn’t fit.

There is no real reason that Mignola couldn’t write more of these stories for an eventual volume 3. He could focus on some prequel stuff. Or even put a little more attention on the supplemental stuff drawn by Guy Davis that explores the different incarnations of the Lobster. There are so many possibilities contained in just a few pages. My favorite is where he is a mummy sitting in the back seat of a car that comes to life at night to fight crime. I’m waiting for that comic.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

One part Batman, one part Rocketeer, one part Ninja Turtles. The Lobster is the most fully-realized character in the Mignola-verse and the most consistent in terms of art and writing; la crème de la crème. Tonci Zonjic's panels are a visual treat, conveying so much atmosphere and characterization; a perfect match to the setting. This is the first time in awhile that, on finishing the series, I want to immediately go back and read it again.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it. The art was fab throughout and the stories, although pulpy, were great fun. The Mignola-verse's interpretation of the pulp fiction style from the early 20th century is wildly entertaining.

I still wouldn't say it is top tier compared to the monumental Hellboy series, the characters aren't quite as iconic, but definitely well worth the time.

[Luana · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know, there was one fight scene in the "Iron Prometheus" storyline that I found hard to follow, and made me ponder whether or not this would be the first Mignolaverse book I'd give anything less than the full five stars.

Naaaaaaah.

[Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't think it was possible, but this was even better than the first omnibus. Like, I am kinda desperate for more Lobster Johnson, which is a sentence I never thought I'd utter.

I really hope they plan to write more of this, because it was awesome!

[Brysen Rodriguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This reviews applies to Omnibus 1 as well. A great set of stories that feel straight out of the 30's pulp classics like the Shadow.

[Doug Duncan · Rating 3 out of 5]

for me at least, this felt like a good step up from the last one. I enjoyed the stories in here a bit more overall, even if the book in general just never really stuck out to me.

[Isaac Woodman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best comic ever

[Sean Leonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just good pulpy fun. The kind of thing these Mignola books excel at.

[Jesse Patts · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one gets one more star than omnibus volume one as the story about the pirate ship is probably my favourite, especially for the last moments we get from Cynthia and Harry. Also Memnan Saa’s story was decent for the greater mythos.

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pulpy goodness

Another thrilling dive into the world of the pulp-inspired vigilante The Lobster from Mike Mignola's "Hellboy" comics. Absolutely great 1930's action. It's almost as good as reading one of the original "Shadow" adventures! Five stars all the way.