Lobo #1 Brings the Main Man Back to His ’90s Roots (Review)

Everyone’s favorite hard-hitting and hard-drinking anti-hero, Lobo, is back to star in a brand-new series. In the roughly four decades he’s been around, Lobo has popped up everywhere. He’s gone toe-to-toe against Superman numerous times, been involved in a number of cataclysmic events, and even been a member of the Justice League. And yet, Lobo hasn’t had his own ongoing series since the New 52 (and that technically wasn’t even him!). But it’s a new era for DC Comics. The All In saga has moved onto its second act, and it’s shining a light on icons like the Main Man.

The DC Universe has survived the events of DC K.O., and the Omega Tournament’s participants are all moving on with their lives. Lobo was one of the fighters, though he lost when he went up against Wonder Woman. But like the rest of the fallen champions, he was resurrected by the tournament’s winner, Superman, and imbued with Alpha and Omega energy. Now, for the first time in 27 years, Lobo is starring in a new ongoing series that shows the bastich at his best: Fighting, swearing, and fragging anything that so much as slightly inconveniences him.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Lobo #1 is the ’90s Revival You Didn’t Know You Needed

This new version of Lobo comes from Skottie Young, Jorge Corona, Jean-Francois Beaulieu, and Nate Piekos. The debut issue shows us a day in the life of its titular character out in space, drinking and fighting anyone for any given reason. He’s after a bounty and tracks his target to a bar, where he prepares to bring him in. Unfortunately, the bounty is canceled after a conglomerate, Omni Mega+ Entertainment Corp, buys out the bail bond and bounty business from which Lobo collects. So Lobo heads to the conglomerate’s headquarters to figure out how he’s supposed to make a living.

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Lobo discovers that Omni has bought out every intergalactic bounty business to control the trade, citing the incredible interest for antiheroes. Omni wants to capitalize on the violence and showmanship of antiheroes with a new reality show, but Lobo couldn’t care less. He destroys Omni’s offices and mows down dozens of their guards. Ironically, this only endears Lobo to Mr. Kzzt, the person running Omni. Kzzt believes that Lobo is exactly what Omni is looking for as they launch their newest venture, and he offers Lobo his very own reality show following him as a bounty hunter.

Lobo is Over-The-Top, Violent, and Crude (Exactly as It Should Be)

I was on board with DC’s more back-to-basics approach with All In, but I won’t lie, I’ve always been a fan of the unconventional. Now that DC has built trust with its readership, it’s in a position to give us books that look and feel different from the rest of DC’s offerings. And boy, does this book succeed in that regard. This book has so much energy, it’s wild. From the designs of the characters to the way this book takes the piss out of the entertainment industry, it feels like something the DC Universe has been sorely lacking.

As a fan of Skottie Young, he is absolute perfect for this book. The years he spent cutting his teeth with books like I Hate Fairyland have more than prepared him for Lobo. Young crafts a world that is ugly, visceral, and honestly scary at points. But it’s so damn over-the-top and funny. Young has an amazing self-awareness when writing this too. One minute, you’ll have Lobo knocking at entertainment using outdated pop culture references, only for Lobo to end up starring in a rip-off of Dog the Bounty Hunter. It can be a lot, but trust me, it works.

I can’t praise Corona and Beaulieu enough for the way they presented Lobo to us. This book crams a lot into it, from wild alien scenes filled with diverse lifeforms to action scenes that aren’t afraid to give us colorful blood and guts. This book looks and feels nasty, but that’s honestly the point. The creative team here knows that for Lobo to be in his element, he and his world need to look and feel horrifying and brutal. It’s honestly impressive how the creative team was able to find the right balance of ugliness that still feels aesthetically pleasing.

I will say that this book can be a lot for some. There’s a lot of violence, a lot of dialogue, and, if you know anything about Lobo, you know his personality can be a lot. But I do encourage everyone to give this a shot. As one of DC’s new titles debuting as part of the Next Level era, Lobo does a fantastic job showing how different this moment is from All In. It’s a period of experimentation and risk, and if that’s what you’re looking for in a comic, do yourself a favor and pick up Lobo #1.

What did you think about Lobo #1? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts on the ComicBook Forum!