Lobster Needs More Boiling
Having read high praises about this character on the Vine, I thought I'd give this book a go, especially as it is a Mike Mignola creation and from Dark Horse Comics, one of my favorite publishers.
I have mixed feelings about it all. The cover price was a bit higher than I like but still was less than plenty of other titles, and it does have plenty of pages. The art isn't too terribly bad but it isn't overwhelmingly great. It does have a "noir"/hard boiled detective/ pulp feel to it and in that regard, the art is adequate. Yet there seemed to be a bit too much lacking in terms of detail on characters' faces. I appreciate and understand the stylistic approach with the art and perhaps it is a minor squabble on my part. I still like the look and feel of it.
There were some notable characters, behind the scene types involving the mob which I thought were well portrayed. Yet one of the parts of the story were way too convenient be to explained by one singular character, a car mechanic as he talked to a reporter who investigated the scalping and subsequent murder of a police officer by some thugs dressed as "ghost indians". Errm...OK. While that was sort of explained, it was a rather weak story idea on all fronts to me and not due to any racial issues at all it just seemed very weak as an idea.
The major complaint though is the book is titled :"Lobster Johnson", not "every other boring supporting character". You don't get much of him in this comic. At all. I appreciate the idea of keeping him mysterious but I want to see him in action, some explanation about him as a character and his abilities. You don't get any of that here.
I am interested in the character, yes, but enough for me to continue with the next issue? It is hard to say, but I wouldn't really give this first issue an enthusiastic recommendation.
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