Written by Marguerite Bennett
Drawn by Ben Oliver
(Early disclaimer, the cover is not of the Lobo that is in this book...)
This issue is one of those cases where everything leading up to it was setting me up for one thing when it delivered something much, much better. Here are the negative setups:
All month long, the villains are the stars of the DC Universe books. Nothing too bad there but then you realize that not every book has a villain issue. Instead, the main, big selling titles are used to push the others by making books like Justice League have four, weekly villains issues (23.1 - 23.4), most having nothing to do with the Justice League title or it's stories. It's a cheap gimmick that forces us to read other characters and stories in the hope of them picking up the book the villain is actually a part of. It's a shit move but sadly it's selling.
Second, DC has made headlines by revealing that a "new" Lobo was coming in. They already had Lobo in the New 52 but he's apparently an impostor and the "original" Lobo is a small, fit, pretty boy. I actually don't mind the look as much as the bullshit cop out that he's the original and the Lobo we have is a fake. It's Spider-Man Clone Saga level shit.So that's how I went into this issue of Justice League: Villain that has nothing to do with the story and a day time soap opera explanation for him. And it turned out a lot better.
Lobo is a bounty hunter who wants some specific information. He's told he'll finally get it if he does this one more job of transporting a package. The rest is a bit cliched as somebody else wants the cargo and he kills 'em good to keep it. He checks on it
only to find that it's a group of "people" (aliens of sorts). As they thank him for freeing them and saving them from their doom, he quickly shows why he's a bastich and puts them back in. He has a delivery to make and needs his information. Which turns out to be the whereabouts of the other Lobo that has taken his name.The issue was predictable and nothing new but the writing was good and the art was great. And I gotta admit, I like this Lobo. He may be slimmer and better looking but that's how books sell. Women aren't the only characters that need to look overtly gorgeous. In the run of things, this still feels like Lobo. It may take some getting used to seeing him this way but if the attitude is there (and hopefully his bike and dog eventually), I can live with his being pretty. I went into this book expecting very little and I was very much surprised with how I liked it. The "new" Lobo has my approval.
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