Friday, October 9, 2015

Lobo #11 Review


Pool Party


Written by: Cullen Bunn and Frank Barbiere
Art by: Robson Rocha, Ruy Jose, Blond and Travis Lanham
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: October 7, 2015

While I haven't been a fan of this entire run of Lobo, I really think it's a shame that the book is being cancelled.  It's finally hitting it's stride with this Sinestro Rising story and after all the bloody jingo jango surrounding Lobo's new look, he is actually getting pretty close to the original article.  If only Cullen Bunn would have started with this story, maybe things would have been different for the Main Man.  Well, you know what they say about should haves and could haves...it's something to do with gumdrops, right?  Maybe it's lollipops and rainbows.  I don't know, but I do know that I've enjoyed seeing Lobo rip through the Lantern Corps at the behest of Sinestro.  We all know that Sinestro has a grand scheme, but I don't care about that right now, I just like watching Lobo kill some of the biggest names in the Laternverse.  It may not make complete sense in the old continuity, but this is the DC YOU's story over continuity and I love watching Eric get pissed while I enjoy myself.  That trend continues this month as Lobo ramps up his assault on the Red Lantern Corps.  It certainly is action packed, but is it any good?  Let's find out...



After one of the best covers I've seen in a while (by Leonardo Manco), the issue opens on what I'd like to describe as a space station straight out of the game Dead Space.  While Lobo gives us a real quick idea of what is going on, we see a Red Lantern Indoctrination Ritual.  It's bloody goodness and I don't care if it makes sense to long time Red Lantern fans.  Atrocitus is in his full glory and we get the Rage Mother and the Red Lantern oath...what else could we ask for?  Well, in this issue, that answer may just be a story to go along with the action and destruction.



If I told you that Lobo just annihilates the whole Red Lantern Corps and just moved on to my next review, would you get angry at me?  Unfortunately, that's about all that happens here.  Sure, that does make it action packed, but I wanted a little more.

As per usual, some fan favorite Lanterns must die and it starts with every one's favorite rage kitty, Dex-Starr.  It's a cool looking scene, but mainly for the old school looking Lobo and his disintegrating sword.



After being on the wrong side of some of Atrocitus' acid blood, Lobo decides a more tactical approach would beat a direct assault and takes care of a large part of the Corps.  He then faces Atrocitus himself and while the blood keeps flowing, I can't say it was satisfying.  Maybe it was a case of too much of a good thing, but by the time that Lobo killed  Atrocitus, I was left felling pretty flat.

I did like seeing Bleez and the Rage Mother escape, which means that Sinestro is going to be pretty pissed at Lobo.  Then Bunn and Barbiere hit the reset button and the Red Lantern Corps rises again. Really?  It's not often that a book's cliffhanger renders the entire issue filler, but it happened here.




Okay, I liked this issue's action, but there is just nothing else to it.  There is no story whatsoever and what cool things happen are just reversed at the end.  From the looks of it, we will be starting all over next issue.  I love seeing the Red Lantern Corps, but this is a ridiculous way to prolong a story.

Robson Rocha does a good job, but like the story, it gets a bit redundant.  I guess there is just so much you can do with so many Red Lanterns getting ripped apart, but at least Blond got some good use from his red inkwell.  The character models were the highlight with the cliffhanger being the best page overall.

Bits and Pieces:

This issue was a lot shock and awe, but unfortunately, not much story.  Seeing Lobo rip through the Red lantern Corps is fun enough, but it annoyed me that the cliffhanger just reset everything.  The art was good, but this issue was simply filler and in a short arc like this one, that is unacceptable.

4.0/10  

17 comments:

  1. As a HUGE Red Lantern fan (my wedding ring even carries the RL symbol..I have an understanding wife) this issue rubbed me the wrong way. Lobo is a badass no doubt but to mow through a dozen Red Lantern Corps member in just a few pages when in the past the GL Corps has had difficulty defeating them is just goofy. I get that whomever's name is on the front of the book, they are the automatic winner in every battle within it but this was just..stupid.

    Though I was glad to see the resurrection at the end it felt like such a cheat that the book was a waste of money. It seems the only reason for this issue was to show off Lobo and to neuter the RLs.

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  2. Im not curious enough to actually pick this one up but...They resurrect? O.o

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    1. yes...Lobo kills most of the Corps and they resurrect from the Rage Mother's blood puke

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    2. I'm not entirely knowledgeable about the Red Lantern Corps, but was this resurrection ability a feature they had from prior versions or is this a new feature altogether?

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    3. The Blood Mother is a completely new addition to the Red Lantern Corps as well as this resurrection ability. I'm not sure if they are saying what Lobo killed was a bunch of constructs or if they literally can just come back to life.

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  3. I loved it... it was like watching a good action flic that has a terrible story and dumb ending! And at the end of the day everything is the same, no damage done. But I need to go back and really look at the last page, was Rankorr there possibly??

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    1. My issue was it made the RLs look like a bunch of easily killed punks. Completely destroyed their badassedness.

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  4. It was pretty cool. Loved the way Lobo looked here, plus his lethality has been put to great use, showing how truly dangerous he is! However, I think the story could have worked better so that it wasn't just battle of brawn but also wits, like it was a truly grand battle between the dangerous predators within the cosmos.

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  5. With the Red Lanterns' resurrection and Lobo's attack on them, it really makes one wonder the sort of consequences of said-attack will have on the grand scheme of things, including Sinestro's plans.

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  6. I am glad of the ending Cullen Bunn couldn't kill off some of the best DC char stars like that, in a C lister book with horrible deaths. I am glad this book is getting cancelled before he changes his mind. But he did do one thing right, the Rebirth of the Red Lantern Corps. Hope Rankorr made it now. I have gave Bunn a lot smack recently but he has brought the other corps back to us one way or another and some of them had better comebacks than others. But from him we have seen the indigos, the Reds and the only blue left in all around 2 months so good job? I only wonder now when is the Blue Lantern corps getting revived since the Reds did? When is Larfleeze coming back? When are the Star Sapphires going to be ever used again? When is Kyle and the GLC coming back? Where are the surviving indigo's?

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    1. I'm still waiting for an explanation on why the Indigo's betrayed the rest of the Corps during the fight with the New Gods. Unless I missed it somewhere that has been left up in the air.

      I think the GL Corps will return when this Lost Army storyline is over. As will Kyle (unfortunately) once the Omega Men 12-issue is up. Unless they keep him on that team which would be interesting. Not like they need ANOTHER Earth lantern.

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  7. Mate would you rather have the ending not reverse 1 issue or for the whole RLC ready to kick Sinestro's smug ass. Think on that. Because the second option is one for a long time effect. Your "good ending" could of ruined the Lantern mythology forever.

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    1. agreed...but I don't think anything in this arc will stick for very long. I doubt when they finally bring back the RL Corps, anyone will be concerned about what happens in this couple issue crossover.

      I was just mad that this issue was 100% unnecessary and a total waste of money...whether you like the ending or not.

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  8. Lobo made the reds look so weak i can go along with his killing off the new blood easy they just got their rings so they were savage without the blood pool if any of thats even cannon anymore, but come on Atrocities too, and what the hell is a rage mother

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    1. I fully agree that Lobo could take care of the recruits easily...and yea, where is the blood pool? Everything is messed up!

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  9. Apparently the Red Lanterns were going to be recurring characters alongside Countess Odessa within Lobo's series. There was also going to be an army of Lobos.

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    1. yea, you can tell the army of lobos were going to happen when the Countess took his DNA...would have been pretty cool.

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