Lobster Johnson
The Lobster | |
---|---|
Publication information | |
Publisher | Dark Horse Comics |
First appearance | Hellboy: Box of Evil #1 (August 1999) |
Created by | Mike Mignola |
In-story information | |
Species | Human |
Notable aliases | The Claw |
Lobster Johnson (also known as The Lobster or The Claw) is a fictional character featured in the
Within the
Lobster Johnson appeared in the 2019 Hellboy reboot, portrayed by Thomas Haden Church.
Fictional biography
Life and death
The Lobster started his career in 1932, working with a small but trusted group of allies out of a secret base in the sewers of
Aided by a new sidekick, the Lobster spent the late 1930s combating the Nazi threat to the United States. One of his unsuccessful missions involved the escape of a Nazi criminal in Colorado who destroyed a train full of scientists bound for the Manhattan Project, resulting in the death of his sidekick.[4]
The Lobster's final mission was an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the Nazis from launching a space capsule at Hunte Castle,
Legacy
According to B.P.R.D. Director
"Latchkey Memories from Crab Point" is a memoir by Guy Davis, presented in the
Afterlife
Death was not the end for the Lobster. The Lobster's ghost was one of the strongest yet seen in the Hellboy universe. He was completely corporeal when he chose to be, firing his pistol with deadly effect and burning his sign into the forehead of his victims. It would appear that the Lobster's death greatly increased his powers, as opposed to the
In 2001,
Having seemingly formed some bond with Roger during the mission, it was to the homunculus that he next appeared, when in 2003 he helped Roger and Liz Sherman resolve another of his failed missions - bringing to justice the elderly German saboteur in Colorado.[4] The Lobster was quiet for some time after this, although his ghostly presence was half-felt by Johann several times in the basement of the BPRD's new WWII-era base in the Colorado mountains.[9]
It was not until his old adversary Memnan Saa began to make his presence felt to the BPRD during the war against Sadu Hem's frog monsters that he returned in earnest; briefly taking possession of Johann's ectoplasm in the wake of Ben Daimio's disastrous end of relations with the team to break the hold Saa had gained over Liz.
Skills and abilities
The Lobster was an expert combatant. He usually wielded either one or two pistols, but he had used a submachine gun on at least one occasion. He showed skill with both weapons. The Lobster had also occasionally used other weapons such as swords, spears, or even the leg of a broken chair. He was also shown to be a proficient unarmed fighter.
The Lobster somehow remained alive after explosions and possibly being hit by gunfire in Lobster Johnson: The Burning Hand #2. There has not yet been any explanation of the Lobster's powers, however.
In the stories set in the 1930s, the Lobster possessed technology that was advanced for its time. He had used a bulletproof vest on at least one occasion, and he also used a radio that was small enough to be built into his helmet. It is not shown in the comics who invented these.
Publication history
Issues
Lobster Johnson has an internal numbering on the inside cover of its issues.
Issue | Title | Date | Story | Art | Colors | Cover | Collection |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
#1 | The Iron Prometheus | September 5, 2007 | Mike Mignola | Jason Armstrong
|
Dave Stewart | Mike Mignola |
|
#2 | October 3, 2007 | ||||||
#3 | November 7, 2007 | ||||||
#4 | December 5, 2007 | ||||||
#5 | January 2, 2008 | ||||||
#6 | The Burning Hand | January 11, 2012 | Mike Mignola and John Arcudi |
Tonci Zonjic
|
Dave Stewart | Dave Johnson Mike Mignola (variant) |
|
#7 | February 8, 2012 | Dave Johnson | |||||
#8 | March 14, 2012 | ||||||
#9 | April 11, 2012 | Dave Johnson Mike Mignola (variant) | |||||
#10 | May 9, 2012 | Dave Johnson | |||||
#11 | The Prayer of Neferu | August 22, 2012 | Mike Mignola and John Arcudi |
Wilfredo Torres | Dave Stewart | Tonci Zonjic |
|
#12 | Caput Mortuum | September 19, 2012 | Mike Mignola and John Arcudi |
Tonci Zonjic | Dave Stewart | Tonci Zonjic | |
#13 | Satan Smells a Rat | May 22, 2013 | Mike Mignola and John Arcudi |
Kevin Nowlan | |||
#14 | A Scent of Lotus | July 24, 2013 | Mike Mignola and John Arcudi |
Sebastián Fiumara | Dave Stewart | Tonci Zonjic | |
#15 | August 21, 2013 | ||||||
#16 | Get the Lobster | February 5, 2014 | Mike Mignola and John Arcudi |
Tonci Zonjic | Dave Stewart | Tonci Zonjic |
|
#17 | March 5, 2014 | ||||||
#18 | April 2, 2014 | ||||||
#19 | June 4, 2014 | ||||||
#20 | August 13, 2014 | ||||||
#21 | A Chain Forged In Life | July 29, 2015 | Mike Mignola and John Arcudi |
Troy Nixey | Dave Stewart | Tonci Zonjic |
|
Kevin Nowlan (framing sequence) | |||||||
#22 | The Glass Mantis | December 30, 2015 | Mike Mignola and John Arcudi |
Toni Fejzula | Dave Stewart | Tonci Zonjic | |
#23 | The Forgotten Man | April 6, 2016 | Mike Mignola and John Arcudi |
Peter Snejbjerg | Dave Stewart | Tonci Zonjic | |
#24 | Metal Monsters of Midtown | May 25, 2016 | Mike Mignola and John Arcudi |
Tonci Zonjic | Dave Stewart | Tonci Zonjic |
|
#25 | June 29, 2016 | ||||||
#26 | July 27, 2016 | ||||||
#27 | Garden of Bones | January 11, 2017 | Mike Mignola and John Arcudi |
Stephen Green | Dave Stewart | Tonci Zonjic |
|
#28 | The Pirate's Ghost | March 29, 2017 | Mike Mignola and John Arcudi |
Tonci Zonjic |
| ||
#29 | April 26, 2017 | ||||||
#30 | May 31, 2017 | ||||||
#31 | Mangekyō | August 2, 2017 | Mike Mignola and John Arcudi |
Ben Stenbeck | Dave Stewart | Tonci Zonjic |
|
Trade Paperbacks
Number | Title | Collects | Published | ISBN |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Lobster Johnson: The Iron Prometheus |
|
June 18, 2008 | 9781593079758 |
2 | Lobster Johnson: The Burning Hand |
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November 14, 2012 | 9781616550318 |
3 | Lobster Johnson: Satan Smells a Rat |
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February 12, 2014 | 9781616552039 |
4 | Lobster Johnson: Get the Lobster |
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December 17, 2014 | 9781616551995 |
5 | Lobster Johnson: The Pirate's Ghost and Metal Monsters of Midtown |
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December 13, 2017 | 9781506702063 |
6 | Lobster Johnson: A Chain Forged in Life |
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March 7, 2018 | 9781506701783 |
Appearances outside the Lobster Johnson series
- Hellboy: Box Full of Evil (2 issues, August–September, 1999) by Mike Mignola, Matthew Dow Smith & Ryan Sook.
- Hellboy: Conqueror Worm (4 issues, May–August 2001) by Mike Mignola.
- Dave Stewart.
- B.P.R.D.: Killing Ground (5 issues, August–December 2007) by Mike Mignola, John Arcudi & Guy Davis.
- B.P.R.D.: The Black Goddess (5 issues) by Mike Mignola, John Arcudi and Guy Davis.
- B.P.R.D.: King of Fear (5 issues, January–May 2010) by Mike Mignola, John Arcudi and Guy Davis.
Other media
Film
Hellboy: Blood and Iron (2007)
Lobster Johnson has a brief cameo in the second animated Hellboy film,
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) and Hellboy III
Guillermo del Toro planned to feature Johnson in Hellboy II: The Golden Army, but was cut due to Mike Mignola's wish to remain true to the character's origin. Del Toro has stated that Johnson would have appeared in the unproduced Hellboy III and expressed interest in casting Bruce Campbell in the role.[14]
Hellboy (2019)
Johnson was featured in Hellboy (2019), portrayed by Thomas Haden Church in a flashback and mid-credits scene.[15]
Miscellaneous
- In 2007, Dark Horse produced a magnet that bore Lobster Johnson's animated design, based on his brief appearance in Hellboy: Blood and Iron.[16]
- A novel centered around the Lobster, Lobster Johnson: The Satan Factory by Thomas E. Sniegoski, was released in July 2009.[17]
- The Lobster is mentioned in an intro dialogue between Hellboy and Jay Garrick in Injustice 2.[18]
References
- ^ Lobster Johnson: The Burning Hand
- ^ Lobster Johnson: The Iron Prometheus
- ^ a b BPRD: The Black Goddess
- ^ a b BPRD: Night Train
- ^ Hellboy: Conqueror Worm
- ISBN 9781593070946.
- ^ Lobster Johnson at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ Hellboy: Conqueror Worm
- ^ BPRD: Garden of Souls
- ^ BPRD: Killing Ground
- ^ BPRD: The Warning
- ^ BPRD: King of Fear
- ^ "Hellboy Animated: Blood and Iron". IGN. Retrieved 2010-11-15.
- ^ Hellboy Animated: The Phantom Claw
- ^ C., Jake (November 4, 2018). "Thomas Haden Church Cast As Lobster Johnson In 'Hellboy'". Discussing Film. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
- ^ Dark Horse Comics > Profile > Hellboy Animated Magnet: Lobster Johnson
- ISBN 978-1595822031.
- ^ Gilyadov, Alex (August 23, 2017). "Raiden and Hellboy Heading to Injustice 2". IGN. Retrieved August 26, 2017.