10 Lobo Comics Fans Should Read Before His DCU Debut

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With the official news that Lobo will finally be making his much-anticipated big-screen debut (his appearances in animated specials and TV shows notwithstanding), now’s the best time to brush up on the adventures of DC’s most violent anti-hero. People often look to characters like Batman, Azrael, Red Hood, or other similarly brooding and uncharacteristically violent heroes as the ultimate expression of hard justice. However, none of those characters can hold a candle to the utter ferocity that is Lobo. Lobo doesn’t just get the bad guys. He really gets the bad guys, alive or dead, in one piece or many. He also doesn’t care if he has to go through an entire planet of random people to get the bad guys, either.

But Lobo is more than just senseless violence. He loves music, especially when it’s death metal broadcast directly into his head twenty-four hours a day. He loves animals, like his dog and space dolphins. He loves relaxing after work, which may include smoking, drinking, and doing some more killing. Lobo is the absolute antithesis of everything that DC’s biggest and most respected heroes represent, and that’s why he’s so amazing: he’s a giant middle finger to the upright citizens brigade of spandex-wearing heroes the world over. These comics are a few of the best for anyone who wants to get to know The Main Man before he makes his live-action debut in the DCU. Be warned, though: these are 100% not for the faint of heart.

10

Lobo Infanticide Proves Lobo Knows How to be a Dad

He Did Have A LOT of Kids

It really shouldn’t come as any surprise that Lobo, being the stalwart model of positive masculinity that he is, would have a few kids here and there throughout the universe. With all the planets he’s been to, bars he’s frequented, bounties he’s hunted down, and all the quiet evenings he’s enjoyed after being paid vast sums of money, well, The Main Man would naturally find certain activities to pass the time. Which is all well and good except for the fact that he has over two-hundred kids, all of whom want their dear old dad dead as a doornail.

The legion of Lobo’s offspring, led by his militant daughter, Su-Lehmon, decide that the best way to off their pops is to trick him into thinking that he’s been drafted into military service. Something about Lobo and guns just seems like a winning combination. Except, despite all their best efforts, Lobo won’t die. He loves his bogus boot camp, which is not at all what his daughter wanted. The resulting heart-to-heart Su-Lehmon has with Lobo is one of the finest, most heart-felt moments of familial affection ever put to paper in DC history.

9

Batman/Lobo Brought The Main Man to Gotham City

It Was a Refreshing and Relaxing Visit

Gotham City, that dark and dank city steeped in crime and decay, is held back from toppling into the abyss by one man: Batman, the Dark Knight. His will to see all crime become punished is what keeps Gotham City from becoming a playground for the deranged. Naturally, he’s made a few enemies over the years, and with the enormous cash flow that exists in that town, it’s also only natural that one of those enemies finally decided to hire someone to take Batman out once and for all. What the villain Scarface could never have imagined was what he signed up for by hiring Lobo of all people to kill Batman.

Lobo makes himself very comfortable and at home in Gotham City. He meets Killer Croc and the Penguin, which is nice for him and terrible for them. Nightwing and Robin team up to take on Lobo, and they learn a very valuable lesson in gravity and physics. Lobo’s utter disregard for order and decency paints Gotham a shade of red it’s never before seen. Batman may have years of experience in dealing with the Joker, but he’s never had to deal with the likes of Lobo before.

8

Lobo In the Chair Depicts the Worst Haircut Lobo Has Ever Had

He Did Look Good as Elvis, Though

It’s hard work being the universe’s number one bounty hunter. Just being able to sit back and relax and enjoy all the money can be as difficult as tracking all the bounties down. For Lobo, a backwoods desert planet is just as rough and boring as the rest of them. After hauling in a huge lot of dirtbags, criminals, and other assorted ne’er-do-wells, Lobo decides it’s time for a minute of relaxation at the local barbers. The only problem is that he passes out the moment he sits down in the chair and proceeds to sleep through everything that’s done to him and his hair.

Unfortunately for two supremely stupid thugs who think it would be quite the lark to mess with Lobo’s hair, the Main Man does finally wake up. To say he’s unhappy with the outcome of their hairdressing skills is a bit of an understatement. But the vengeance he wishes to mete out will have to wait until he’s no longer bound to the chair, electricity coursing through him every few seconds. If a wanted criminal saw Lobo snoozing right next to them, the last thing they should do is tie him up and plug him into an electrical socket.

7

Lobocop Is the Perfect Reason Why Lobo Should NEVER Be a Cop

Justice Was Served That Day

The future of law enforcement has arrived, and not a single bastiche in the world is safe from it. Lobocop, as his name implies, is the ultimate fusion of Czarnian and machine. He is the unstoppable force of law and order that spreads justice to all that deserve it – with extreme prejudice. See, giving Lobo a gun, regardless of the intent or attempted control behind the action, always results in wholesale massacre and demolition.

It all gets even worse when someone decides to shut off the 24/7 stream of metal that’s broadcasted directly into Lobo’s head. Somehow, turning off the nonstop metal actually makes him even more violent and unruly, much to the immediate lamentation of every living thing around him. It’s proof positive that even when created and formed to be the ultimate being of law enforcement, there’s a tidal wave of blood and bullets with everyone’s name on it coming courtesy of Lobo. It was a nice try, though.

6

Superman/Lobo Finally Brought Lobo and Superman Face to Face

Superman Put Up a Great Fight

It’s a tale as old as time: Lobo gets a contract to kill someone, so he takes it, no questions asked. This time, his bounty happens to live on Earth in a little old city called Metropolis. This bounty goes by the name of “Superman” and learns very quickly of Lobo’s presence. Lobo, never backing down from any fight or taking any form of bravado seriously, clocks the Man of Steel as hard as he can. What he doesn’t expect is how hard Superman returns the favor.

The battle between Lobo and Superman in this story is unique for a few reasons. First, it is the very first time the two meet. Secondly, in a rare turn of events, Lobo cancels his contract and turns on his employer. It’s not often Lobo lets someone go alive after taking a contract on them, so Superman should feel honored. In true Big Blue fashion, Superman wasn’t interested in fighting Lobo to begin with, so the fact that their fight ends prematurely was a plus for him. And Lobo finally got to throw down with someone on his level, which was fantastic for him.

5

Lobo’s First Series Is Everything a Lobo Series Should Be

This Is Where It All Began

This is where it all starts. This might not be Lobo’s first appearance in DC Comics, but it’s his first solo story and, boy, does it get things off to a great start. Lobo is tasked with transporting the only other living Czarnian in existence to a secure location in a distant section of space. Not only does it irritate Lobo that he has to keep someone alive, it also really irritates him that he’s not the Last Czarnian anymore. Releasing a virulent and globally lethal virus on your home planet courtesy of your science fair experiment that kills every living being except for yourself is a pretty solid way of becoming the last of your kind.

This mini-series is everything that would come to define Lobo over the years. Cartoon levels of extreme ultra-violence; an absolute disregard for physics, science, reality, and good taste; Lobo’s absolutely unrepentant attitude towards violence and the sanctity of life. It also helps tremendously that the legendary Simon Bisley’s art is a frenetic explosion of style, color, and graphic violence. It’s the perfect mixture of slapstick stupidity, irreverent humor, and gore. Giffen, Grant, and Bisley are the dream team when it comes to Lobo and their first foray with The Main Man doesn’t get much better than this.

4

Lobo’s Ongoing Series Helped Push Him Into New Territory

It’s Frag-Friggin’-Tastic!

It may not be as deliriously violent as Lobo’s other mini-series, but his first full-length ongoing series is still The Main Man to a T. This series has it all: gunfights, swearing, booze by the buckets, and more dismemberment than Lobo can swing an arm at. This series tones Lobo down to a cool hard PG-13, but that doesn’t prevent it from showing DC fans what the true underbelly of the DC Universe looks like.

Some Lobo staples make their appearance in this sixty-four-issue run (not including annuals and special bonus issues.) Al’s Diner, that greasy and grimy hub of all things destitute and slimy, becomes a favorite haunt of Lobo’s. The origin of one of his favorite words, “Bastiche”, is revealed in this series, as well, helping shed some light on the carnivorous bounty hunter. If motorcycle death races, lethal expedition reenactments, and murderous fan clubs intent on spreading cheer and goodwill across the universe at all costs – even if it means puréeing and liquifying Lobo in the process – are what’s needed, then this is the series to dive into.

3

Lobo/Mask Answers a Question That Should Never Have Been Asked

What WOULD Happen If Lobo Wore The Mask?

When two homicidal universes collide, there is literally nothing in existence that can ever hope to stop them. It’s a bad day for every living being in the universe when Big Head, the living incarnation of The Mask, meets Lobo, the Last Czarnian. The two immediately begin fighting, both fully intent on only stopping when the other is completely dead. But as they continue to flay, dismember, shoot, tear, shred, rip, and slice one another over and over and over, they start to realize that they truly cannot kill one another. So they figure, hey, if they can’t beat one another, then it would only make sense to join forces.

The resulting carnage takes them across the stars in a bloody and gory trail of glory. Even the sun gets punched in the face. And to make everything incalculably worse and more horrifying than it could ever be imagined, Lobo actually puts on the Mask. If ever there was a single, physical incarnation of violence in all its terrible glory, it is the single shot of Lobo screaming with The Mask attached to his face. But don’t worry, it’s not all doom and gloom and bullets. It’s wacky physical comedy and gallows humor and slapstick silliness, just all drenched in anger and blood.

2

Lobo: Paramilitary Christmas Special Is the Perfect Fireside Gift This Holiday Season

It’s Hyper-Violence Packaged With a Ribbon and a Smile

Once upon a time, there was a couple that was at their wits’ end. With no money, no jobs, and no prospects of delivering a happy Christmas to their ten kids that year, the two parents are at a loss on how to salvage the holiday. Luckily for them, a special Christmas-time book is at their disposal, a book that promises to whip any kid into shape in time for the holidays. The parents open the book and proceed to read one of the most heartwarming and magical Christmas stories of all time.

Just a heads up, Lobo kills Santa in this story. When the Easter Bunny puts a price on jolly Saint Nick’s head for edging in on all the other holidays, something’s gotta give, and Lobo’s the one to do the givin’. Lobo’s infiltration and assault on Santa’s fortress/factory leave no elf standing. When Lobo finally meets up with Santa, it’s an encounter sweeter than a tray of milk and cookies. For anyone that could have possibly thought that Christmas and Santa were two things Lobo couldn’t possibly maim and mutilate in the name of good taste, this story proves them completely wrong.

1

Lobo’s Back Is the Pinnacle and Absolute Peak of DC’s Greatest Character

They Don’t Make ‘Em Like This Anymore

This is the ultimate Lobo story, hands down, no questions asked. If there was ever the purest Lobo comic that contains every single amazing detail of what it means to be The Main Man in all its visceral glory, this is that comic. When someone manages to kill Lobo, his spirit moves on into the afterlife. The only problem with this is the fact that Lobo is in no mood to be dead and forces his way back to the world of the living for revenge. Lobo gets killed not once, not twice, but three times, each time getting sent back to the land of spirits. And each time he comes back, the body count of hapless angels and spirits just piles higher and higher.

Lobo’s Back is a tangible symphony of violence. Heads are punched off, heads are punched through, limbs are removed from bodies, and even a collective of gods suffers at the hands of one supremely enraged Czarnian. This comic establishes and explains why Lobo can never truly die. It isn’t strictly because of his amazing regenerative and healing powers; it’s because he’s banned from the afterlife in all capacities. There are no Lobo stories better, bigger, or bloodier than this. In a world of Superman, Shazam, and Green Lantern, it’s great to know that Lobo exists, in all his chain-smoking, hard-drinking, body-tearing, space dolphin-loving greatness.

“}]] The Main Man has a sizable backlog of stories to get through before his DCU debut, but these are a few of the best for any fan of the Last Czarnian.  Read More