Remake & Reboot: The Lobo Comic Series

How come after we’ve seen all 52 of DC’s revamped titles on shelves there’s still no sign of DC’s Main Man? Is it because he’s from space? Or perhaps the hair? Despite it all, if DC wants to refashion itself from being a stogy legacy publisher and turn into a buzz-worthy front runner then Lobo is your place to go.

The last surviving member of the alien race known as Czarnians, Lobo has always been a square peg looking for a round hole in DC Comics. He’s has a murderer’s row of miniseries and a short-lived series of his own when you were a kid, but DC’s kept him on a short leash for the past decade or so. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

The Concept:

An alien bounty hunter might sound like a hard concept to latch onto in the current comics landscape, but if Green Lantern’s been refashioned into the two-word pitch of “Space Cop!” then this could, tongue-firmly-in-cheek, be “Dog The Bounty Hunter … in Space!” While that’s not the root of the character, it’s enough of a target to re-envision the series and take him and his spacebike for a ride.

With space-bound titles at DC like the various Green Lantern books, there’s still alot of space left for exploring and Lobo could be just the man for the job. To re-introduce him in this “New 52” era I’d give him a high-profile (re)debut in a major title like Justice LEague ala the Skrull reveal in New Avengers that set Secret Invasion into motion, spiraling into a full-length series. The key is to get the character right, but in a way that can fit (as much as Lobo should) into the broader tapestry of the DCU. What if he’s the one to call out the Green Lantern corps on their domineering police ways, or perhaps find out why Earth is infested with aliens from Krypton and beyond?

The Creators:

Writer – Rick Remender: Remender is positively tearing it up over at Marvel with Uncanny X-Force and Venom, and if you look at work like that you can easily see a Lobo yarn coming out of that same vein. Remender’s currently locked into an exclusive signed with Marvel back in 2009, but those normally last two or three years and there’s been no word of Remender re-upping. As one of the Marvel guys skirting the edges of their Architects team, Remender could be a big ‘get’ for DC Comics.

Interior Artist – Tony Moore: Although he’s done cover work and interiors for Vertigo and Wildstorm (R.I.P.), Tony Moore has yet to step foot inside the auspices of the DC Super-Hero universeand it’s about time someone remedied that. Earlier this month Marvel announced that Lan Medina is on the Venom book, leaving Moore’s future wide-open for armchair quarterbacks like you and I to speculate. Moore is tailor-made to take on the main man, and imagine DC billing it as “from the co-creator of The Walking Dead.” SOLD!

Interior Artist – Paul Harmon: Tony Moore’s not one to do 12 issues a year, but he’s worked up a time-sharing method of doing comics as seen in Fear Agent with Jerome Opena and in Venom with tom Fowler. Artist Paul Harmon would be an intriguing pick and would fit in ably with this team of creators. Harmon worked in the past with Remender on Sea of Red Sea of Red collaborator and is looking for his next major project in comics.

Cover Artist – Rafael Grampa: Some might say Simon Bisley and Sam Keith were born to draw Lobo; for my money, I’d put that distinction down to Rafael Grampa. He’s the white whale of comic creators, popping up sporadically in covers just enough to know he’s still around. Currently he’s working on an OGN for Dark Horse, but enlisting Grampa for cover-work on a series would be an ideal fit.

Comments

  1. I am not unable to manage my comic budget yet. But if these creators ever came to DC I would gladly go into debt to buy these comics. Even if it was a Lobo book. With Rafael Grampa doing a cover for Vertigo he may just be a possible DC hire soon.

  2. It’s a big surprise Lobo hasn’t shown up yet, especially given how DC is mainlining comics & creators of the ’90’s as a major inspiration for the look and feel of this reboot…

  3. YESSSSS! DC has done well in bringing the B-listers to the forefront through key roles in the event books (Firestorm, Deadman, bringing back Aquaman, Hawkman,etc.), why not Lobo? Seems a much better idea than, oh, I don’t know…Hawk and Dove!

  4. I used to have a lobo poster on my wall with him standing over the body of a dead father Christmas. My neighbour scrawled ” you fuck with Santa, you fuck with me!”. Lots of fun , but a he’ll of a lot of work to avoid the one note repetition.

  5. I would buy a Lobo comic in a heartbeat. If you like Lobo you need to read the DC novel Last Sons

  6. I could choose a number of different people to work on a reboot of Lobo. Remender would be one. Jason Aaron would be another. He’s had fun with a little known Marvel curmudgeon in need of anger management and he would do well here, too. You mentioned him along with Tony Moore up above, but I’d give the whole thing over to Tom Fowler OR Sean Gordon Murphy. Either of those two have the unique style that would lend itself well to a new Lobo book, plus SGM has done space-y stuff before.

    But, my ultimate Lobo book would have to be a grand epic written and drawn by James Stokoe. That guy is crazy and I would just love to see what he does with a lunatic bounty hunter in outer space where he can go nuts with all of his weird ideas and concepts.

  7. Dont know why lobo wasnt a part of the new 52 anyway.

  8. I agree with all, except Jason Aaron would be the best writer for the series. Grant Morrison my second choice. Rick would be my third.

  9. I love absolutely every bit of this!

  10. I haven’t read any Lobo or even seen him in a comic, but I’d love to see him in anything soon.

  11. I always thought of Lobo as Superman, had Clark been raised by bikers. Violent bikers.

  12. Well Bisley is currently on DC’s books. I’m not holding my breath, but it would be great to see a combination of the above and Bisley proving cover art with the occasional interior art issue as he has been doing on Hellblazer.