How fitting to deal with a lobster-themed hero, when my vacation to Rockland, Maine, and The Lobster Festival, is but weeks away! (Yes, it is a real thing.) Also, because I plan to fight crime while vacationing in Maine, dressed as a lobster!
A Scent of a Lotus Part 1, is it Good?
Lobster Johnson: A Scent of Lotus Part 1 (Dark Horse)
Written by John Arcudi and Mike Mignola, A Scent of Lotus tells the story of The Lobster trying to get into the Chinese restaurant industry.
No, actually, it takes place in Chinatown, New York City. The Lobster is investigating deaths by what he believes are enemies of the gang, the Tong.
This time around, The Lobster has some friends with him: Lester, his driver, and Harry. The dialogue draws you in right from the start, the issue starting with The Lobster getting shot at, and ending with The Lobster trying to save some Tong members. Another nice touch is when we hear the dialogue from various Chinese people the footnote gives us the dialect they are speaking. In this issue it is the Canton dialect and the Kansai dialect. The pacing is excellent, switching from fast to slow for the more mysterious dialogue without losing the readers attention. This issue also has a delightfully strange and unnerving ending. (No spoilers. Well, except for the one where I told you the ending is wonderfully strange.)
The art is by Sebastian Fiumara, and boy do I love his work. Even if he sometimes draws Slender Man in the background.
Fiumara is great with faces when they are close up though. He’s great with action panels; man can he ever draw a gun fight. And he’s great with fluid movement between panels. His style just makes me want to track down more of his work. It’s dazzling.
9.0
- Great action panels.
- Wonderfully noir and pulpy.
- The Lobster has assistants now!
- Great mystery.
- Yet again, a Lobster series is not more than 2 issues.
Is It Good?
This issue is mysterious, and everything you could hope for in a Lobster Johnson comic. I would be remiss if I didn’t yet again share my annoyance with a lack of many, many issues in a Lobster Johnson arc. Give me 4, guys. Hell, give me 3. I’ll wait to see how they tie it up, but I can’t help but feel like The Lobster deserves more than this. However, dealing with the issue at hand: it’s gorgeous, exciting, and as gritty a comic about a man who personifies the mighty lobster as one could hope for.
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