Underrated Badass: Lobster Johnson

When you think of Mike Mignola you’ll surely think of a weird world full of the occult, the weird and memorable characters like the main star of the show Hellboy and the odd collective of heroes called B.P.R.D, but who is the Lobster?

The Crime Hatin’ Crustacean

Lobster Johnson is one of the many spinoffs from the Hellboy universe, first appearing in the Hellboy story Conqueror Worm back in 2001 as a fabled vigilante helping Hellboy on his mission as some sort of Guardian Angel with a handgun.

Then, due to popular demand in 2007 Lobster Johnson received his own solo book series called The Iron Prometheus. Then the legend expanded, sometimes he even cameos in the superhero team book B.P.R.D also created by Mike Mignola.

Lobster Johnson’s solo stories are set in 1930s Depression Era New York as an action-pulp-noir superhero.

What’s His Deal?

If I could described Lobster Johnson, I would say he is what happens when you combine Batman’s affinity for gadgets, secret hideouts and a cunning calculating mind mixed with DareDevil‘s suave fighting skills, then top it off with The Punisher‘s ruthlessness and marksmanship.

Oh yeah, you better believe Lobster Johnson uses guns from M1911 handguns, grenades to artillery cannons, depending on the villains. The Lobster’s story can go from normal, like fighting gangsters and Nazi terrorists, to facing off against weird folks like cannibals and monkey assassins, and facing off against the supernatural and the technologically advance (considering its the 1930s)

So to answer your questions…

1. Can you read Lobster Johnson without reading Hellboy and the rest of the Mignola verse?

Answer: Yes, you can because its a stand alone story. My advice is that you also read B.P.R.D because sometimes Lobster Johnson pops up in there and its also a great read.

2. What are Lobster Johnson’s powers, does he have one?