The Cranky Old Comics Fan Returns! The New Lobo

I put up a post on Alex's Poplitiko site about the latest aspect of The New 52 to bug me. Yeah, I'm a cranky old fanboy stuck in the past; but have you seen the New Bishonen Lobo?

He's Sparkly.

You're exactly right, Kurt. The Main Man is now a pretty, vaguely metrosexual-looking douf. Why even call him Lobo if he's not the same character, except out of creative laziness? Good article, and I would pay money to see a no-holds barred match between Grannie Goodness and the original Amanda Waller.

It did happen in an issue of SUICIDE SQUAD in which one of the team members, secretly one of Granny Goodness's Female Furies, abducted once of Waller's nieces, who had been working as an intern at Task Force X, as a present for her Granny. Waller led a team to Apokolips and there fought Granny Goodness toe-to-toe.

(This was the classic episode in which Doctor Light died. The ghost which had been haunting him all these years goaded him into doing something heroic for once in his life. And he immediately got riddled with zap-gun fire)

Alas, even carrying a Big Freakin' Gun, Waller was outmatched. Granny is, after all, an Apokolipsian and can bench-press Kalibak without breaking a sweat, and Waller just a mortal, albeit a bad-ass one. But all things considered, Waller made a good showing for herself just running on rage and determination

Good stuff! Suicide Squad was one of those titles I always heard good things about, but never tried, sounds like it was my loss.

I only saw the picture once, but did anyone else get a whiff of that scene from the first issue of the 'Bo's first limited series? "I oughta waste yer skinny butt right now, four-eyes! Sellin' this rip-off garbage! Pissin' on the Man!"

Hmm, I was all ready to blame the change on new designer Kenneth Rocafort, who also sexed up Starfire in her redesign, but I see from that linked CBR article that Rocafort came up with several other possible Lobo designs that were closer in spirit to the older Lobo. So I guess the writer and editor are more to blame.

edquinby001 wrote:

You're exactly right, Kurt. The Main Man is now a pretty, vaguely metrosexual-looking douf. Why even call him Lobo if he's not the same character, except out of creative laziness?

Yeah, I agree. If it's mostly all new, why not start a new book. It's one thing when a character gets a revamp, like many did in the Silver Age. A character gets a sleeker costume, or a more modern take, or even a new kid takes up the mantle. But just keeping the name and jettisoning everything else is just lame. Didn't they do the same with Blue Beetle some years back. Changing the character from a Batman-pastiche o something of a bug themed Greatest American Hero?