Pulp of the Week - The Burning Hand

Cover art by Mike Mignola with Dave Stewart

The second Lobster Johnson graphic novel is out in one volume and it is a good one. Set concurrently with my own "The Horn," in 1932, this book sees mobsters in New York pitted against the Lobster and his crew. 

However, since this is the Hellboy universe, it is not that easy and the gangsters have some unusual help. Throw in a plucky reporter and a mess of bullets and you get a pile of fun.

Gangster Arnie Wald is looking to make a killing in real estate by killing. All is going fine with his "haunted Indian burial ground" scheme until the Lobster steps in and reporter Cindy Tynan starts digging around. When the 'Indians' turn out to be gangsters, Wald brings in some help. Some 'Weird Tales' kind of help. Well, this being a Mignola universe story, you had to know that was coming.

There is some major mayhem and a bit of tragedy as the story unfolds. I really dig these Lobster Johnson stories. They have the perfect blend of horror, macabre, character, and pulp action.

I am pleased as can be with the New Pulp action in comics and books that is happening. There is more New Pulp than I can afford at this point, so I can pick and choose - but that is the topic of a future article.

Buy all things Lobster! Support New Pulp in comics and in prose.

For this review I read The Burning Hand trade paperback. The story is by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi. The Art is by Tonci Zonjic and the color is by Dave Stewart.

I'll give The Burning Hand a 9 out of 10. Check it out.

Tannhäuser Tuesday - B.P.R.D. Field Agents

B.P.R.D. Field Agents

BPRD Field Agent One uses the Joe Diamond figure from Fantasy Flight Games' Arkham Horror Investigators miniatures line. These are 25-30mm prepainted figures for use with the Arkham Horror and Mansions of Madness board games. The figures are good pulp era  figures that will find use in many rpgs and minis games. They are $4 each, whis is an OK price for the quality, which is average. As you can see there is some flash and Joe is a little smaller than he should be. The bases are a bit thinner than the Tannhäuser ones, but I don't see the need to replace them. They are close enough. I'll have a further review of the figures later. 

Joe's offense comes from his twin .45s that blaze into action. He fast on the draw and has been known to take down multiple targets with his trusty .45s.

BPRD Field Agent Two is represented by the Mike McGlen figure, also from the Arkham Investigators set. Mike's got a Thompson sub machine gun, a .45 caliber death machine. There are many figures available that would work as field agents, so feel free to substitute any appropriate figure.

I FEEL U-CHRONIC!!!

My custom additions to Tannhäuser are not created by, distributed, or endorsed by Fantasy Flight Games. Tannhäuser and all related characters are trademarks of Fantasy Flight Games and © Fantasy Flight Games. The BPRD, Hellboy and all related characters are TM and © Mike Mignola.

Tannhäuser Tuesday - Hellboy Pt 2

HELLBOY

There you have it, the rest of Hellboy for Tannhäuser. Now if only we had some agents...

Tannhäuser Tuesday - BPRD - Hellboy Pt 1

Pulp of the Week - Lobster Johnson #1

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July, 2009 - The Satan Factory

Dark Horse Books has just released the first book in what I am hoping is a series of Lobster Johnson novels. Tom Sniegoski has written a tightly crafted thriller that places the Lobster into the heart of prohibition era New York.

The story starts off a bit roughly, mixing past and present tense and coming off a little clunky. But read on, because that passes quickly and there is so much to love in this book and the writing really smooths itself out. That, or I just got used to it.

There are three main characters in the book; Dr. Jonas Chapel, a mob surgeon, on the lam, Jake Hurley, a disgraced former cop with a heart of gold whose life ruined by corrupt cops, and the Lobster, who invited Hurley to join his crew. Hurley really is the focal character of the book as the Lobster remains a man of mystery.

Gangland tensions have reached a crescendo when the doctor introduces a new element to the inter-mob warfare. Demons. There are strange things going on in this New York and the Lobster with his crew of assistants, snitches, and look-outs are determined to make it better.

In one scene, when he is offered great power and influence, "the Lobster had no interest in anything more than the total eradication of evil from the world."

There are little bits of many classic pulp characters in the Lobster. In one scene he is riding outside the car on the running board,

ala Doc Savage. But the Lobster is far more savage than Savage, mercilessly killing his enemies in a number of bloodbaths. He blasts villains with a Colt .45 like the Shadow. He is a ruthless killer of evil like the Spider. But he is a fully enjoyable character as well. I would have like to have gotten a couple of little hints into his back story, but no such luck in this novel. The Lobster is already going strong, with his assistants and his secret lair and his grenades and night vision goggles. And I better not forget the Lobster's claw. It plays an unexpected and important role here.

The Satan Factory is a bit gory, a bit blood-thirsty, and very much pulpy fun. It starts off slow, but once Sniegoski gets the plot going and the Lobster take center stage, it is a real page turner. I give The Satan Factory an 8 out of 10.

Congratulations to Tom Sniegoski and Mike Mignola. I look forward to reading more of the Lobster.


For this review I read the Dark Horse Trade Paperback, First Edition, July, 2009.
The cover is by Gregory Manchess. The book is © 2009 Mike Mignola.


© 2009 W. Peter Miller