Comics

An Open Letter To DC Comics: Keep Lobo Metal

Published

10 years ago

September 3, 2014

I’ve seen you’ve been pretty busy with all the New 52 stuff and and I gotta say, I have a love/hate relationship with most of your titles. But that’s neither here nor there, I have a different thing to discuss with you, and that is the matter of Lobo.

An Editorial by Pablo Arriaga

What you’re doing to him hurts me. I can almost forgive what happened with his first appearance in the New 52 with Rob Liefeld and him ending up looking like a roided-out, Jersey Shore reject. After all, it’s Rob Liefeld. But then you had Villains Month and showed us the images of what he would look like.

Why does Lobo look like a Twilight reject character?

I can’t believe it. You’ve taken away the badass metal Lobo I know and love. I still bought that issue, I figured I might as well give it a chance. It was a gut punch. You told me that everything I knew and loved about this character was a farce. Instead there was this new skinny guy who says “Sorry. Not sorry,” (seriously, he’s not a teenager) to replace him. Now you’re gonna give us the continuation to that story with a cover that hits me right in the metalhead feels.

What are you doing to him?

Why such a drastic change to the character?

I think you’re missing the point of why this character was so loved. It was created right for the metal audience, from the very beginning I could see him rocking out somewhere with KISS, Alice Cooper, or another Shock Rock band. Then you switched his character to represent this overt machismo and complete insanity attitude towards life. He was still a parody, but one that us metalheads could relate to. He was loud, obnoxious, loved to drink and party, and enjoyed a good brawl the same way a metalhead would enjoy a moshpit.

You’re taking all that away from us. And this new image wipes away everything that’s great about the character. I couldn’t see Simon Bisley drawing this version of Lobo. This is not the badass motherfucker who’s banned from both Heaven and Hell. I’m not sure Scott Ian would write a story for this version of Lobo and this isn’t the Lobo who would drag the mighty Hal Jordan on his tailpipe like he was a dirty ragdoll.

And subsequently control a Red Ring from Atrocitus. All our Lobo needs his Spacehog, his Dawg (whenever he feel like hang out), and his hook. No fancy lasers or trickery; he faces those bastiches front and center, because the more they struggle and fight, the more he enjoys the bounty.

DC, you’re in the business of creating gods, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern. We’re not supposed to relate directly to them, but to aspire to have their innate qualities and unbreakable sense of justice, protection for mankind, and overcoming fear. Lobo is also a parody of that. He’s a relentless anti-hero who stops at nothing to be the best, the “Main Man,” and with this comes his attributes that make him a metal god; love for debauchery and destruction, addiction to ultra-violence, and obviously, the joy of heavy metal.

—

Pablo Arriaga has been bringing the gospel of The Slacker Nerd to countless people the world over with Juatcast.com. He also writes the most metal rants on the web and knows a better recipe for tacos than you do. For more writings or to be baptized in the arms of Matthew McConaughey follow Pabby on Twitter and Facebook.

Related Topics:An Open Letter DC Comics editorial Lobo Metal Pablo Arriaga The New 52

Zac Thompson

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Comics

‘Witchblade’ is Getting Resurrected This Summer in New Comic Series from Top Cow and Image Comics

Published

1 week ago

April 18, 2024

Meagan Navarro

Witchblade, the popular comic series that initially ran from 1995 to 2015 and launched a TV series, is getting resurrected in a new comic series from Top Cow and Image Comics. It’s set to unleash heavy metal, black magic and blood this summer.

Look for the new Witchblade series to launch on July 17, 2024.

In Witchblade #1, “New York City Police Detective Sara Pezzini’s life was forever fractured by her father’s murder. Cold, cunning, and hellbent on revenge, Sara now stalks a vicious criminal cabal beneath the city, where an ancient power collides and transforms her into something wild, magnificent, and beyond her darkest imaginings. How will Sara use this ancient power, or will she be consumed by it?”

The series is penned by NYT Best-Selling writer Marguerite Bennett (Animosity, Batwoman, DC Bombshells) and visualized by artist Giuseppe Cafaro (Suicide Squad, Power Rangers, Red Sonja). The creative duo is working with original co-creator Marc Silvestri, who is the CEO of Top Cow Productions Inc. and one of the founders of Image Comics. They are set to reintroduce the series to Witchblade’s enduring fans with “a reimagined origin with contemporary takes on familiar characters and new story arcs that will hook new readers and rekindle the energy and excitement that fueled the 90’s Image Revolution that shaped generations of top creators.”

Bennett said in a statement, “The ability to tell a ferocious story full of monsters, sexuality, vision, and history was irresistible.” She adds, “Our saga is sleek, vicious, ferocious, and has a lot to say about power in the 21st century and will be the first time that we are stopping the roller coaster to let more people on. I’ve loved Witchblade since I was a child, and there is truly no other heroine like Sara with such an iconic legacy and such a rich, brutal relationship to her own body.”

“The Witchblade universe is being modernized to reflect how Marguerite beautifully explores the extreme sides of Sara through memories, her personal thoughts, like desire and hunger, in her solitude and when she is possessed by the Witchblade. So, I had to visually intersect a noir True Detective-like world with a supernatural, horror world that is a fantastic mix between Berserk and Zodiac,” Cafaro stated.

Marc Silvestri notes, “This is brand new mythology around Sara, and I can’t wait for you to fall in love with her and all the twists and turns. Discover Witchblade reimagined this summer, and join us as we bring all the fun of the 90s to the modern age and see how exciting comics can be. I can’t wait for you to read this new series.”

Witchblade#1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, July 17th, for $4.99 for 48 pages. And it’ll come with multiple cover variants.