Lobo (DC Comics) - Publication History

Publication History

Lobo was originally a regular character in Keith Giffen and Roger Slifer’s Green Lantern and Teen Titans spin-off Omega Men. At that time, he was a Velorpian whose entire race had been exterminated by Psions and was partnered with Bedlam (whom he later killed); his origin was later retconned. After a well-received appearance in Justice League International, Lobo became a regular character in L.E.G.I.O.N. and its successor series R.E.B.E.L.S. In 1990, he appeared in his own miniseries, Lobo: The Last Czarnian, plotted by Giffen, written by Alan Grant and with art by Simon Bisley, which changed his origin story: he became the last Czarnian after violently killing every other member of the species.

Grant's humor and Bisley's art helped to make this four-issue series a hit, leading to many subsequent miniseries and specials. These include Lobocop (a RoboCop parody); Blazing Chain of Love (in which he is sent on a job to a harem); Paramilitary Christmas Special (in which he is contracted by the Easter Bunny to assassinate Santa Claus); Infanticide (where he kills his daughter and all of his other bastard offspring that she has gathered to try to kill him); Convention Special (a send-up of comic book conventions); and Unamerican Gladiators (in which Lobo takes part in a deadly televised game show). Lobo also starred in his own title for 64 issues, from 1993 to 1999.

Over the years, Lobo has regularly made guest appearances in other series, even in cross-company interactions with such non-DC characters as The Mask, Judge Dredd, and the Authority. During the DC vs. Marvel crossover series, he fought Wolverine and lost due to popular vote by fans. He also appeared very briefly in the JLA/Avengers intercompany crossover and is shown fighting members of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard, though the outcome is not shown.

In the Lobo series and miniseries everything is excessive, from the main character's perversions, mindless violence, to the vocabulary and the grungy color palette and grotesque graphics. He commonly refers to "do-gooder" superheroes as "The Big Cheese." Everything in the series is laughable (in the sense of being ridiculous, if not always amusing), even his profanities ("frag", "Feetal's Gizz", and "bastich"), which are used to replace vocabulary unwanted by a family-friendly DC and to satirize similar expressions in other comics.

Lobo has made a few appearances in the animated series of the 1990s/2000s-era DC animated universe. At one point, an animated series and video game starring the character were to be released, but both were canceled.

In 2009 Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian and Sam Kieth collaborated to create "Lobo: Highway to Hell", released in November of the same year. Lobo had first discovered Anthrax in a 1991 issue of The Demon in which he sang along to their song "I Am the Law."