When a comic book exists that’s called Lobster Johnson: Satan Smells a Rat, and you have any inclination towards enjoying the medium at all, you have to read that sucker. Not only is it fairly necessary to read about a guy named Lobster Johnson any time he has a book out, but when you add Satan Smells a Rat and a picture of our crustacean-themed hero hip deep in blood, you can’t deny it anymore.
That said, there’s no river of blood, no rat and no Satan in this stand-alone story. Instead, we follow a mysterious palooka taking a dame up to his joint, only to find a decomposing body sitting in his chair. Since he can’t explain it to the fuzz, he goes on the lam, see, only to almost get run down by two more stiffs stealing his purple car. How’d that happen? Whozzat there? Lobster Johnson? Well, that guy’s gonna get a piece of this palooka’s mind – that is, if he don’t get shot first – which he does! Running all bloodied to the train, he can’t even escape the lousy bastard tailing him that way – so it’s time to hightail it back to his bosses, some medical types who have him dumping these bodies that are coming back to haunt him. This is one messed up Halloween!
It’s Mike Mignola and John Arcudi turning in another swift, pulpy yarn that does what it aims to do – be an in-and-out adventure in the dark, murky side of the law. Kevin Nowlan’s artwork is fairly bright and clean for a grubby story like this, but it works perfectly, from palooka to his creepy benefactor to the mad scientist to Lobster’s scare tactics. The closeups are fantastic. It’s a fun read, and although it’s quick, I wouldn’t call it light, what with all the shootings.
Maybe there was a rat in this story. A dirty rat what needed a gut shot.
