Lobo #5 Review
Writer: Skottie Young
Artist: Jorge Corona
Colorist: Jean-Francois Beaulieu
Letterer: Nate Piekos
Cover Artists: Jorge Corona & Jean-Francois Beaulieu
Variant Cover Artists: Sanford Greene, Chloe Brailsford
& Phan Tuan Dat
Swimsuit Variant Cover Artist: Mirka Andolfo
Editors: James Reid, Kathleen Wisneski & Paul Kaminski
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $3.99/$4.99 Card Stock
Release Date: July 15, 2026
The Main Man has been through a rough patch. He lost his
reality TV show. He got rehabilitated on Plinko Astra. And he nearly lost Dawg
to that Fraggin' Kryptonian Girl "Kar-En." But you can't keep the 'Ol
Serpent of Czarnia down! So, what's next for Lobo? And after searching for a
Box of Crows at the Fortress of Solitude, will the Main Man work with Maynard
again? Let’s leap into Lobo #5 and see!
Story
After the dust settles on the corporate merger, Omni Omega+
Entertainment Corp becomes a subsidiary of Galactic Rodent Productions. Lobo
may not have completed the psychological questionnaire as Dr Bixwell preferred.
Nonetheless, he's got his bounty hunting license back. Better yet, his
popularity has never been higher. Despite OOEC's constant interference with
Lobo's bounty hunting methods, Mr Kzzt’s new bosses want to give his Main Man
TV series another season.
Mr Kzzt wants to keep his bosses happy in Lobo #5. Yet Lobo
overreacted when Mr Kzzt put the TV show and Lobo's bounty-hunting career on
hold during the corporate merger. So, Mr Kzzt must decide how to take Lobo back
while maintaining his self-respect, or avoid hiring the bounty hunter without
angering upper management.
If Mr Kzzt is in a pickle, Lobo also stands on unsteady
ground in Skottie Young’s story. After enduring rehabilitation therapy on
Plinko Astra, Dawg initially rejected his efforts at reconciliation. Lobo couldn’t
deliver the Box of Crows to his latest employer. Nor has he carried out a
successful bounty hunting gig since. But while Lobo tries to rebuild his
relationship with Dawg, other people intrude on his solitude at Chug ‘N Slug.
And despite their appearances, they are more than they seem in Lobo #5.
Art
Pennants fly around a corporate tower. A yellow emblem on a
red background, composed of triangles and lines, symbolizes the recent change
in ownership. Despite the sunlight shining through the windows, hanging globes
and downlights illuminate Mr Kzzt’s office. A metal dome adorned with video
monitors covers his eyes. Below the stacks of fan letters, a sign next to a
large button on his desk correlates with the face appearing on his dome
monitors.
As Jean-Francois Beaulieu adorns Jorge Corona's whimsical
art with vibrant colors, Lobo hunches on his stool while Dawg sprawls atop the
tankard-piled bar. Despite the many-eyed smiling bartender in a bunny suit,
Lobo frowns until a woman with many lips appears. Violet clouds rise when she
presents her surprise. And while the yellow-clad Mr Kzzt sits next to his big
red button, and Lobo meets two adversaries differentiated by yellow and red,
more guests join the party, wielding red and yellow weapons.
Nate Piekos fills white and colored dialogue balloons with
generously sized black uppercase letters. Yellow narrative boxes and
banner-sized letters locate us in time and space. Letters grow bold for
intonation and swell when Lobo laughs, gets caught in a simple rhyme, and
realizes the origin of all his troubles. Sound effects accompany gunfire, the
rattle and clang of a chained hook, and a display that makes Lobo smile. Thanks
to DC Comics for sharing this story with us.
Final Thoughts
Lobo lost his license. Emperor Aquaman laughed at him. Dawg’s
loyalties wavered, and Supergirl forced him to play nicely with others. After
suffering the humiliation of rehabilitation, Lobo needs something to make him
feel alive and valued again. Instead, Lobo gets caught in a masquerade, where
nothing is what it looks like, and he's got one last desperate opportunity to
recapture the good life in Lobo #5.
Rating 9.8/10
To look inside see my preview of Lobo #5.
For what happened last time, see my review of Summer of Supergirl Special #1.
For Lobo's assault on the Fortress of Solitude, see my preview of Lobo #4.
For Lobo's origin story, see my review of Lobo #3.
For Lobo's epic fight with Emperor Aquaman, see my preview of Lobo #2.
For how this series started, see my preview of Lobo #1.
