---

Writer: Mike Mignola, John Arcudi

Artist: Toni Fejzula

The man with the claw brand returns with this one-shot. It’s been awhile since I read Hellboy, but reading parts about Lobster Johnson was always entertaining. He was a man always seeking justice, even until the end. As a murder happens at a new blown glass exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum, Lobster Johnson is on the case, investigating the incident.

This one-shot has amazing art by Toni Fejzula. Shadows are used effectively giving off wrinkles in characters, clothing, objects, and adds a distinct look to the character as well.  Architecture is drawn with stunning detail. Fejzula colors are beautiful and compliment the story. “The Glass Mantis”, looks incredibly stunning with the use of greens and pinks to give it a crystalline effect. Also, the use of blues and purples for the night scenes looks amazing. 

The team of Mike Mignola and John Arcudi create a simple tale for our hero. The script does a fantastic job of setting everything up and ending surprisingly well. The story was easy to understand and didn’t add anything unnecessary to it. Lobster has been in various stories with Hellboy and B.P.R.D., but anyone could pick this title up without reading previous stories. Going through the issue, some of the dialogue seemed weird at times, but the following panel helps clear that up. As the story unfolds, it’s pretty clever how everything will turn out. There are some supernatural elements in the story, but it’s not used until later on in the plot and I’m surprised there wasn’t more of it.

I loved this one-shot and it makes me want to go read more of Lobster Johnson. The story is straightforward with some supernatural elements and accessible for nonreaders of the title. The story, art, and colors are great. I wasn’t expecting it to be so good. If you like Hellboy and BPRD, you will like this one-shot.

5 Glass Mantis’ out of 5