Not content with causing a stir with the casting of Ben Affleck as Batman and moving the Justice League to Canada, the boffins at DC Comics have now unveiled the new look for Lobo – and it is pretty, which is kind of the issue. Are they trying to explode the Internet?
First created by Roger Slifer and Keith Giffen in the pages of Omega Men #3 (June 1983), the character was recently given an overhaul in Rob Liefeld’s run of Deathstroke, but the publisher is now choosing to retcon their reboot with a new design by Kenneth Rocafort. He will appear as part of the “Forever Evil” villains month in Justice League #23.2, from Marguerite Bennett, Ben Oliver, Cliff Richards and Daniel Brown.
In his column “What’s New in the New 52?“, Editor-in-chief Bob Harras explains, “The Lobo you’ve seen so far in the New 52 is not who you think he is. In this one-shot, you’ll be introduced to the real Lobo. A ruthless killer, Lobo is on a quest to kill the man who has taken his name.”
For the often polarising Rob Liefeld, who has an abundance of fans and detractors of his art style, this is the second redesign of one of his New 52 characters. As CBR points out, his versions of Cheshire (who was set to appear in the now cancelled Grifter) has also received another redesign and is set to appear in upcoming New 52 books. Liefeld made no secrets of his decision to abruptly leave DC Comics in August 2012, citing problems with the corporate culture of a creative company owned by a large media conglomerate.
Justice League #23.2 will arrive on 11 September 2013 in print and digital from DC Comics.
The new design of Lobo by Kenneth Rocafort
Other concepts for the Lobo redesign by Kenneth Rocafort
