Lobo Annual #1 (1993) Bloodlines Outbreak Part 1

[pyrotwilight]

As per the lazyreader's request (how do I put a person's name as a link anyway) for some 80's and 90's events I bring you all the first part of the Bloodlines event that ran in 1993.

For those completely unacquainted with the event it basically was a series that ran in every DC annual at the time and introduced one or more new characters in each story these members were called the New Bloods. After running in each annual the series concluded in a two part mini in Bloodbath.

But I'll explain a little more in depth in the issue itself so as to not give away the entire idea of the event and these new characters.

Here in Lobo's annual we meet purple haired spaceship Captain Toronga Layla.

18 pages plus the cover from an over sized 56 page story.




Our story opens up with Lobo "interrogating" a L.E.G.I.O.N prisoner, one who worked for a villain named Captain Poiple who recently stole Lobo's motorcycle. Lobo isn't happy with his bike being stolen and is about to proceed to melt the prisoner's face off when Strata tells Lobo that Dox wants a chat with him. And yes at this time in DC Lobo was working for L.E.G.I.O.N and specifically Dox since Dox managed to trick him into a contract and since Lobo is never one to break a contract, bend it absurdly, but never break, he's stuck working for Dox.





So Lobo, Layla and her crew have to go investigate the odd object. Poiple is similarly viewing it, but as a potential tool or treasure trove since it's a big mysterious object he can try to break into.





Not exactly something I'd want to "invade" and creepy as all hell.



And so Lobo opens an attack on them with the ships weapon, killing many, but Poiple, and much of his gang have already entered the object. Once again Lobo tries hitting on Layla and as she's gotten tired of Lobo's advances she does this.



That's an amazingly fun way to control Lobo I must admit.

After entering the object they see it's essentially a giant bio-organic ship, with the crew nowhere to be found so Layla and Lobo team up while her crew separates to investigate the ship and find the crew of it.

But exactly what is the crew of this monstrous thing like?

Well, since the ship has been breached the crew comes out of stasis...





Yep, the monsters are shapeshifters as well and yes that's Poiple on the other side of that closed and locked door that Smee's in front of. And so the monsters "feed".



Similarly Layla's crew comes upon the monsters in a case of bad luck. They try calling for help to Layla but get cut off.





Lobo and Layla soon arrive and try fighting off one of the monsters. Her officers show up inexplicably alive and unharmed but turn out to be the monsters shapeshifted as her crew so she and Lobo begin to fight them, or try.








And because of Slodd's death by Lobo as Angon said they're shapeshifting is now limited to their last form, that of the members of Layla's crew.

Lobo finally carries Layla back to the dock where their ship is and puts a bomb to go off in ten minutes and damage the alien's ship.





It's at this point and getting beat a bit by Layla Lobo remembers
about the bomb and the two amscray.

 

At this point you should've realized that Layla's gotten super powers: super strength, invulnerability and the ability to survive in the vacuum of space. This was due to the monsters attack. The series essentially focused on the metagene. Most attacked by the monsters would be killed but some due to the stress of the attack would manifest super powers these were the New Bloods of which Layla was the first.

The two get back to their ship and the bomb goes off.



And so the issue ends with the six remaining monsters talking about how their ship has lost control but that they're heading someplace that'll be beneficial to them, Earth.

Oh and a little note but all seven of the monsters/aliens/parasites whatever you wanna address them as are named after the seven deadly sins and to varying degrees embody the principle as well.

Wrather/Anger= Angon
Lust= Lissik
Envy= Venev
Pride= Pritor
Sloth= Slodd (now dead)
Greed= Gemir
Gluttony= Glonth                               

Comments

[shanejayell]

About the only good thing to come out of this crossover was Hitman. :) Oh, and the JLA/Hitman mini that was a kinda sequel to this....

[pyrotwilight]

Well, it was certainly the only thing that lasted at least. Which is kinda funny. I finally acquired the Bloodlines issue introducing Hitman, it was funny but looking back I'd never have thought he'd be more successful than the rest.

[shanejayell]

Well, Garth Ennis helped a lot.

*lol*

And to be honest the majority of the New Blood as they were called were pretty damn forgettable. And in a few cases pretty dumb. ^__~

[icon_uk]

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[greenmask]

Oh Lobo, you bad rude man.

I am also in favour of Layla.

[psychopathicus_rex]

...Cap'n POIPLE?
Oh, come ON.
I mean, I know that he's got a hookhand and a first mate named 'Smee' and he calls people 'swabs' and 'me hearties', so we're not exactly dealing with realism here, but still - Cap'n Poiple. Oy.

[badficwriter]

Pretty sure that was a Barney the Dinosaur riff..

[psychopathicus_rex]

Well, that just makes it even worse, doesn't it?

[badficwriter]

Lobo's ass = right click, SAVED!

[capnduckman]

*Sigh* God damn, but I loved Bloodlines. Maybe cause it was my first real crossover, but I really enjoyed seeing the introduction of new characters. There were a lot fo really nifty supers created from this. The one that I enjoyed most never actually was brought up again, little guy named Terrorsmith.

[icon_uk]

There were good ones, like Sparx, Jamm and Geist, and then there were others like "Cardinal Sin" and "Good Samaritan" who were pretty much painful to read.

[capnduckman]

Oh, god, Jamm.The 'Date rape' super hero.

[kamino_neko]

The idea behind Bloodlines was interesting.

The execution of the original event was not terrible.

The characters that spun out of it ranged from 'forgettable' to 'dire', for the most part, and the follow-ups...quite the same.

[thelazyreader]

Thanks for answering my request, pyrotwilight.

I don't see why people bash this event. From what I'm reading here it looks pretty decent, although that could just be because it's a Lobo story.

Isn't Layla an alien? So how did she have a metagene?

[pyrotwilight]

Well I guess with metagene's it's just that any species will evolve in the future, it's not really limited to just humans though I guess the term's a bit weird since metagene's are only really mentioned with humans.

[aaron_bourque]

The event is bashed because the Bloodline "heroes" we got were some of the worst of the 90s, had some of the worst characterization like too too many of the worst of the 90s, and I think like 2 of them ended up being essentially "I have a big giant gun now! BLAAAAHHH!!!"

Except Hitman. Although, yes, he used guns, he got actual good writing on his side.

[aaron_bourque]

That is the creepiest goddamn spaceship I have ever seen. It's like "What if the Borg met the Yuuzhan Vong?"

[ogrebear]

I liked Bloodlines - the idea was quite sound and the stories mostly ok. Most of the new Supers where forgettable but I did like Loose Cannon, Sparkz and Terrorsmith.

A shame no-one really ran with any of them.

[werehawk.livejournal.com]

Anyone with the Lobo Big Babe Special, scans of Layla's appearance there would be great. It was really her only appearance except a panel or 2 in LEGION/REBELS and I never picked it up.

[pyrotwilight]

I have that as well. I'll likely post it once I finish all of the regular Bloodlines posts.

[werehawk.livejournal.com]

Sweet! That would be great.