Toy Review: The Ghost of Lobster Johnson

04/30/10

The Ghost of Lobster Johnson

Lobster Johnson is not a euphamism for the reproductive organs of crustaceans. He’s a character from the Hellboy comic universe, the ghost of a vigilante who worked the streets of New York in the ’30s. He was blown up in Austria fighting the Nazi threat (like he’s going to do anything else in that decade? “Hi, I’m Lobster Johnson and I fight against anti-science fundamentalists”). His ghost can make itself solid when he chooses to, and his gunfire can me deadly. He can also still burn his lobster claw emblem into his victims skin.

That’s probably malarkey to you if you don’t follow Hellboy. Personally, I think it’s one of the best comic series ever published, but then today I laughed at a fart joke. The comic gained enough of a following to spawn a pair of movies and several series of action figures by manufacturer Mezco.

This particular figure came out in 2005, a year after the first movie. It’s based on the original Mike Mignola drawings rather than the design of the movie characters, so there’s a certain blockiness to it. The regular version of the figure came with a radioactive brain (why not?) as well as Johnson’s pistol. This version however is the “exclusive” SDCC version.

I say “exclusive” (see the quotes?) because I bought this at CADS toy store in Virra Mall, Greenhills, which is over 7000 miles from the San Diego Comic Con. I don’t know how, but lately, a lot of the stores there have been getting some choice swag from that convention; the SDCC Voltron, the SDCC TMNT figures and April O’Neil, SDCC Warcraft figures, SDCC MU figures, etc. As a Philippine collector I’m glad of it. This one cost me only Php 800.00. Who knows how much it would have cost if I asked someone to buy it at the convention.

The box is pretty heavy duty as toy boxes go. It’s big and thick with only a modicum of any design. It’s got a big graphic of the comic art and that’s it. No fancy origami folds and cuts and what not. Also, no clamshell to cut open. Hoo-ray.

Of course, the pieces that CADS toystore had weren’t in pristine condition, so

On the inside, there’s a plastic tray. Again, it’s pretty sturdy and easy to open. Just slice through some tape and turn it over. Voila! he’s out. Sometimes I think toy companies make us pay extra just so we don’t have to deal with all the twist ties and rubber bands.

As you can see (or maybe not since I don’t have the regular figure), the difference between this one and the regular version is that he’s see through. Which is why it’s called THE GHOST OF Lobster Johnson. Duh.

It’s a beautiful sculpt that captures the look of Mignola’s art perfectly. Frankly, he could have jumped straight off the page. Despite being translucent, the mold is very strong, allowing you to see details of the figure very clearly.

Paint is pretty much a non-issue, or should be since he’s only got some red on his googles and on his hand where you’ll find that claw emblem. You may not be able to see it in the picture, but the red paint doesn’t really match the register lines etched into the hand. Minor quibble, but as an exclusive, quality control should be high.

Of course I got it for Php 800, so who am I to complain?

His back is just as detailed as his front, with some choice gear hanging off his belt, and various seams and buckles and whatnot on his costume. It really is a pleasure to see how much work was put into this toy.

You will want to watch out though for another thing I found out about the figure after I’d opened it and was playing with it. If you’ll take a look at the picture above, you can see that it would seem that the hips are constructed like a Marvel Legends figure. This is not true. Modern Marvel figures have ball swivels with a post at each end; one post fitting into the thigh, the other going up into the torso.

This one shares the same ball and two post set up, but instead of fitting into the stomach, the ball joint is plugged into that tiny area of the crotch found between the legs. It’s just a bar of very weak plastic held in place by the crotch.

I don’t know if it’s the humidity in our country affecting the plastic, or the fact that these had been shipped all over and had taken a beating, but I had this bad boy out for 15 minutes when the leg slowly fell off at the crotch. A few hours later, the other leg fell off.

Thankfully, I was able to secure the pegs back in place with a little super glue (love super glue - I wonder what MacGyver never used the stuff) and they seem to be holding. I heard there’s a better way to do it, but I don’t really have the equipment to drill and saw and stick a screw somewhere. I’d rather not take the risk I’ll fuck up the toy or saw off my thumb.

This version doesn’t come with the brain, which is sad. It would have been nice if they had at least replaced it with something else. Lord knows there was enough space in that box. But at least we get Ol’ Lobby’s pistol.

The thing is an awesome piece of work. You really can’t see it here, but I love the thing to death. If I had soem that were black, I’d use it as the main side arm for all my GI Joe Sigma 6 figures. His right hand is molded to accept the pistol perfectly, so no worries there. It als fits right into the covered holster at his side. That’s a nice touch.

Probably the best thing about this toy is the near perfect articulation. He’s got all the joints a figure could need really, even ball/socket wrists. When have you ever seen that? Of course this means that you can see those thin posts that hold his gloves in place, but I just imagine he’s really thin under that jacket. He is a ghost after all.

Another great thing about it is that if fits in nicely with the rest of my Hellboy figures. The fact that he’s not supposed to be entirely human, plus the material he’s cast in, makes the thing work. I’m not entirely sure I could have said the same about the solid figure, or others like the comic version of Abe Sapien.

I doubt that they have any of these leftover at CADS, but I am glad I was able to get it when I did. It’s an excellent toy and worth the price if you can 1) find it at the right price and 2) make sure you get one that won’t fall apart.