Review Fix Exclusive: John Arcudi Talks Lobster Johnson

July 31, 2013 Patrick Hickey Jr. Books & Comics 0

Review Fix chats with “Lobster Johnson: A Scent of  Lotus” writer John Arcudi, who discusses the allure of the noir genre, as well as his goals for the series and his working relationship with comic veterans and colleagues Mike Mignola and Dave Stewart.

Review Fix: What attracted you to the Lobster Johnson series?

John Arcudi: 1930’s NYC pulp noir?  What’s not to love?

Review Fix: How will this current adventure be different than the other LJ tales?

Arcudi: It examines a bit more closely the political climate of the world in the early 1930s and how that impacts the Lobster and his environment. This dynamic also allows us to look a bit more closely at some pre-existing characters in the Hellboy universe.

Review Fix: Lobster Johnson has a distinct noir feel that fans love. Why do you think, after all these years, noir still appeals to readers?

Arcudi: Who can say, but for me I think the noir aesthetic is very appealing. Lots of shadows to play with, dramatic compositions to be exploited. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s what plays into its popularity.

Review Fix: Before you started this series, what were your goals for yourself? What was your intention?

Arcudi: Pretty much my only intention ever in my career has been simply to tell a story. Just tell a story, and as any writer will tell you, that’s plenty hard enough. I also wanted to tie a few things together that we’ve seen in the HB universe, but all of that is 2nd to telling a story.

Review Fix: What is it like to work with Mike Mignola and Dave Stewart?

Arcudi: Mike’s always been very generous.  He really let’s me do what I do, and doesn’t try to force me into a mold.  He figures that’s the way to get the best work out of somebody, and I think that’s true.

Dave is incredible, of course. Anybody can see that with every job he does, and believe me, we all appreciate what his work on BPRD, Hellboy, Abe, Lobster Johnson, etc. adds to the books.  Who can even imagine what the line would be like without Dave Stewart? But the artist I worked with on this book, “Lobster Johnson: A Scent of Lotus” is the truly talented Sebastian Fiumara, and he was a joy to work with. He really makes some compelling and provocative storytelling choices. This was the first opportunity I had to work with Sebastian and I was very, very happy with the way we meshed. Really hope that we’ll work together again soon. Soon and often.

Review Fix: How do you want this Lobster Johnson run to be remembered in a few years?

Arcudi: Remembered? I hope we’re still doing LJ stories in a few years and beyond.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14315 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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