Dark Nights: Death Metal: Infinite Hour Exxxtreme! #1 Review

 

To Be The Main Man...

Writer: Becky Cloonan, Sam Humphries, Frank Tieri

Artist: Denys Cowan, Tyler Kirkham, Rags Morales

Cover Price: $5.99

Release Date: November 11, 2020

These Death Metal tie-ins have been hit or miss for me, and while I want to know what the hell Lobo has been doing for Lex, I kind of figured we would get equal parts nonsense.  I mean, it's a Lobo story, and it has "XXX" in the title...and that's in the word "Exxxtreme"!  So, is this story worth a read?  Let's find out...

I'll get this out of the way, if you don't like Lobo, you might want to skip this issue.  Sure, we get a bit of important Death Metal information, but it will surely be recapped in the regular book when expanded upon.  Now, if you are a Lobo fan, you get three stories here full of the regular Lobo dialogue and actions that you must love.  I am in the middle and while I got a couple of chuckles, I was ready for it to end about 3/4 of the way through.

Frank Tieri and Tyler Kirkham start things off with a new Dark Multiverse Batman (The Batman Who Frags) and another look at Lex asking Lobo to find the Death Metal for him.  There isn't much new here, but there is some fun to be had in that scumbag Lobo kind of way.  The back and forth between Lobo and his Batman counterpart is good, and again, it's a reminder that Lobo has been off doing his thing for Lex.  It's been a while since we saw Lobo, so I can see why that was necessary.

The next story by Becky Cloonan and Rags Morales starts okay but picks up once Hawkman enters the scene.  That's when the book puts aside the "bastiches" for a second and feels substantial.  I liked the crazy Lobo/Hawkman team-up way more than Carter does, and we see that Gemworld is good for something!   

The last story by Sam Humphries and Denys Cowan is mainly a load of utter nonsense, yet there are a couple of things in it that are sure to pop up later.  At the least, it shows what the Death metal could do if it gets into the wrong hands.  

I liked the art in each of the three stories, but if you are looking for a serious issue showing you what Lobo's been up to, you may be annoyed.  I have been a little down with the forced humor in the main Death Metal books, but Lobo is Lobo, and you should know what to expect here.  That said, I didn't have as much fun reading this "Exxxtreme" issue as I think the creatives expected while writing it.

Bits and Pieces:

Dark Nights: Death Metal: Infinite Hour Exxxtreme! #1 wasn't as Exxxtreme or fun as I was hoping.  It might be just the thing for Lobo fans clamoring for some Main Man action, but if you are not a fan, you may want to sit this one out.

6.8/10