Lobster Random is a

character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...

in the comic book '' 2000 AD''. He was created by

Simon Spurrier Simon "Si" Spurrier (born 2 May 1981) is a British comics writer and novelist, who has previously worked as a cook, a bookseller, and an art director for the BBC. Getting his start in comics with the British small press, he went on to write ...

and artist

Carl Critchlow Carl Critchlow is a British fantasy and science fiction comic illustrator. He is best known for his character Thrud the Barbarian, which originally appeared in ''White Dwarf'' magazine, and for his work for the '' Lobster Random'' comics. C ...

Overview

Ugly of temper and with a pair of claws surgically grafted onto his sides, Lobster Random was a genetically modified soldier, adapted to never need sleep or to feel pain. After being discharged from the military he found his talents lay in the art of torture, and hired out his services for any client who required information and wasn't squeamish about the methods employed to get it. "Lob" is a cranky old bald man with two huge lobster claws emerging from his back, and is part of a long tradition in 2000 AD giving their protagonists a distinctive visual appearance at odds with the comic book stereotype of square-jawed, good-looking action heroes. Lob's character is portrayed as extremely grumpy, cynical and sometimes psychotic (all resulting from both decades without sleep and his experiences during the time after his discharge from the military). Lob has also had his left arm amputated on three separate occasions (twice was this self-inflicted). The art, by Carl Critchlow, represented a departure from his older painted style and instead used a computer-based line drawing technique that he developed in his self-published

Thrud the Barbarian Thrud the Barbarian is a comics character created by British artist Carl Critchlow in 1981. Although Thrud himself is a parody of Conan the Barbarian, particularly as depicted in the Arnold Schwarzenegger Conan the Barbarian (1982 film), films, ...

. Lobster Random debuted in an eight-part adventure in 2003, entitled "No Gain, No Pain" (progs 1342-1349). A hardback collection of this 45-page story was released by

Rebellion Developments Rebellion Developments Limited is a British video game developer based in Oxford, England. Founded by Jason and Chris Kingsley in December 1992, the company is best known for its ''Sniper Elite'' series and multiple games in the ''Alien vs. P ...

for the European market in April

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...

. The second series, "Tooth and Claw", ran for nine episodes (with a double-length finale), from progs 1411-1419 (October to December 2004). The third series was called "The Agony and the Ecstasy".

"The Vort" and subsequently series

Writing under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...

G. Powell, Spurrier introduced a world called The Vort in its own standalone series. At the conclusion, it was revealed that one of the main characters was a hideously scarred Lobster Random. It was followed by the fourth series of ''Lobster Random'' entitled "The Forget-Me-Knot" starting in prog 1601 in 2008.

Bibliography

The character has appeared in his own eponymous series, the first instalment now reprinted as a trade paperback by

, and ''The Vort'': *''Lobster Random'' (by

and

): ** "No Gain, No Pain" (in ''2000 AD'' #1342-1349, 2003, tpb, 48 pages, March 2005, ) ** "Tooth and Claw" (in ''2000 AD'' #1411-1419, 2004) ** "The Agony & The Ecstasy" (in ''2000 AD'' #1482-1490, 2006) ** "The Forget-Me-Knot" (in ''2000 AD'' #1601-1610, 2008) *''The Vort'' (by G. Powell and D'Israeli, in ''2000 AD'' #1589-1596, 2008)

References

Lobster Random
at 2000 AD online * {{refend 2000 AD comic strips 2000 AD characters Fictional lobsters and crayfish