Lobo (Dell Comics)

Lobo is a fictional Western comic book hero who is the medium's first African-American character to headline his own series.

Publication history

Lobo starred in Dell Comics' little-known, two-issue series Lobo, also listed as Dell Comics #12-439-512 and #12-439-610 in the company's quirky numbering system. Created by Dell editor and writer Don "D. J." Arneson and artist Tony Tallarico, it chronicled the Old West adventures of a wealthy, unnamed African-American gunslinger called "Lobo" by the first issue's antagonists. On the foreheads of vanquished criminals, Lobo would leave the calling card of a gold coin imprinted with the images of a wolf and the letter "L".
Tallarico in a 2006 interview said that he and Arneson co-created the character based on an idea and a plot by Tallarico, with Arneson scripting it:
Arneson, in a 2010 interview, disputed this version of Lobo's creation:

Later appearances

Lobo was revived in 2017 in InDELLible Comics’ All-New Popular Comics #1.
In 2018, a Lobo novella was published in a collection entitled, Fantastic 4N1, written by author, David Noe.

Awards

In May 2006, Tallarico was bestowed the East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention's Pioneer Award for Lifetime Achievement, in recognition of his work on the first comic book to star an African-American. He was an honoree at the reception dinner at the African American Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.