I shudder to think what he's doing in there! Probably something to do with explosives! He's going to destroy my diner! He always destroys my diner! 
- — Al
Lobo (Volume 2) #17 is an issue of the series Lobo (Volume 2) with a cover date of July, 1995.
Synopsis for "Lobo, P.I. Part Four: White Hoot!"
Lobo manages to lunge himself against a wall, shattering his cement overcoat. Still nursing a Mickey Finn induced hangover, he enters the nearest bar, The Gutted Gizz, and orders a bucket-sized Bloody Mary. Feeling himself once more, he asks the barkeep where he might find Big Jake, and the bartender points out the swarm of off-world detectives from all over the galaxy that are looking for the same guy, hoping to score big with Eddie the Head.
With a new sense of urgency, Lobo hits everyone of Big Jake's hangout's and fronts across Hammer City, hoping to either find him or draw him out. After smashing up his bootlegging operation to no avail, he returns to Al's Diner in a bitter mood.
Al frets over another gas bill after only just paying the landlord for the utilities. Darlene tries to calm his nerves just before Lobo storms through the door, demanding the use of his storeroom for a private matter. He rummages through the freezer to retrieve Eddie the Head and thaws him out in the Pro-Nuker microwave. Eddie is not happy about his treatment so Lobo decides the best way to get him to cooperate with the secret formula is to turn up the heat, literally.
Upstairs, Dawg sleeps soundly on a bed of rat corpses after eating his limit. The distraught rats remaining hatch a new plan to gnaw through the gas lines to exterminate their foe.
When Big Jake gets word that Lobo has single-handedly destroyed his operations, he gathers his goons to exact retribution. Elsewhere, Lieutenant Keitel receives an anonymous tip about a Lobo sighting and he gathers his men for a raid. At the same time, Spillane makes a shady deal with a gang to split the outcome 50/50.
Lobo follows the slow cooking Eddie's instructions, combining ammonia, bleach, drain cleaner, black pepper and cornflakes in the sink.
On a rooftop overlooking the city, the Sparrowhawk delivers a rousing speech to his fellow members of the Ornitho-Justice League. Hoping to avenge the Falkon's death and rid Hammer City of Big Jake's criminal presence once and for all, they swoop off to battle.
Lobo examines the concoction incredulously and questions the recipes authenticity. Eddie exclaims he won't divulge the final active ingredient until he's removed from the microwave. They are interrupted by an urgent banging on the door, as a panicked Al notifies Lobo there is someone at the door for him. Lobo tells Eddie he'll be right back, leaving him to cook as his skin starts to blister. 'Bo assumes correctly that his caller is Big Jake and meets him outside, refusing an underworld execution and making an offer for Eddie the Head.
Inside, Eddie catches fire and pleads to be saved, revealing the final ingredient as common household gas to an empty room. Al gets a whiff of a terrible smell emanating from out back and investigates with Darlene. Repulsed by the acrid gunk filling the sink, Darlene pulls the plug, sending it down the drain. Al looks on in horror at the baked skull inside his microwave, believing Lobo to be cannibal on top of all his other terrible attributes.
The vengeful rats successfully chew their way through the piping, only to discover they've sabotaged the wrong one just as an ominous gurgling announces a foul substance that douses them. They identify the correct gas main and start to nibble into it.
Outside, Lobo's plans to draw out Big Jake are muddied, as the Ornitho-Justice League surround the mobsters, before they too are told to surrender by Lieutenant Keitel and the HCPD. They all look up as a giant warship hovers overhead, the outlaw Danzer Khan announcing himself, come to claim Eddie the Head. Lobo's Landlord pushes his way through the throng to evict him for giving him a rubber check, followed immediately by the mailman, who hands him a fistful of letters. Darlene curiously inquires who they are all from as Lobo reads rejection letters from the bank, the F.D.A. and the Hammer City council. With his P.I. prospects nipped in the bud, he goes to fetch his last bargaining chip, only to find he's cooked his own goose.
To add to the mob out front, the gasman arrives and shuts off Al's supply for failure to pay his bill, while beneath them, the industrious ratties manage to break through the gas line, activating the explosive which causes a massive chain reaction that levels the entire city, all except for Al's Diner.
A small craft lands on the flaming wasteland that was formerly Hammer City. Django and his crew of Killa Rasta Gangstaz emerge with the aim of tracking down Lobo and the prized Eddie the Head.
Appearing in "Lobo, P.I. Part Four: White Hoot!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Big Jake (Dies)
- Ratties (All die)
- Danzer Khan (Single appearance; dies)
- Django
- Killa Rasta Gangstaz
- Big Bong (First appearance; unnamed)
- Big Yout' (First appearance; unnamed)
- Killerman (First appearance; unnamed)
- Steppin' Razor (First appearance; unnamed)
Other Characters:
- Hammer City Police Department
- Lieutenant Keitel (Dies)
- Spillane (First full appearance; dies)
- Ornitho-Justice League of Hammer City (Single appearance)
- Sparrowhawk (Single appearance; dies)
- Osprey (Single appearance; dies)
- Goshawk (Single appearance; dies)
- Buzzard (Single appearance; dies)
- Eagle (Single appearance; dies)
- The Maltiez Falkon (Mentioned only)
- Landlord (Dies)
- Postman (Unnamed)
- Gasman (Unnamed)
- Gutted Gizz Barkeep (Unnamed)
thumb
- Nathaniel Dusk (Cameo)
- Slam Bradley (Cameo)
- Angel O'Day (Cameo)
- Sam Simeon (Cameo)
- Detective Chimp (Cameo)
- Sherlock Holmes (Cameo)
- Lieutenant Kojak (Cameo)
- Maxwell Smart (Cameo)
- Hercule Poirot (Cameo)
- Lieutenant Columbo (Cameo)
- Sam Spade (Cameo)
- Mike Hammer (Cameo)
- Bank Manager (Mentioned only)
- Hammer City Council (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- Planet Malteez
- Hammer City (Destroyed)
- The Docks
- The Gutted Gizz Bar
- Building 221
- Lobo's Office
- Al's Diner
- Hammer City (Destroyed)
Items:
- Alcohol
- Bloody Mary
- Big Jake's Hooch
- Secret Explosive Formula
Notes
- The list of characters that had cameo appearances on page 3 of this issue were confirmed in the lettercol of Lobo (Volume 2) #21.
Trivia
- The cover is an homage to Frank Miller's Sin City, specifically, A Dame to Kill For #1.
See Also