I tell ya, when I find out who kidnapped Darlene an' suckered me inta this, blood is gonna flow like hooch at an alkie's party! 
- — Lobo
Lobo (Volume 2) #31 is an issue of the series Lobo (Volume 2) with a cover date of September, 1996.
Synopsis for "The Heiress, Part 4: The Grand Slam City Slam"
The convicts begrudgingly sing as they replace one of the many turbine engines that keep Slam City from being sucked into the Dizzney Black Hole. The police chief notices Lobo isn't joining in, and motivates him with a jolt of a million volts. Of course, when one member of the chain gang gets electrocuted, they all do, and a burly green inmate takes exception to Lobo's attitude getting them zapped. The chief breaks up a fight before it begins with another threat of shock treatment. Lobo grumbles that whoever kidnapped Darlene and got him into this situation is going to pay dearly, and Hank and Bean Koontz maintain their innocence, claiming they were set up too.
In another part of town, Darlene is tied to the conveyor belt of an industrial trash compactor. She looks up in dismay to discover the perpetrator of all the attempts on her life is her seemingly sweet cousin, Zulya. Proud of herself, she boasts how Lobo is disposed of, along with her idiot brothers, leaving her to take the reins of Slam City's criminal organisation, with Hiram Grabcash backing her. They're suddenly interrupted as her grandmother Hagula barges in with her own lawyer. Since Zulya isn't twenty-one, Hagula is her legal guardian and will command the criminal empire until she comes of age. Zulya pulls a gun on them and adds the two interfering annoyances to the conveyor belt. Zulya proudly proclaims this is exactly how Jasper intended things to play out, for his family to fight for the business, leaving the most ruthless to become the rightful godfather. She activates the machine and departs.
Back on the chain gang, Lobo refuses to put up with anymore servitude and decides to leave. Hank and Bean ask him to take them also, but without anything to offer, Lobo isn't interested. As a diversion, Lobo initiates a brawl with the convict he had words with. The chief tries to placate them by electrocuting the gang, but the two brutes are relentless. The chief continues to apply the extreme voltage until Lobo is stopped. In doing so, the chief has neglected to notice that he has fried all the other chain gang workers who are not as resilient as the Czarnian, and even his brain is a little frazzled.
As the blades of the trash compactor draw closer, Hagula informs Darlene of the knife in her sock. Darlene reaches behind and retrieves the blade, cutting herself free. The old woman begs for mercy, so Darlene starts working on her bonds as the lawyer enters the clanking jaws head first. Darlene grows woozy at sight of arterial spray but manages to free Hagula. The two women vomit as the masticating machine reduces the lawyer to a crimson pulp.
Now the sole survivor of the chain gang, Lobo is worked extra hard to try and replace the next turbine engine. The chief, concerned about falling behind on the upkeep, pushes him over the limit and Lobo slams the new engine on top of the guards. He pockets the crushed chief's taser and walks off to find Darlene.
Darlene, on the other hand, has located Lobo's Spazz-Frag 666 and mounts the spacehog in the hopes it can track down its owner. The bike's A.I. recognises Darlene's buttprint, but rejects Hagula's, ejecting her into the distance.
The turbine control centre anxiously tries to contact the non-responsive chief whose team is falling behind on their workload. Lobo barely crosses the yard when he realises he doesn't need to walk anywhere and whistles for his hawg. Darlene holds on for dear life as the bike launches forward, speeding towards its master. Lobo jumps astride as it bolts past and they continue off world without delay. The unauthorised flight path causes the police to open fire, and the taser is shot out of Lobo's hand. The device lands on another chain gang below and yet more turbines go without replacements. As the engines start failing one by one, Slam City starts to lose the battle against the gravity of the black hole it neighbours. As the satellite city is devoured by the black hole, Lobo's bike also struggles against the tremendous force. Engaging the double turbo-thrust mechoverdrive, the two manage to escape the lure of the celestial void and leave the crumbling city behind them. Lobo exclaims all the destruction's made him hungry and he makes his way back to Al's.
Appearing in "The Heiress, Part 4: The Grand Slam City Slam"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Hank Koontz (Final appearance; dies)
- Bean Koontz (Final appearance; dies)
- Hagula Koontz (Final appearance; dies)
Antagonists:
- Zulya Koontz (Final appearance; dies)
- Hiram Grabcash (Final appearance; dies)
Other Characters:
- Slam City Police Department
- Police Chief (Final appearance; dies)
- I.M.A. Chiseler (Final appearance; dies)
- Inmate 0072971 (Final appearance; dies)
- Jasper Koontz (Mentioned only)
- Al (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- Dizzney Black Hole
- Slam City (Destroyed)
- Turbine Industrial Area
- Turbine Control Tower
- Factory Floor
- Slam City (Destroyed)
Vehicles:
Notes
- Lobo's previous publication appearance was Guy Gardner: Warrior #34, chronological Lobo (Volume 2) #30.
See Also