Superman (1939 Series) #712

June 23, 2011

Title: Lost Boy: A Tale of Krypto the Superdog

Writer: Kurt Busiek
Pencils: Rick Leonardi
Inks: Jonathan Sibal
Colorist: Brad Anderson
Letterer: Comicraft
Cover: Carlos Pacheco, Jesus Merino, Dave Stewart
Editor: Matt Idelson         
Publisher: DC Comics

Well… this is odd. With just three issues left in this run of Superman, DC decided to pull the scheduled story for this issue, and instead replaced it with the long-lost but never-seen Krypto story that Kurt Busiek and Rick Leonardi write about five years ago. This issue is set shortly after the events of Infinite Crisis. Superboy is dead, and Superman is coping with the loss of his powers. Back in Smallville, the last superhero from the Kent farm, Krypto, is in mourning.

This is actually a really good issue. It’s mostly wordless, showcasing Krypto’s true loneliness. I wasn’t really big on Rick Leonardi’s previous work with the Superman family, but he absolutely nails this issue. He draws a great Krypto, first of all, and ha manages to get across the emotional impact of his loss. You look at this poor dog and feel the pain, the agony that he’s left in, with both of his masters gone. The final panel is one of the saddest moments ever drawn into a comic book, and the fact that it feels so sad is exactly what makes it so good.

But man, it’s an odd choice to put here. First of all, why didn’t they run this five years ago, when it would have still been relevant? And second, why run it now at all? As much as I enjoyed it and as much as I’m glad we finally got to see it, it still feels oddly out of place.

Rating: 8/10

Return of the Gremlins #3

May 16, 2008

Return of the Gremlins #3 (Dark Horse Comics)
By Mike Richardson, Fabio Laguna, Vivie Risto & Walt Kelly

In the world of Disney Comics, the Gremlins have been more or less AWOL since World War II. In this miniseries, the grandson of the airman who befriended them in those old strips is now fighting to save their home from a ruthless land developer who’s out to destroy their forest. The writing is strong, and the artwork is impeccable, but the climax of this storyline fell a bit too far into the realm of cliche for my taste. It was funny, there were tons of sight gags and a lot of nice character beats, but no real surprises, and that hurt the rating. It was nice to see some of the classic strips, however, and while none of them were necessarily laugh-out-loud funny, they weren’t bad. I do like these characters, and I hope that if these little guys come back again, they find a slightly more original storyline in which to showcase them.
Rating: 7/10

Wolverine: Firebreak #1

December 17, 2007

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Firebreak
Rating: T+

Wolverine vs. a forest fire!

Writer: Mike Carey & Macon Blair
Art: Scott Kolins & Vasilis Lolos
Colors: Moose Baumann & Nestor Pereyra
Letters: Troy Peteri
Editor: Aubrey Sitterson
Cover Art: Scott Kolins
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Whenever an already-overexposed character like Wolverine, Batman, Spider-Man or the sort gets a one-shot, especially if it isn’t a one-shot tying into a larger storyline, you’ve got to ask yourself seriously if it’s worth getting. Extra cash for a story that probably will never be referenced again? It’s gotta be really good.

The main story here, fortunately is really good. Like we often get in standalone Wolverine or Punisher issues, the story is told through the eyes of a one-off ancillary character who just happens to encounter the hero on some adventure. In this case, it’s a man who took his wife and young daughter on a camping trip in a last-ditch effort to save his marriage. Just as he’s ready to proclaim that effort a failure, the forest around them erupts in a blaze. A ginormous bear, burning alive, leaps out at him, but he’s saved at the last second by a similarly scorched mutant with sharp, point claws. Wolverine has been temporarily blinded (nobody tell Magneto, but apparently there are certain neurotoxins that can retard his healing factor), so he’s got to rely on his other senses to get the terrified family out of the woods… and it just gets worse when they encounter the people behind the blaze.

Again, this main story is pretty strong. The angle is a good one, and with the fire itself being the main enemy here – in other words, something that can’t be sliced even by adamantium – Carey has to force Logan outside of his comfort zone. Kolins’ artwork is pretty well-suited to this story as well, with Baumann providing a nice, dark color palette illuminated mainly be the fire, and well at that.

That’s the main story. The extra dollar on the price tag is justified by use of a totally unrelated back-up story about Wolverine trying to save a cop’s son from a bizarre cult. At one point, Wolverine mentions that he’s already forgotten the kid’s name, and that’s a suitable metaphor for the back-up: it’s entirely forgettable, with a clichéd story and weak artwork.

So is this one-shot worth it? Were it just for the lead story, I’d say yes, but the extra dollar for a back-up story that, frankly, isn’t that good, makes it harder to recommend. I’d much rather have seen this at a one-story, three-dollar one-shot, or even better, dropped in-between arcs of the regular title.

Rating: 7/10