Superman 712: You'll Believe A Dog Can Cry!

Writer: Kurt Busiek

Penciller: Rick Leonardi

One look at this cover should convince anyone to buy this comic. Yes! It’s a Krypto solo extravaganza – and you don’t get many of those these days.

Set in the aftermath of the convoluted damp squib that was Infinite Crisis it tells the tale of the pooch of power searching for his master Superboy. Little does he realise his best pal is – choke – dead!

Yes, as unlikely as it sounds Kurt Busiek has written a moving story about bereavement from the perspective of a super powered dog in a cape. And he’s done a great job! There won’t be a dry eye in the house – and all this without the Pet Avengers-esque anthropomorphic tricks of Krypto sprouting thought bubbles. Meanwhile Leonardi does some beautiful work with the handsome hound of steel’s facial expressions and body language. Why isn’t he on a regular book? (Is he? Have I missed something?)

The mystery is why Superman editorial kept this brilliant morsel mouldering in a filing cabinet for four years. If it was printed when Busiek intended readers wouldn’t have to try to remember what was going on in the flashback scenes. Maybe it’s a testament to how uninterested I was in Infinite Crisis but I don’t remember Superboy’s death scene at all (did it happen in that comic? Somewhere else??)

This is an appropriate time for “Lost Boy: A Tale of Krypto The Superdog” to see the light of day since DC are rebooting the Superman mythos again. We had to wait years for Krypto to make a post-Crisis comeback and who knows how long he’ll be away this time? Not long hopefully – Krypto is a great character and made Adventure / Superboy an enjoyable title.

This issue also makes a fine addition to the subgenre of ‘Tragic Krypto Stories’ – joining his kamikaze turns in both Alan Moore’s Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow and John Byrne’s 80s ‘pocket universe’ story.

Do yourself a favour and buy it while it’s still in the shops!