Krypto #1 Review: He’s a Dog. He Has Superpowers. He’s a Good Boy.

Krypto: The Last Dog of Krypton #1 is an absolute delight. Who needs Batman brooding on a rooftop when you’ve got a bundle of canine chaos who could save the world, provided nobody throws a tennis ball in the opposite direction?

Written by Ryan North and illustrated by Mike Norton, this opening issue gives Superman’s four-legged companion something he’s long deserved: a story of his own. Rather than simply sticking a cape on a dog and sending him off to punch supervillains, it remembers that Krypto is, first and foremost, a dog.

And a very good one at that.

He doesn’t care about the Justice League, intergalactic politics or whatever catastrophic threat is heading towards Earth. He cares about his family, his surroundings and presumably whether anyone has something edible in their pocket.

Given the choice between preventing an alien invasion and chasing a ball around the garden, the world might have to wait five minutes until he’s finished his zoomies. That’s precisely why the character works.

A dog’s view of Krypton

We begin on Krypton, where Krypto is an ordinary family puppy, blissfully unaware of the circumstances surrounding him. His relationship with Jor-El, Lara and baby Kal-El gives the story a warmth that makes his separation from everything familiar all the more affecting.

To us, it’s the beginning of a superhero origin. To Krypto, it’s a confusing and frightening experience that takes him away from his family. There’s something wonderfully clever about that change in perspective.

North doesn’t make Krypto a furry human with elaborate internal monologues. In DC’s introduction to the series, he explains the decision: “he doesn’t talk, and we don’t cheat by reading his thoughts in balloons either.”

Mike Norton’s artwork

That leaves much of the emotional storytelling to Norton, and he absolutely delivers. Expressions, body language and small moments of canine behaviour communicate more than pages of superhero dialogue could. You don’t need to know what Krypto is thinking to understand how he’s feeling.

It’s a reminder that comics can be at their most effective when they let the pictures do the talking. The affection feels instinctive, the loyalty unconditional and the motivations wonderfully uncomplicated.

While Superman carries the weight of humanity on his shoulders, Krypto just wants to find his family and be a good boy. Preferably with a biscuit afterwards.

Why it’s Penny’s pick

There’s something refreshing about a superhero whose greatest quality isn’t his strength or his ability to defeat an opponent, but his capacity for affection.

Krypto represents one of the loveliest parts of the Superman mythology: tremendous power without tremendous self-importance. He’s capable of extraordinary things, but he’s also entirely capable of knocking something expensive off a table and looking at you as though it’s somehow your fault.

This first issue is funny, charming and surprisingly heartfelt. Beneath the superpowers, it’s a story about loyalty, belonging and the unconditional love that makes dogs such remarkable companions.

The superpowers are really just a bonus.