There will come a day when Krypto stands beside Superman, helping him fight off monsters, aliens, and supervillains–a day when this dog will save his adoptive world thanks to the incredible powers granted him by Earth’s strange yellow sun. But he’s not there yet. Today, Krypto is a normal puppy on Krypton, spending each happy, snoozy, endless day alongside his family: Jor-El, Lara, and baby Kal-El. But when a rocket test goes wrong, Krypto finds himself lost in space–and soon crash-landing, all alone, on a strange and alien world called Earth. Krypto: The Last Dog of Krypton #1 puts the star of the upcoming Superman film in the spotlight delivering an origin tale that’ll get you to choke up.

I’ve never been much of an animal person. I had a few pets growing up but no cats or dogs and only one I really got attached to. I hate to see animals suffer or when it’s clear they’re sad, but I’m not what I’d call an “animal lover” (though I did just get a cat who loves to snuggle with me). Krypto: The Last Dog of Krypton #1 though, hits me in the heart.

An origin of sorts, Ryan North kicks off the series following Krypto’s journey from Krypton to Earth. How did the dog get here? Well, all of that is answered as we see Kal-El’s parents scrambling as to what to do knowing Krypton is dying and its leaders are doing nothing about it. We see the process they go through which includes building the familiar rocket that eventually sends Kal to Earth but they had to test that right? Well, after some unmanned tests, Krypto is chosen to see what will happen.

North sets up Krypto as that loyal best friend, following commands, curling up with a baby Kal-El, generally being a loyal dog that would be a great addition to any family. It’s an adorable comic that does a great job of connecting the reader to care about Krypto, especially when things go wrong. North nails down his journey and those final moments before he’s swept away really nail down the emotion of it all. But, North also does an excellent job of getting to the point, Krypto getting to Earth. The comic doesn’t linger with a solid pace getting readers to care but also to the main story that’s to come.

Mike Norton‘s art is great making Krypto adorable while also capturing the heartache of the entire situation. While Krypto rockets through space, a few panels just hit the reader hard. It’s such a sad but sweet moment showing such trust between Krypto and his family but also such a betrayal in some ways too. Norton is able to convey so much through the art and it’s key seeing as Krypto has no dialogue to really tell us what he thinks. There is an intriguing thing at the end of the issue as far as the art as the Earth Krypto lands on feels like there’s sort of a mix of styles of time period. So we know where Krypto has landed but the “when” is a bit up in the air based on the art detail.

Krypto: The Last Dog of Krypton #1 hits hard in so many ways with a sweet story that shows off why this lovable canine has such a fandom. It’s a great debut that gives a great origin story that is sci-fi adventure mixed with an emotional center.

Story: Ryan North Art: Mike Norton
Color: Ian Herring Letterer: Lucas Gattoni
Story: 9.0 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.0 Recommendation: Buy

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

---

Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle