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The publisher got writer/director Kevin Smith for the new series, along with co-writer Eric Carrasco and artist Nick Pitarra. The story goes in a very interesting direction and has one of the most fun main character duos you can put together. This first issue is a blast of a read and it will knock your socks off.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
| Pros | Cons |
| Smith and Carrasco take Bizarro in a fun direction and nail Jimmy Olsen and Perry White | Some of the pages can be a bit busy and overstuffed with panels |
| The humor feels modern | |
| Pitarra’s art is a bit Frank Quitely (on purpose seemingly), but it’s gorgeous |
This Isn’t Your Grandpa’s Bizarro
Kevin Smith made being a comic geek cool in the ’90s, showing a legion of fans that they too could like comics, get girls, and live their dreams. He’s done some fantastic work for DC, and some not so great work for the publisher (his Batman miniseries are… something). He’s usually stayed in the more grounded side of things, so it was seemingly a weird choice to hand him Bizarro. Readers got a Bizarro story in World’s Finest last summer, and while fans like him, it could seem like overkill to give him an origin series. However, this book takes the character in a different direction than usual while also nailing Jimmy and Perry.
Jimmy and Perry are perfect right from the word go, as Olsen begs the taciturn chief to let him do more than get the coffee. Each member of The Daily Planet staff gets their moment to shine, and it’s honestly a joy to read these pages. It’s all snappy banter and great risque jokes, and it works to set a fun tone for the series. Then there’s Bizarro. For someone who’s supposed to be opposite Superman, he’s never been very evil, but this book takes him more in that direction. When we first see him, he’s more normal than usual, and there’s a malice to the character that is usually missing. We get a glimpse of the Bizarro we know, the backwards talking “bad guy”, but this book is starting off with a more unnerving version of the villain and it works like gangbusters.
Pitarra’s Art Hits the Prestige Superman Sweet Spot
All-Star Superman is the prestige Superman blueprint in a lot of ways, and this book plays into that. Frank Quitely’s unique style gave that comic a unique visual flair that stood out from the pack, and lately DC has been picking artists for Superman miniseries who also have a similarly weird style, like last year’s excellent Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum. Nick Pitarra is another artist with a different style from what you’d expect from a mainstream comic, but it works beautifully for this story.
Pitarra nails basically everything you could want from comic art. His page layouts are awesome; the pages can seem busy, but each panel has so much detail that they’re a joy to behold. He captures the feel of Metropolis, and does a fantastic job of physically showing us who each character is. His character acting is outstanding, which is important in a comic where humor is a key to the story. He’s able to capture the sheer size of Bizarro, and he nails the menace in this new version of the villain adroitly. This issue looks fantastic, grabbing your visual cortex and never letting go.
Bizarro: Year None isn’t a perfect book, but it’s very close. DC is dropping masterpieces pretty casually lately and this one has all of the potential to be another one. It focuses on two of the richest characters in the Superman mythos, nailing them perfectly, and gives us a look at the villain that we aren’t used to. It’ll be interesting to see how this one develops, because this first issue is a blast.
Bizarro: Year None #1 is in stores now.
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