Superman #680

I should admit up front that I really like dogs. In fact, I've owned three dogs in my life - one was great, one was sweet and one's kind of a pest.

The great one was my childhood dog, Rebel - he was a beagle who was kind, loyal and dedicated to the family. The sweet one was a dog my family rescued from the local animal shelter - a mutt named Itchy (that was her name at the shelter, which she earned because she had mange). She was the pet for my sons, and she was smart, attentive, eternally patient and protective. The pest is our ongoing dog, Domino - another mutt, she's white with black spots, and she's rebellious, insistent, and unaware that she's too big to be jumping into my lap. But she's also loving and protective, so she's earned her spot in the family.

So what does that have to do with comic books? Well, this issue of Superman really stars a character you might have thought was long gone from continuity - Krypto, the Dog of Steel.

As a kid, I always liked Krypto's appearances as he assisted Superboy and Superman in their adventures, and even enjoyed his own with the improbable Legion of Super-Pets. The stories were goofy but fun.

The Superman comic is now in the hands of James Robinson, an outstanding writer who has been slowly revealing his take on the Man of Steel. He began two issues ago by reintroducing the character Atlas, who was created by Jack Kirby for one issue of the comic called First Issue Special, and (as far as I know) was never seen again.

In this comic Atlas has been brought to the present to fight Superman - and surprisingly, he's winning. Superman, brought down by a mysterious weakness, is at the edge of defeat, but Krypto turns up to defend his master. (And if you missed the last page of last issue, you missed a classic surprise ending/next issue tease, as Krypto prepared to join the fight.)

This issue picks as Krypto takes the fight to Atlas - and Robinson allows the Dog of Steel thought balloons. Oh, he doesn't give the super-dog any deep thoughts - they're fragmented, stream-of-consciousness moments (and probably darn close to what real dogs "think," if anything) - but it certainly makes the battle more fun to follow.

I have to admit that I'm not crazy about the artwork by penciler Renato Guedes and inker Wilson Magalhaes. The layouts are strong, and the storytelling relatively clear, but the figures - especially the facial features, just seem too distorted, and there's too much reliance on the repetition of panels, with slight alterations to show the passage of moments in time.

Still, I can forgive a lot, if just because of the last page of the story, which put a big smile on my face. It's great to see some classic bits of continuity back for modern audiences to enjoy - including Krypto.

For the first time in many years, I'm buying Superman's comics - and this issue shows why the Man of Steel is getting attention. This comic and Action Comics are both very entertaining and lots of fun to read.

Heck, this one's worth buying just for the Alex Ross cover. Just look at that noble dog. Who's a good boy? Yes, he is!

Grade: B+