Review: Bizarro #1-2

Bizarro, an imperfect clone of Superman, and Jimmy Olsen, photojournalist for the Daily Planet and friend of Clark Kent, embark on a journey of discovery as the pair, joined by Colin the Chupacabra, take a roadtrip to that land of Bizarro America, Canada.

Review: Bizarro #1-2
Written by Heath Corson; Art by Gustavo Duarte; Coloring by Peter Pantazis
All Ages (E for Everyone)
DC Comics, June-July 2015
32 pgs, $2.99USD

After their big company-wide event, Convergence, DC Comics has decided to try to diversify their lines and draw in new readers. This promotion, known as DC You, includes new titles that embrace a “diverse range of styles and genres.” Bizarro is one of these new titles that takes on a decidedly comedic tone and is accessible to young readers as well as old.

Bizarro is an imperfect clone of Superman. He is like the embodiment of “Opposites Day,” as you need to take everything he says to mean the opposite. He calls Jimmy Olsen his “Worstest Friend Ever,” which of course means he thinks Jimmy is his best friend. In the past, Bizarro has been portrayed as a dangerous and warped villain, but in this series, he is more of a lovable oaf that means well but usually ends up making things worse and causing misunderstandings. Because he is a clone of Superman, he is often mistaken for the Man of Steel, and it is one mistake too many that sends Bizarro and Jimmy on their journey.

Jimmy is a somewhat unwilling participant in this journey, as he wonders how he got talked into it, but he makes a perfect straight man for Bizarro. He does his best to keep Bizarro in line and out of trouble, and after a while even becomes used to his opposite style of speaking. He does take advantage of the situation by taking pictures of Bizarro as a way to document their journey, to hopefully be made into a coffee-table type book.

While Bizarro gets into some trouble, such as tripping up the Flash when they visit Central City, he does help out as well. The first villain they run into is King Tut, a used car salesman in Smallville, whose big plan is to get the people of Smallville to buy his cars by hypnotizing them with a staff he believes was given to him by Egyptian Gods. The “gods” turn out to be aliens who are trolling him. Jimmy and Bizarro are also being tailed by a pair of government agents who want to try to stop Bizarro. With a little help from Bizarro, they are able to lose the agents.

There is a lot of good comedy in these first two issues beyond Bizarro’s mess ups. When they stop at a fast food place, “Bat Dogs,” in Gotham City, the menu is a litany of puns. The cameos as they travel through several cities known for their superheroes were funny and documented simply as snapshots taken by Jimmy. They travel through Starling City, Chicago, and visit Iron Height Prison. Besides the Flash run-in, they also encounter Batman, Swamp Thing, and Grodd the Gorilla.

The art suits the story perfectly, with Duarte’s caricature style punching up the comedy. There are lots of little touches throughout the comic that just made me smile. I even had to show my husband the one picture from Starling City. Fans of the TV show Arrow will appreciate it. I also loved Colin the Chupacabra. He is an absolute cutie, and useful when mind control needs to be reversed. The coloring by Peter Pantazis is well done with a palette that is warm and inviting, adding to the fun of the comic.

This new Bizarro series jumps right into the fun and adventure, and doesn’t do much to slow down. I really enjoyed these first two issues, even laughing out loud a few times. It’s a shame it’s only going six issues. I’m loving these adventures of Bizarro and Jimmy and look forward to reading more. Younger readers will enjoy these issues too, both visually and storywise. It really is a story everyone will love.

Filed under: All Ages