Quick Hits: Super Sons/Dynomutt and Supergirl Being Super

I'm a bit behind in reviews so forgive the late nature of these quick hits.

Earlier this month, DC did another round of crossovers between their characters and classic cartoon properties. You might remember the DC/WB crossovers like Bugs Bunny/Legion of Super-Heroes from last year. This year, the company has mash-ups with classic Hanna-Barbera characters. That is a deeper and wider group of shows to pull from which led to some interesting concepts.

As someone who loved the Super Sons concept and book and was still smarting a bit from the cancellation, I knew I was going to get the Super Sons/Dynomutt issue, written by usual Sons scribe Peter Tomasi with art by Fernando Pasarin.

I was expecting a goofy sort of romp with Blue Falcon and Robin playing straight men to the more rambunctious Dynomutt and Jon.

That is not what I got ... at all ...

Instead what I got was a pretty dark adventure. Dynomutt has been beaten to a pulp and near dead. Blue Falcon has had his body corrupted by mind control technology and is acting the villain. Death is all over this book from Jon heading to his first funeral early on to the death (and ultimate resurrection) of one of the people inside. It is a bloody mess.

I might sometimes rage against such a book saying that this was a 'grim and gritty' DC error like so many before. But the fact is it was handled in such a serious way, not glorifying its matter, not emphasizing the brutality, that I was pretty absorbed. And I think the jarring experience of expecting a silly book and getting something much deeper just drew me in more. Who knew you could do a serious Dynomutt book?

Kudos to Tomasi.

I also bought the Supergirl Being Super trade paperback.

Now I have to admit I wasn't particularly floored by this mini when it came out. The Joelle Jones art was magnificent. But it seemed a little too precious for me. It ended in a way that a sequel seems possible and I wonder if, with the concept nailed down, that the next story is better.

One thing I do love is when trades give more than just reprints of the issues.

There are a handful of concept art pages in the back.

Included are concept art by Kevin Wada for that Kara's uniform. Squint and you might see color combos and flair from her upcoming space duds. There are some of these I like quite a bit.

We also got character sheets by Jones where she nails down the body habitus of the three main characters, Kara and her friends. As a long time reader, I like seeing these 'behind the scenes' production pieces. I suppose this was Jones' way of making sure she stayed on model.

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