Super-Pets Special: Bitedentity Crisis #1 Review: The Pets Time to Shine
The Super-Pets Special delivers a fun-filled summer anthology in the wake of SDCC.
When you have a collection of the most popular animals to participate in superhero comics, you have to group them all together in a spectacular one-shot. And that's exactly what DC has done with Super-Pets Special: Bitedentity Crisis. I'm typically not a big fan of anthologies, but if you're someone who wants several one-and-done tales featuring your favorite characters, then this is something you'll want to check out, especially if you are a pet lover. Each story lands on the emotional scale, hitting you right in your feels with happiness, sadness, and more.
"Pup, Pup and Away" focuses on the breakout character of Nightwing – Haley Grayson, a.k.a. Bitewing. A short trip to the Kent Farm in Kansas leads to a team-up between Bitewing and DC's premier Super-Pets. We've got Krypto, Ace the Bat-Hound, Jumpa, Gleek, Green Lantern B'dg, and Bat-Cow going on a rescue mission to save Streaky the Supercat. It makes sense that this would be Bitewing's first official mission as a member of the Super-Pets, and it gets off to a rocky start. The art masterfully captures Bitewing's excitement from interacting with their new teammates to leading a breakout aboard the Menagerie Man's floating ship. Just as it appears like Bitewing will have more adventures in the future, the pup has other mundane tasks on its mind.
Jarro, the miniature version of Starro the Conqueror, had a hilarious "behind-the-music" documentary about its time as a rockstar. Of course, there is some slight mind control at play, but Jarro means well! Jarro still considers himself Batman's sidekick, and has a Robin outfit to prove it. The story I found the most touching was "Refuge," which featured the forgotten members of Batman and Robin's pet collection. It mirrors how pets and other animals are erroneously forgotten by their masters, winding up in some awful situations. You can see the fear on Ace and Bat-Cow's faces when they're confronted by bio-tech goons. However, they all stick by each other and fight as a team, willing to risk their lives for their very own protection. Damian Wayne also displays the appropriate amount of shame and guilt once he discovers how his mistake led to these events.
Dex-Starr's "The Little Cat" is an adorable story with elegant art, and "Who Woofs the Woofmen" continues DC's tradition of wringing content out of Watchmen. The way the panels are laid out mimics the popular comic, except we have canine stand-ins for Rorschach, Ozymandias, Doctor Manhattan, and more.
Super-Pets Special: Bitedentity Crisis #1 is the right kind of one-shot that gives its underutilized pets the spotlight they deserve, while also adapting popular comics like Watchmen for some entertaining storytelling. New Comic Book Day Wednesday Warriors don't have to worry about missing the latest from the DC universe, but if you're looking for something offbeat and different, then Super-Pets Special: Bitedentity Crisis is worth picking up.
Published by DC Comics
On July 31, 2024
Written by Tony Fleecs, Alexis Quasarano, Michael W. Conrad, Dan Watters, and Kyle Starks
Art by Mike Norton, PJ Holden, Sami Basri, Christopher Mitten, and Kyle Starks
Colors by Brad Simpson, Rex Lokus, Ivan Plascencia, and Michelle Madsen
Letters by Steve Wands, Ferran Delgado, and Tom Napolitano
Cover by Pete Woods
