When I saw that Dynamite was coming out with a Blue Falcon and Dynomutt comic, I got pretty excited. Not as excited as I got on those special Friday nights in the ’70s when ABC would give a preview of the new season of Saturday morning cartoons that were coming the next day, of course, but close. Seeing a couple of my favorite characters return to comics with new stories is like feeding my nostalgia a warm chocolate brownie straight out of the oven.
Does The Blue Falcon and Dynomutt #1, written by Jimmy Palmiotti with art by Pasquale Qualano and colors by Jorge Sutil, live up to the anticipation? For the most part, yes, but I had one major issue (no pun intended) with this series premiere.
The series appears to be telling Dynomutt’s origin story. How did the pooch become all stretchy and cybernetic? Personally, I don’t need to know how it happened, because no matter how you tell it, it’s going to be sad and tragic. I also don’t need to see how Radley Crown became Blue Falcon. I would have preferred the series picked up right where the animated show ended, with updates in technology and fashion, of course, to match the 21st Century. We don’t need to see Radley cruising around in a ’70s lime green leisure suit when he’s not suited up as the Blue Falcon.
Now, that’s enough of my griping (hold your applause).
Dynamite
On the plus side, I loved writer Jimmy Palmiotti’s depiction of Radley, his exuberant personality and joy for life. Even though Radley has a lot in common with Bruce Wayne – rich, brilliant, and wanting to help his city – he’s also nothing like Bruce Wayne in the most important aspects. Radley enjoys a rich life outside of superheroing. He’s genuinely content and happy, unlike Bruce, who’s a pretty miserable guy whose life outside of being Batman is pretty empty.
I also loved Dyno, who’s just a simple playful Doberman Pinscher here. His bond with Radley is unbreakable and you can see traces of the adorable goofiness he’ll later have as Dynomutt. Artist Pasquale Qualano gives Dyno personality, with his cross-eyed excitement and his clumsy steps when he’s jumping/running. The art throughout the book is crisp and lovely, some pages reminding me of the classic Gil Kane Green Lantern issues and colorist Jorge Sutil’s colors pop, especially with the vibrant blue of Blue Falcon’s costume.
If you don’t mind that the book shows the very early days of Blue Falcon’s career and focuses on Dynomutt’s origin story, there’s a lot of good stuff here, including omens of future threats to come, namely from a major villain calling themselves “The Beast”. I enjoyed the book overall and look forward to what’s coming in future issues. The Blue Falcon and Dynomutt are back!
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