While I was at C2E2 earlier in the year, I was yearning to pick up a new comic title to check out. The Big Dog Ink (BDI) booth had a sale on the soft bound collections of Critter. I have been curious about this book for a while.
I love a good superhero comic. The main character is an 18 year old female. I perused the first volume. I found the characters to be decently clothed and the themes to be appropriate for a 12 year old girl. I figured if I enjoyed this comic and found it to be appropriate, I could let my daughter read it after I finished with it.
Credits:
Critter Collected Volume One (Issue 0 and the Mini Series)
Big Dog Ink (BDI)
Writer: Tom Hutchison
Penciler:Fico Ossio/ Jose Luis
Inker: Fico Ossio/ JP Mayer
Colorist: Fico Ossio/Yulan Cakra
Letters: Kel Nuttall/Oren Kramek
Plot: (Major Plot Spoilers):
Cassia is an 18 year old girl living in Greenville, Michigan. She has been exhibiting super human abilities for a while. When her Aunt Brenda comes to visit, it is revealed that Cassia’s mother was the super hero “Velvet Fox”. Even though her mother passed away some time ago, her aunt waited until Cassia turned 18 to reveal the truth to her. Her mother desired for Cassia to become a hero, just like the “Velvet Fox”.
Brenda is able to open the secret areas of the house. Cassia’s mother had a costume made for her which included the cat ears and belt with a tail. Cassia accidentally gave herself the hero name of Critter.
Cassia is introduced to her mother’s old hero team: The Core. She quickly agrees to move to California, start college in California, and to begin her hero career with The Core.
This is just the first part of the volume. Critter has to deal with a college roommate, balance her college class, and train with The Core. The second half of the volume is action packed. The ending of the volume leaves us with quite a cliffhanger. It is a good thing I picked up volume 2.
Review:
Art:
The art of this whole volume is beautiful. Most of the panels have great details. Ossio’s style for Critter has the feel of an excellent 80’s comic artist such as John Byrne and George Pérez. I really loved it.
The coloring and shading are very good. At times, it sets the mood of the scene. It enhances the pencils.
Story/Plot:
Tom Hutchison has quickly become one of my favorite writers in comics. His writing on Critter didn’t disappoint. The plotting, character development, action, and pacing were top notch.
Compared to his style in Legend of Oz, Hutchison brings a much lighter and fun style to Critter. It had me reminiscing about the great comics in the 80s and early 90s. This style reminds me of Chris Claremont and Marv Wolfman. It was plot driven but fun. It was the normal type of stories before comics became focus realism and the dark.
In the forward, Tom stated he was trying to just this in Critter.
“So Critter became a light in the darkness for me. She was everything I enjoyed in Super Heroes. Fun stories, fantasy costumes, secret identities, utility belts, and fantastic technology as well as a character at the beginning of her story.” (Critter Volume 1)
My REVIEW:
This was a fun read. The art was great. The story was awesome. I loved getting to know the character and personality of Critter. I am hooked. Critter is a winner.
Grade:A-
