In “Superman” #712 we get a break from the painfully mediocre “Grounded” arc and get a fill-in story by Kurt Busiek. It’s a story that was never published titled “Lost Boy: A Tale of Krypto the Superdog”.

There’s nothing inherently bad about this issue. In fact I can see where this story would reverberate with certain readers. While I did see it as a cute and mildly touching tale, it never spoke to me louder than that. The star of the story is Krypto and it takes place shortly after Connor Kent’s death during the Infinite Crisis. We see Krypto searching for and eventually lamenting his owner’s death. There’s no doubting the way this issue could impact those with a deep affection for dogs and in many ways it feels aimed at that audience. There’s nothing wrong with that. But while it has a tender and sweet story, for me it was simply ok.

I would also describe the art as simply ok. There are several plain and simple panels that don’t offer much in the area of detail but do portray the emotions of Krypto quite well. The art runs into problems during the flashback panels. They sometimes look cluttered and other times unfinished. So while there are some panels where the art is effective, it’s ultimately inconsistent and rather underwhelming.

This book will effect different people in different ways. It’s cute and warm but in the end it didn’t leave me with anything that would stay with me.