Larfleeze #1 – The Extremely Large Dog on the Edge of Forever
Larfleeze finally stars in his very own book. Read more after the jump!
Positive
Right from the cover it seems that this book is going to take a more humorous slant than readers anticipated. Although I am normally not a huge fan of comedy-oriented comics, this character has always been ridiculous in the best way possible, and the use of this type of format is well suited for Larfleeze. The narrative of the entire story is kept light, though it centers around Larfleeze’ ring losing power, and his (and his butler’s) impending death when it finally runs out.
Yes, Larfleeze has a butler in the book named Stargrave. He is not an overly talkative guy (dog?) and he needs someone to draw him into conversation. The back-and-forth between Larfleeze and Stargrave is the core of the book, and their relationship will probably dominate the series’ tone going forwards. When Larfleeze admits that half of his origin story’s retelling is a lie, we know that this is going to be a wild ride.
We are left with some genuinely interesting questions at the end of the book concerning both the future and the past of Larfleeze. Veteran readers know that Larfleeze values his treasure more than anything in the universe, and his missing wealth is left a mystery. And the added reveal that he might not need a power battery at all will have readers puzzling over this series’ future long after they put down Larfleeze #1.
Negative
A lot of this book is a rehash of the Larfleeze origin story. I completely understand the need to put this into the title, but as a long-time follower of the Green Lantern universe, I was hoping for some fresher material. And though Larfleeze often comes across as goofy, this book portrays him as downright imbecilic at times.
The antagonist that appears towards the end of the issue is not that interesting, but, to be fair, I don’t think it was supposed to be. Larfleeze needed something to fight, and the result is appropriately disappointing.
Verdict
This title is off and running, and sets an impressive tone right from the first page. If you are new to the character there is no problem picking up the first issue—everything you need to know is here. If you feel overwhelmed with dark themes and depressing stories ,this may be the book for you. This comic is pure fun from cover to cover.
