Bizarro: Year None #1 Review

 

Bizarro: Year None #1 Review

Writer: Kevin Smith & Eric Carrasco

Artist: Nick Pitarra

Colorist: Michael Garland

Letterer: Dave Sharpe

Cover Artists: Nick Pitarra & Michael Garland; Frank Quitely; Fernando Pasarín, Oclair Albert & Arif Prianto; Ibrahim Moustafa

“Totally Normal” Al Yankovic Cameo Variant Cover Artist: Dan Mora

Editors: Jillian Grant & Paul Kaminski

Publisher: DC Comics

Price: $4.99/$5.99 Card Stock

Release Date: April 1, 2026

 

Jimmy Olsen loves the Daily Planet. And everyone in Metropolis loves him, except for Perry White. That's unfortunate, because Jimmy's dream is to become a reporter for his beloved newspaper. Can Jimmy convince Perry White to elevate him from his "coffee boy" status? And why is the wind roaring through the shattered windows of the editor-in-chief's office? Let’s leap up, up, and away into Bizarro #1 and see!

 

Story

As Jimmy Olsen strolls through Metropolis, chatting with people he knows and those he meets, a crowd gathers before a taped-off crime scene. A new statue has appeared, far taller than the one in the nearby park. And this statue, a giant toy soldier, has plunged its bayonet into the Daily Planet. Amid the debris and scattered papers, Perry White is unhappy about the cold wind blowing through the shattered windows of his office. He’s even unhappier that all the other newspapers will be covering his story. So, as the reporters pitch story ideas, Perry White looks for angles to connect the Daily Planet’s misfortune with readers’ lives.

 

As Perry White and Jimmy Olsen’s careers reach a crucial intersection in Bizarro: Year None #1, their reality also connects with another. The link between them is a Daily Planet newspaper and a failed experiment. Professor Dalton has built a duplication machine that can send any object into another realm. A year ago, a copy of the Daily Planet failed to return with its twin. This first chapter of Perry White and Jimmy Olsen’s journey together begins with Professor Dalton's second attempt to produce a second copy of the Daily Planet without using a printing press. Then, it fast-forwards to the event that will determine their futures.

 

Kevin Smith and Eric Carrasco’s story occurs eighteen months after Superman’s first visit to Metropolis. Clark Kent and Lois Lane are out of town, leaving Ron Troupe, Cat Grant, and Steven Lombard to help Perry White get the news out on time. While the harried editor realizes he needs help, he wants seasoned professionals. And in an era when videos and the internet seem more relevant to people than his newspaper, Perry White holds a grudge against the up-and-coming generation that is threatening everything he's devoted his life to. But as often occurs in life, unexpected events will force Perry White to reevaluate his jaded resistance to working with influencer-youngsters like Jimmy Olsen in Bizarro: Year None #1.

 

Art

A rolled-up copy of Perry White’s pride and joy floats through the starry void, as Bizarro stands at the edge of his world looking out. Two-page horizontal layouts introduce readers to Jimmy Olsen and Bizarro’s lives, while a statue in a Metropolis park pays homage to recent events in Superman Unlimited. The tip of the Toy Soldier’s bayonet fights for people’s attention as Perry White tries to wrangle his reporter’s attention from a Pac-Man-shaped table.

 

As Nick Pitarra uses tall panels to portray movement via time-release images, Michael Garland lavishes a loaded palette on the hyper-detailed art in Bizarro: Year None #1. Yellow links Superman, Bizarro, and Professor Dalton with the Daily Planet, while green bonds Jimmy Olsen with the gateway between dimensions. Yet an earthen color, embracing pink, red, orange, and brown, represents the desire to reshape the world.

 

As the narrator’s words fill yellow boxes, Dave Sharpe fills white dialogue balloons with black uppercase text. Italicized letters indicate intonation and shrink for lowered voices, while words grow bold and swell for raised voices. Sound effects amplify travel between worlds, and the ordinary sounds of operating the conveniences that enhance our lives in any world. Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this story with us.

 

Final Thoughts

Some people know what they want to do with their lives. The rest of us make it up as we go along. But if we keep trying and never give up, eventually we settle upon a fulfilling life, where everything suddenly makes sense, as occurs in Bizarro Year None #1.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

To look inside see my preview of Bizarro Year None #1.