The Leopard From Lime Street: Birthright
Writer: Simon Furman
Artists: Laurent Lefeuvre, Nick Roche & PJ Holden
Colorists: Laurent Lefeuvre & John-Paul Bove
Letterers: Laurent Lefeurve & Sqakezz
1st Printing: July 2024
Rating: 
The Leopard From Lime Street- Created by Tom Tully & Eric Bradbury & Mike Western
This week I will look at “The Leopard From Lime Street: Birthright”, a graphic novel from Rebellion. Basically a compilation of past specials collected into this one volume.
The story introduces the readers to Billy Farmer, who, after getting scratched by a radioactive leopard (Sounds familiar?!) finds himself with the abilities of a leopard that features enchanted strength, speed, and reflexes. Donning a costume and going by the name of “The Leopardman”, Billy uses his powers to fend off evil in the fictional town of Selbridge; UK residents may remember the character from his time in the comic series Buster which ran from 1976 to 1985 so I’m guessing that this GN is a way for the American audience to be drawn into his adventures.
The story finds Billy still finding a way to make sense of his powers but the biggest surprise is when he finds out he has a long-lost sister named Iris who finds out his secret and becomes his sidekick (She goes by the name “Alleycat”) then has to fend off a group of villains called The Cabal who want to steal Billy’s powers and if case anyone was wondering yes, most of that plot element is played out all through this compilation but it does has a tendency to get tiring towards the end as if we need any more reminding of that aspect.
Overall, the story leans heavily on the spooky feature that gives off a grim and gritty outlook but manages to keep it lighthearted while the Spider-Man comparisons are in full effect, it looks as if Simon Furman, Laurent Lefeuvre and the rest of the creative team make no apologies for it but they make the concept fresh enough so that it has a different feel to it while not recycling anything that will have anyone accusing them of copying anything that would seem familiar. It’s a great read that will no doubt entertain its core audience with a hero that some of them can relate to, but while The Leopardman looks like an astonishing character, it’s still fun to jump into his stories even if he shares some traits with a certain wall-crawler.
Well, that’s it for me. Thanks for sticking around. I will see you all next time.
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