manuelte's review against another edition
4.0
Loved it! This is DC Comics' attempt at pushing the envelope and it works amazingly well. Dialers and the voids
themtj's review against another edition
2.0
Cool artwork, fun premise, failed execution. Storytelling was muddled, characters were underdeveloped and uninteresting, and it couldn't consistently hold my attention even long enough to finish a single issue. Pretty big disappointment.
gohawks's review against another edition
2.0
Only China Mieville could write a comic with a hero named Captain Lachrymose - a protagonist who feeds off the sadness of others to become powerful. Great idea with poor results here. An obese Joe Schmo accidentally discovers that he can randomly turn into different weird super heroes after dialing H-E-R-O into a payphone. (Do they still have these?) Anyway, part of the hook is that he quickly has to discover each time what his super powers are and how they work. Now, that is somewhat confusing in itself, but Mieville's relative lack of experience multiplies the disorder with messy panel layouts that make it hard to discern what is going on at times. Add in a villain that is actually an ally, an all-encompassing abyss as the super-villain, and a side kick/ ally that has a dial of her own and is actually a senior citizen. Perhaps you sense my frustration. There is so much wonderful stuff to be mined here, but there is too much work to get to it.
That being said, in the middle of this first volume is a stand alone issue that I might rate 4 stars on its own. The two dial heroes have only one working dial between them and are waiting and watching the news for their turn to use the dial and go out to save the day. The main protagonist is in full stereotypical Native American clothing, and he goes by the name of Chief Mighty Death Arrow. His super buddy won't let him leave the house because the get up is so un-P.C. She shows him a photo diary of all her past identities that include some very questionable heroes: Doctor Cloaca, SS Ilsa, Captain Priapus, Kid Torture. Oh my god, the possibilities for this stuff are just through the roof when the story is not hampered by incredibly convoluted back story of the magic dials and a rip off of The Neverending Story's the Nothing. It may get better, but there's not enough to make me stick around and find out.
That being said, in the middle of this first volume is a stand alone issue that I might rate 4 stars on its own. The two dial heroes have only one working dial between them and are waiting and watching the news for their turn to use the dial and go out to save the day. The main protagonist is in full stereotypical Native American clothing, and he goes by the name of Chief Mighty Death Arrow. His super buddy won't let him leave the house because the get up is so un-P.C. She shows him a photo diary of all her past identities that include some very questionable heroes: Doctor Cloaca, SS Ilsa, Captain Priapus, Kid Torture. Oh my god, the possibilities for this stuff are just through the roof when the story is not hampered by incredibly convoluted back story of the magic dials and a rip off of The Neverending Story's the Nothing. It may get better, but there's not enough to make me stick around and find out.
davybaby's review against another edition
3.0
I read this as a fan of China Mieville. And while it is fun, it has nowhere near the imagination and glorious weirdness of his prose.
The story is that ordinary obese loser Nelson lucks into finding a magical phone. Whenever he dials HERO on it, he channels a random bizarre superhero from somewhere. These are often silly, and occasionally fascinating. Needless to say, Nelson stumbles into adventures. There are occasional bizarre concepts and interesting character moments, but most of the comic you spend waiting to see what the next weird hero will be. For example, my favorite so far...
The book is funny and mind-bendy, similar in tone to Alan Moore's [b:Tom Strong Vol. 1|821801|Tom Strong, Vol. 1|Alan Moore|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348565569s/821801.jpg|2108133] For example, in one scene Mieville pays homage to the painful early days of comicdom when Nelson's partner in heroing won't let him leave the house as a racially insensitive hero:
The art is fine, but I think it would be very difficult as an artist to keep up with the abstractions and weirdness that Mieville routinely explores. For example, one of the main villains in the early story arc is a sentient void-being called Abyss. Abyss is made of the nothingness between stars out in space, and so moves through space feeding on light. Its body is essentially a wormhole into the darkness of space. The artist does fairly well with this very strange concept, but I think it's stronger as an idea than it often comes out in the book.
As I said, I enjoyed this, but it hasn't yet impressed me as equal to the rest of Mieville's work. I would be curious to see what a more abstract artist may do when teaming up with Mieville (Mike Mignola, Tim Sale, or Frank Miller come to mind).
Mignola's Hellboy
Tim Sale's Joker
Frank Miller's Sin City
Or perhaps an artist with a handle on the bizarre (Paul Pope or Dave McKean maybe)
Paul Pope
McKean's cover for Arkham Asylum
Sorry. This is getting out of control. I just figured out how to post a picture. I'll stop now.
Anyway, Dial H is fun, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for those who aren't fans of superhero comics. Because it way is.
The story is that ordinary obese loser Nelson lucks into finding a magical phone. Whenever he dials HERO on it, he channels a random bizarre superhero from somewhere. These are often silly, and occasionally fascinating. Needless to say, Nelson stumbles into adventures. There are occasional bizarre concepts and interesting character moments, but most of the comic you spend waiting to see what the next weird hero will be. For example, my favorite so far...
The book is funny and mind-bendy, similar in tone to Alan Moore's [b:Tom Strong Vol. 1|821801|Tom Strong, Vol. 1|Alan Moore|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348565569s/821801.jpg|2108133] For example, in one scene Mieville pays homage to the painful early days of comicdom when Nelson's partner in heroing won't let him leave the house as a racially insensitive hero:
The art is fine, but I think it would be very difficult as an artist to keep up with the abstractions and weirdness that Mieville routinely explores. For example, one of the main villains in the early story arc is a sentient void-being called Abyss. Abyss is made of the nothingness between stars out in space, and so moves through space feeding on light. Its body is essentially a wormhole into the darkness of space. The artist does fairly well with this very strange concept, but I think it's stronger as an idea than it often comes out in the book.
As I said, I enjoyed this, but it hasn't yet impressed me as equal to the rest of Mieville's work. I would be curious to see what a more abstract artist may do when teaming up with Mieville (Mike Mignola, Tim Sale, or Frank Miller come to mind).
Mignola's Hellboy
Tim Sale's Joker
Frank Miller's Sin City
Or perhaps an artist with a handle on the bizarre (Paul Pope or Dave McKean maybe)
Paul Pope
McKean's cover for Arkham Asylum
Sorry. This is getting out of control. I just figured out how to post a picture. I'll stop now.
Anyway, Dial H is fun, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for those who aren't fans of superhero comics. Because it way is.
merricatct's review against another edition
2.0
The best part of this was Mieville's dialogue, especially Boy Chimney and the Abyss. I wonder if the Abyss and the Weaver from Perdido Street Station are friends, because if they're not, they should be. ^_^ This is definitely a case of "it's not you, it's me", because I'm not a big fan of comics or graphic novels - I just read this because it was Mieville's work.
otherwyrld's review against another edition
4.0
One of the hottest author's around reinventing an obscure DC comics character? Oh yes please!
China Mieville always does weird so well, so his take on Dial H For Hero was always going to be "out there". It's certainly a fun and challenging story, and I like the characters he creates here, especially ordinary guy Nelson, who gets in well over his head when he accidentally dials himself into a superhero, then another one, then another one. In this he is well-supported by the mysterious Manteau, who turns out to have a dial of her own, and faces great villains in Ex Nihilo and the Void.
For all that imagination, I had a nagging sense that I had read all of this before, and I finally realised that Mieville seems to be channeling Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol, and Crazy Jane in particular. Now this is no bad thing, as I loved this series and wish I could re-read it (I think it's long out of print though). DC Comics need a few more of this kind of series to pull back old readers like me, because most of their superhero stuff is tedious as hell (Marvel is not much better either).
The main story is backed up by two additional stories, one of which is hysterically funny (villain gets taken down by flying horse poop - now why has that never appeared in Clash of the Titans!). It makes a welcome relief form the seriousness of the main story. The second backup tale delves a bit more deeply into where all these superhero powers comes from, and the consequences of what happens when those powers disappear so they can be used by a person with a dial. Answer - not very nice things usually.
While I enjoyed this story, I think that 4 stars is a bit high - 3 1/2 stars would have been closer.
China Mieville always does weird so well, so his take on Dial H For Hero was always going to be "out there". It's certainly a fun and challenging story, and I like the characters he creates here, especially ordinary guy Nelson, who gets in well over his head when he accidentally dials himself into a superhero, then another one, then another one. In this he is well-supported by the mysterious Manteau, who turns out to have a dial of her own, and faces great villains in Ex Nihilo and the Void.
For all that imagination, I had a nagging sense that I had read all of this before, and I finally realised that Mieville seems to be channeling Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol, and Crazy Jane in particular. Now this is no bad thing, as I loved this series and wish I could re-read it (I think it's long out of print though). DC Comics need a few more of this kind of series to pull back old readers like me, because most of their superhero stuff is tedious as hell (Marvel is not much better either).
The main story is backed up by two additional stories, one of which is hysterically funny (villain gets taken down by flying horse poop - now why has that never appeared in Clash of the Titans!). It makes a welcome relief form the seriousness of the main story. The second backup tale delves a bit more deeply into where all these superhero powers comes from, and the consequences of what happens when those powers disappear so they can be used by a person with a dial. Answer - not very nice things usually.
While I enjoyed this story, I think that 4 stars is a bit high - 3 1/2 stars would have been closer.