This book is great, it’s a testament to comic history not necessarily by it’s writing but by It’s art!(writing is still good). I was a big fan of China Mievelle‘s New 52 Dial H way back when, It introduced me to the concept which started its slow creep back into the masses(Issue 13 of that is one of the greatest single issues I’ve ever read). The story written by Sam Humphries is an exploration into such a neat idea, of a phone dial that randomly turns you into a super-hero and has it exploring that symbol with Meta commentary up the ass.
Each hero Miguel the main hero and Summer Picken turn into is done in a variety of art styles some being total references and parodies. You’d think they wouldn’t mesh well together but the base art style makes it very charming, it all just works out great and it’s fun to think “Hey I got that” but in a non-superficial way.
It’s not just the heroes either, often times they put a lot of creativity in how they portray normal pages and panels. I don’t think I’ve seen it be done in a long while maybe ever. It’s not just doing panels and pages and art in new way it’s using established styles and meshing them together.
Miguel tired of his boring life serving mayo based food in his uncle’s mayo truck meets a girl named Summer who too wants to escape the life she burdens, Miguel wasn’t too interested at first. But after a stunt puts his life in danger, the mysterious H-Dial appears before him transforming him and saving his life.
Miguel agrees and drives off with Summer to Metropolis in order to give the Dial to Superman for safe keeping, on the way they face the Thunderbolt Club a group of past Dial users who wish to regain that thrill of being something better then themselves. Note how many of these club members are just normal people, cops and homeless men. It’s a solid start and explores a lot of left behind concepts from the original Dial H as well as escapism and identity, who wouldn’t want to be someone new and better.
Issue 7 was a good example of the best of this comic series. The leading villain Mister Thunderbolt turns everyone in the multiverse into a super-hero(Starting with Metropolis), believing it to be some evolutionary next step and everyone can be the best thing they are. Everyone becomes some reference to comics as Miguel get’s lost in the Hero-Verse and deals with meta nonsense while Summer tries to take care of the situation in Metropolis.
In Issue 7 we explore how the Dial’s transformation changed the lives of many Metropolis civilians and how it bettered their miserable lives much like many of the club members which while good for them was a disaster to the public. Each of the characters we followed were saved by some Sailor Moon hero named Guardian Angel and Summer was trying to figure out why and who she was, after seeing the cute anime girl eat a squirrel we learn that the Magical Girl Hero’s true form was a Service Dog who was simply doing it’s duty.
Dial H for Hero is very interesting and almost all have dealt with escapism and being someone you aren’t, from short stories to short lived runs, to comic art tribute. I first read a series of short stories one of which had a redneck turn into a rather attractive super-heroine, then lost the dial and had to strip for a living while his closest friend tries to sleep with him- that’s the only one i remember from that. But my favorite still even with how much I enjoyed this run was New 52’s which I guess I can discuss one day. My favorite artist doing the covers and with great Morrison-esque writing It’s one I can’t recommend enough even with the shlobby art later.
I’ve never read a Sam Humphries book, nothing I’m really into to be honest. I read Dial H because I liked Dial H, and with Art like this I’m glad I kept going. Honestly this is probably DC’s best book right now(Immortal Hulk is Marvels) and you should definitely read it, especially if you have a hard on for good interior art.
Remember, love yourself!
Cartoonist's Man-Cave 