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A review by gohawks
Dial H, Vol. 1: Into You by China Miéville
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.