Dial H for HERO #7 // Review
For six issues, Dial H for HERO has been a shining jewel in DC's superhero line, with compelling lead characters, stunning art, and a whimsical and compelling storyline. Its seventh issue is a little bit of a feels like filler while the creative team adjusts to its new 12-issue remit (as opposed to its original plan of six issues). Still, even as filler, the chapter is a fun grab-bag of short stories.
The issue takes place during the previous two issues, where many citizens all over Metropolis were suddenly granted superheroic identities because of Mr. Thunderbolt's misuse of the H-Dial. Throughout the installment, we meet Sir Prize, Phantasma, Lucy the Monster Hunter, and Futuristic Detective Flamingo, all of whom have less-than-heroic adventures and are put to shame by Guardian Angel, the "goodest" hero of them all. Each story lasts only a few pages and seems to lack any significant consequence for the main storyline of the series.
Writer Sam Humphries is clearly having fun creating new identities for the H-Dial to bring forth, and these five are a lot of fun. The lack of stakes, however, and the strange style of the piece, makes these characters seem like rejected ideas he decided not to use for the main characters of the series, Miguel and Summer, who don't even appear in the issue.
In previous issues, artist Joe Quinones has dazzled with different art styles for different heroes from the H-Dial. This issue takes that conceit and turns it on its head, giving each new "hero" a different artist. Colleen Doran's pages have the most classic-superhero feel, while Michael Avon Oeming's pages are in his own signature style. Erica Henderson's pages are deliciously creepy, and Stacey Lee uses an adorable Manga-influenced style. Quinones still contributes the first and last page of the issue, and colorist Jordan Gibson and letterer Dave Sharpe tie the issue together into a cohesive whole.
This largely unnecessary issue is still fun, primarily because of the work of the four fill-in artists. The final page promises a return to the main storyline of the series, however, and hopefully with it a return to the inventiveness and fun that the series usually brings with it.
