H.E.R.O., Vol. 1: Powers and Abilities
Story:
Art:

Written by Will Pfeifer
Art by Kano
Colors by Dave Stewart & J.D. Mettler
Letters by Ken Lopez

Published by DC Comics.
Contents: Collects issues 1-6.
Price: $9.95

My Verdict: Nice update of a cheeseball concept.

It's a strange instrument. Where did it come from? Doesn't really matter. All that matters is what happens when you use it. Press H-E-R-O on it and suddenly you're transformed into a metahuman with the ability to...well, that's just it really. It's a crapshoot. Who knows what you're going to get the ability to do. But the question of what comes with great power is answered here in spades: mistakes, irresponsibility and addiction.

Dial H for HERO was a great idea when it came about. Geoff Johns lays the history of the concept out for you in his introduction, but I only remember the version where a young boy and girl transformed into heroes that were created and sent in by readers of the mag. What a great tie-in for young comic readers, right? Well, now that there aren't any young comic readers anymore thanks to the Big Two--and let's face it, how many more ideas like Electron and the Weather Witch do we need anyway--something needs to be done.

Enter Pfeifer and Kano, who have turned the concept on its head. Instead of young folks who are idealistic and willing to change the world, what do we get? A guy whose completely in the shadow of Superman (not to mention suicidal), a businessman who gets off on being a cape, and some young teenage girls. It's like a high level concept version of Altman's series Gun, except here we've got some weird device that puts you in spandex. And the ideas are clever. What happens when you really need a particular kind of power? Well, you sit and keep hitting the combination till you get what you want, of course! What happens when you really want to fight crime? Well, first you have to find it and then try and keep from starting any of your own. It's devices like this that keep the story fresh.

Kano's artwork is interesting. For some reason it's got a bit of Vertigo feel to it, so much so that I keep forgetting that this is a mainstream DCU book and isn't in that imprint. It's good, though. I wish I could describe it to you: I want to say it's like Jim Mahfood and Steve Leialoha got together and the conglom was a good one--but that's not quite right. Regardless, his work is a good one for both conversation and also a guy in a cape getting smacked by a car. So it's worthy.

Regardless, the book is a nice start. It's edgy but not too terribly edgy, kinda Vertigo Lite, which might put off people who want the Extreme Dirt and Grit version--but it's worth a read. They get bonus points, like I said, for nicely updating a concept without making things worse.

Quote: "Wha--? Insulation? You friggin' idiot! This is a suicide hotline!"