Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Brave and Bold with Dial H for HERO

Dial H for HERO always brings back memories of my teen years and when this character was first introduced to the comic geeks everywhere. We (the readers) were invited to send in create our own heroes, send them into DC, and then DC would determine which heroes they wanted to use in the series. I admit it. While I forget what hero I mailed in, I did mail one in, and while my hero was never selected, I loved the idea that all of the heroes that were used were created by other geeky fans. Just like me.

So, while Brave and Bold is currently on my drop list, Dial H for HERO may make it onto my secret pull list. You know - the comics that you secretly read and enjoy. But don't dare admit it to anyone.

So, for me, if you ask, its a drop. <>


Robert's Two Cents: Guilty pleasure, eh? This book hasn't worked for me for a variety of reasons. The art has been great from day one. It's the storylines that haven't done anything for me.

I too was a fan of Dial H for HERO back in the day, but Robbie Reed was long gone when I was reading it as a backup feature in Adventure Comics. I remember all too well the day one of the characters actually turned into Plastic Man, whom I don't believe was a Earth 1 character at the time, and how that fueled discussion about how the H Dials worked. In one of those rare moments in that day I actually got the issue where this was discussed in the letter column. One of the best parts of the Dial H series was they actually printed pictures of the original designs by the readers. It was interactive storytelling without the internet.

One other brief note, my favorite bearer of one of the H-Dials was Hero Cruz from the Superboy and the Ravers series in the 90s. I really enjoyed that series and was disappointed when they canceled it so they could release Young Justice. I always thought the Rave would have made a great headquarters for a group like Young Justice or the Teen Titans.

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