Chances are,
if you’re reading Dial H for Hero,
you appreciate DC’s rich and ridiculous history. In which case, you’re gonna
love this issue, with it’s many call backs to multiple eras.
Perhaps most noteworthy is
Miguel and Summer meeting up with Snapper Carr in the JLA’s Detroit
headquarters. It’s now staffed by robotic versions of various Leaguers from
various era in their most ridiculous costumes. It’s like visiting the Dick
Ebersole era of Saturday Night Live,
but let us remember for all its criticism, it led to the rise of Eddie Murphy.
Writer Sam Humphries
borrows a page from Westworld,
sending all the robots into homicidal fury. He then borrows a page from your
local newspaper, as Miguel, Summer and Snapper dial up super-hero personas for
themselves straight from the funny pages. (well, Miguel does). Summer and
Snapper end up riffing on the work of Moebius and Frank Miller.
If the series keeps this
up and continues to poke good-natured ribbing at comics in general, it won’t be
long before Marvel wants in on the joke. It may have been Michael J. Fox during
his Family Ties days who said that when Mad
Magazine makes fun of you, that’s when you know you’ve arrived. Perhaps Dial H will become the new Mad Magazine, the new SNL. I can think of worse strategies.
Rating: 8/10