Comics Bulletin logo
Search
  • Columns
    Random
    • The Great Sabre Interview Part Two: Birth, Violence and Gay Kisses

      Nick Hanover
      August 28, 2013
      Columns, Interviews, Riding Shotgun
    Recent
    • Revisiting the Witchblade/Fathom/Tomb Raider Crossover

      Daniel Gehen
      February 8, 2021
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 2

      Daniel Gehen
      December 4, 2020
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 1

      Daniel Gehen
      October 30, 2020
    • What Looks Good
    • Comics Bulletin Soapbox
    • The Full Run
    • Leading Question
    • Top 10
    • The Long-Form
    • Jumping On
    • Comics in Color
    • Slouches Towards Comics
  • Big Two
    Random
    • Collecting Profile: Spider-Gwen

      Nick Hanover
      January 4, 2020
      Big Two, Collectibles, Marvel Comics, Miscellaneous Comic Book Content
    Recent
    • 3.0

      Review: X-MEN LEGENDS #1 Delivers A Dose of Nostalgia

      Daniel Gehen
      February 22, 2021
    • 4.5

      DCeased: Dead Planet #7 Presents a Hopeful Future (Review)

      Daniel Gehen
      January 22, 2021
    • Retro Review: Detective Comics #826 Remains a Holiday Classic

      Daniel Gehen
      December 3, 2020
    • DC Comics
    • Big Two Reviews
    • Marvel Comics
  • Indie
    Random
    • Louise Simonson Discusses Faith During This Election Season

      Nick Hanover
      October 31, 2016
      Indie, Interviews, Valiant
    Recent
    • 4.0

      Review: Beast Wars #2 another chance to change the past

      Stephen Cook
      March 3, 2021
    • 4.5

      Review: THE LAST RONIN #2 Hurts So Good

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • TIME BEFORE TIME—A HIGH STAKES TIME TRAVEL SCIENCE FICTION SERIES SET TO LAUNCH THIS MAY

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • Reviews
    • Archie Comics
    • Boom! Studios
    • Dark Horse
    • IDW
    • Image
    • Oni Press
    • Valiant
  • Reviews
    Random
    • 3.0

      Random Encounter #1

      Nick Hanover
      April 15, 2005
      Reviews
    Recent
    • 3.0

      Review: X-MEN LEGENDS #1 Delivers A Dose of Nostalgia

      Daniel Gehen
      February 22, 2021
    • 4.5

      Review: THE LAST RONIN #2 Hurts So Good

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • 2.3

      Review: SAVAGE #1 Needs Taming

      Daniel Gehen
      February 16, 2021
    • Singles Going Steady
    • Slugfest
    • Manga
      • Reviews
    • Small Press
      • Reviews
      • ICYMI
      • Tiny Pages Made of Ashes
  • Interviews
    Random
    • Chris J. Cole: A Look Inside the Pages of April's Le Tout Burlesque

      Nick Hanover
      December 29, 2009
      Interviews
    Recent
    • Interview: Jon Davis-Hunt Talks SHADOWMAN

      Daniel Gehen
      June 8, 2020
    • Interview: Becky Cloonan talks DARK AGNES and Her Personal Influences

      Mike Nickells
      March 4, 2020
    • Simon Roy

      Interview: Simon Roy on His Inspirations and Collaborations on PROTECTOR

      Mike Nickells
      January 29, 2020
    • Audio Interview
    • Video Interview
  • Classic Comics
    Random
    • Could the Cream of 1970s Comics Artists Almost Have Plummeted to their Doom?

      Nick Hanover
      July 3, 2014
      Classic Comics Cavalcade, Columns
    Recent
    • Countdown to the King: Marvel’s Godzilla

      Daniel Gehen
      May 29, 2019
    • Honoring A Legend: Fantagraphics To Resurrect Tomi Ungerer Classics

      Daniel Gehen
      February 15, 2019
    • Reliving the Craziest Decade in Comics History: An interview with Jason Sacks

      Mark Stack
      January 2, 2019
    • Classic Comics Cavalcade
    • Classic Interviews
  • News
    Random
    • BOOM! Studios Unveils A New Look at BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #1

      Nick Hanover
      December 14, 2018
      Boom! Studios, News, Press Release
    Recent
    • TIME BEFORE TIME—A HIGH STAKES TIME TRAVEL SCIENCE FICTION SERIES SET TO LAUNCH THIS MAY

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • Image Comics and TMP Announces SPAWN’S UNIVERSE

      Daniel Gehen
      February 18, 2021
    • SAVAGE DRAGON IS A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH THIS MAY

      Daniel Gehen
      February 17, 2021
    • Press Release
    • Kickstarter Spotlight
  • Books
    Random
    • Jason Shiga and His Deliciously Demented 'Demon'

      Nick Hanover
      May 9, 2017
      Books
    Recent
    • Collecting Profile: Disney Frozen

      CB Staff
      November 22, 2019
    • Collecting Profile: NFL Superpro

      CB Staff
      August 31, 2019
    • “THE BEST OF WITZEND” is a Wonderful Celebration of Artistic Freedom

      Daniel Gehen
      September 15, 2018
    • Review: ‘Machete Squad’ is a Disappointing Afghan Memoir

      Jason Sacks
      July 31, 2018
    • Review: ‘Out of Nothing’ is the Antidote to Our Sick Times

      Jason Sacks
      July 23, 2018
    • Review: ‘Bizarre Romance’ Shows Rough Edges in the Early Days of a New Marriage

      Jason Sacks
      July 10, 2018
What's New
  • Review: Beast Wars #2 another chance to change the past
  • Collecting Profile: Blue Beetle
  • Review: X-MEN LEGENDS #1 Delivers A Dose of Nostalgia
  • Collecting Profile: Kraven the Hunter
  • Review: THE LAST RONIN #2 Hurts So Good
  • TIME BEFORE TIME—A HIGH STAKES TIME TRAVEL SCIENCE FICTION SERIES SET TO LAUNCH THIS MAY
  • RSS Feed
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Contact Us
  • Write for us!
  • Visit Video Game Break!
Home
Reviews

Review: 'Dial H Vol. 1: Into You' is Hallucinogenic, Hyperaware Mythbuilding

Nick Hanover
May 29, 2013
Reviews

When we look back on the first couple decades of the 21st century will we be embarrassed by how little we appreciated the comics renaissance exploding in front of us? Comics has always been a game of unnecessary roughage, unending clashes between stupid rivalries, fits of art on pop violence springing up in internet streets and backalley forums. But lately some of our braver creators have started taking this all head on and incredible things have ensued, as is the case with the hallucinogenic hyperaware mythbuilding of China Mieville's Dial H. 

The premise of Dial H is this: there is a magic dialer that allows the user to channel superheroes at random when they key in 4376, which happens to spell out HERO. The concept first appeared almost exactly 50 years ago, in the pages of House of Mystery, and it later had its own title in 2003, with Will Pfeifer scripting and Kano illustrating and at that time it was just called H-E-R-O. Those earlier takes on the concept were fun, and are certainly worth checking out, but Mieville has transformed the concept in the same way Jonathan Lethem did with noir with his novel Gun, with Occasional Music or Terry Gilliam did with 1984 in Brazil, which is to say he boiled it down to its bare essence and then went about studying why it resonates and clicks and how that can be turned into a metaphor for the timelessness of fiction. 

 

 

In Mieville's hands, Dial H is a series about comics as myth, about how even the goofiest of concepts can be incredibly powerful in the right hands and at the right time. It's a series that exists because of Grant Morrison and his work on Doom Patrol and Animal Man, but which doesn't allow that to overshadow its worth and insight. The surrogate Mieville provides us the fan with is Nelson Jent, an out-of-shape geek in a rut who comes across the dial after walking into a brutal beatdown being delivered to his friend, a bagman for a local crime lord. Running into a phone booth to call for help, Nelson instead dials up Boy Chimney and we're instantly treated to a weirder superhero story than normal.

As the primary artist on the series, Mateus Santolouco makes the world of Dial H grotesque and skeletal, a city populated with purposefully bizarrely proportioned people, its architecture sharp and drab, seemingly stuck in an older era. But the "heroes" Nelson and company dial up are that aesthetic taken to an extreme — Boy Chimney would be a horrifying Guillermo del Toro-style monster if we weren't informed he was a hero, and later the infamous Cock-a-hoop is exactly what you'd expect and then some, a shrieking rooster head set atop a razor sharp wheel. Even Nelson's ally, Manteau (a fellow dialer who essentially serves as Nelson's mentor), is scary, decked out as she is in a mask and cloak that is meant to hide the transformations she goes through as she dials, but which has the side effect of making her seem like slasher flick murderer.

 

 

Mieville's intention is clear — heroes are what we make of them, and in the wrong hands or with the wrong direction they can be terrifying to those they're meant to protect. And to a certain extent that serves as commentary on the superhero genre itself, as the collaborative nature of the form allows for characters we've known our entire lives to deviate and morph into wildly different entities. What once comforted us may now alienate, shock or disgust us. Mieville doesn't necessarily give an opinion on that facet of the comic and though he digs at certain eras of comicdom (the Liefeld-esque Iron Snail is probably the best example of this), he mostly leaves the message there in the open for us to interpret.

Except, that is, for one key issue, an issue that works as the comics equivalent of a bottle episode on TV, complete with "guest director" David Lapham. In that issue, which serves as the end of the arc in the first volume, Mieville and Lapham team up to tackle comics' often racist and xenaphobic past through the dialed-in hero Chief Mighty Arrow. Mighty Arrow happens to have a great power set, complete with "super arrows! Jet propelled explosive feathers!" and a flying horse, but Manteau refuses to let Nelson go out as the hero, barring extreme emergencies. Manteau's reasoning is that Chief Mighty Arrow's status as a racist caricature — albeit an extremely powerful one — sends the wrong message and that's just as important as heroic acts. As heroes, they must be iconic figures that can be looked up to without explanation or excuses.

 

 

Nelson winds up trapped in the house watching the news and missing out on the action, but in the process we learn more about the dials and Nelson and Manteau, the latter of whom explains that another reason for her mask and cloak is that it enables questionable characters like Mighty Arrow without the publicity nightmares that would otherwise ensue. She also indicates that she believes the dials don't just call heroes from other places, but from other times, which leads directly into the zero issue that ends the trade, a sort-of origin story about an ancient people who use an early dial to fight back against a monstrous mythological beast, and inadvertently cause great tragedy in the where/when that gave them their hero. 

 

 

It's great stuff and Mieville and his collaborators do such an excellent job building the world of the dials that one could reasonably expect them to spin stories out of it for eons. Unfortunately, that won't be the case, as Dial H was recently cancelled, which is tragicomic when you consider its status as a sly, subtle examination of the fickleness of the superhero genre. But the material that Mieville and his collaborators have created nonetheless still stands out as some of the best meta-comicdom has to offer, and it's more than worth dialing into their world while you still can.

 


 

Nick Hanover got his degree from Disneyland, but he's the last of the secret agents and he's your man. Which is to say you can find his particular style of espionage here at Comics Bulletin, where he reigns as the co-managing editor, or at 
Panel Panopticon, which he started as a joke and now takes semi-seriously. Or if you feel particularly adventurous, you can always witness his odd rants about his potentially psychopathic roommate on twitter @Nick_Hanover and explore the world of his musical alter ego at Fitness and Pontypool.

China MiévilleDCDial HNick HanoverRichard HorieTanya Horie

Share On:
Tweet
Singles Going Steady 5/28/2013: Comics By, For and About People on Drugs
Psych 7.13 "Nip and Suck It" review

About The Author

Nick Hanover

Nick Hanover got his degree from Disneyland, but he’s the last of the secret agents and he’s your man. Which is to say you can find his particular style of espionage here at Loser City as well as Ovrld, where he contributes music reviews and writes a column on undiscovered Austin bands. You can also flip through his archives at Comics Bulletin, which he is formerly the Co-Managing Editor of, and Spectrum Culture, where he contributed literally hundreds of pieces for a few years. Or if you feel particularly adventurous, you can always witness his odd .gif battles with Dylan Garsee on twitter: @Nick_Hanover

Related Posts

  • Collecting Profile: Blue Beetle

    nguyen ly
    February 27, 2021
  • Collecting Profile: If I win Mega Millions, I will buy Action Comics #1.

    nguyen ly
    January 30, 2021

Latest Reviews

  • 3.0

    Review: X-MEN LEGENDS #1 Delivers A Dose of Nostalgia

    Daniel Gehen
    February 22, 2021
  • 4.5

    Review: THE LAST RONIN #2 Hurts So Good

    Daniel Gehen
    February 19, 2021
  • 2.3

    Review: SAVAGE #1 Needs Taming

    Daniel Gehen
    February 16, 2021
  • 4.3

    Review: RADIANT BLACK #1 Shines Brightly

    Daniel Gehen
    February 12, 2021
  • 2.7

    Review: DEEP BEYOND #1 Can’t Commit to a Premise

    Daniel Gehen
    February 4, 2021
  • 2.0

    VINDICATION Falls Short of its Lofty Goals (Review)

    Daniel Gehen
    February 1, 2021
  • 4.5

    DCeased: Dead Planet #7 Presents a Hopeful Future (Review)

    Daniel Gehen
    January 22, 2021
  • Review: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist

    Daniel Gehen
    December 14, 2020
  • Retro Review: Detective Comics #826 Remains a Holiday Classic

    Daniel Gehen
    December 3, 2020
  • 4.5

    TMNT: The Last Ronin #1 Lives Up to the Hype (Review)

    Daniel Gehen
    October 29, 2020
RSSTwitterFacebookgoogleplusinstagramtumblr

Comics Bulletin is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for website owners to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, audible.com, and any other website that may be affiliated with Amazon Service LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, Comics Bulletin earns from qualifying purchases.

All content on this site (c) 2018 The Respective Copyright Holders