Dial H Vol. 1: Into You (The New 52)
DC takes its most delightfully naïve Silver Age concept—a device that turns the operator into a new superhero each time he or she dials the letters H-E-R-O—and puts it in the hands of an auteur of dark fantasy, novelist China Miéville (Railsea, 2012). Miéville gives the dial to a hapless, out-of shape schlub, plunging him into battle in such darkly comic guises as Captain Lachrymose, Boy Chimney, and Iron Snail. Miéville also gives the dial a mysterious past that winds through not only the history of telephony but also into alternate universes and the depths of the abyss itself. Indeed, while he creates a cast of supporting heroes and enemies in the surrealist vein of Grant Morrison’s Doom Patrol, the story comes most alive when the novelist is on comfortably weird ground, exploring the nebulous clues and dire nature of the object. Santalouco provides grim cityscapes and gritty characters for the opening chapters, while David Lapham plays counterpoint with a clean, bright style that serves the slightly lighter-hearted closing chapters well. --Jesse Karp