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

H.E.R.O. #1

by Will Pfeifer

H-E-R-O: POWERS AND ABILITIES is a highly imaginative tale that explores the opportunities and consequences of suddenly gaining super-powers. When three ordinary people individually stumble upon a mysterious dial, their lives are dramatically altered forever. Now able to temporarily become super heroes whenever they spell out the word HERO on the device, Jerry Feldon, Matt Allen, and Andrea Allen each utilize their newfound abilities in different ways for different goals. But after a series of uncanny adventures, the three inexperienced heroes learn that power can be both a blessing and a curse.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Dc Comics, Fiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2003

About the author

Will Pfeifer was born in 1967 in the town of Niles, Ohio. He attended Kent State University and graduated in 1989. He has resided in Rockford, Illinois since 1990, with his wife, Amy.

Pfeifer, along with his comic writing duties, is the assistant features editor at the Rockford Register Star. He also writes a weekly DVD column for the Sunday paper.

Reviews

[Richard Guion · Rating 4 out of 5]

I re-read not only this volume but the entire series in the original comic book monthly format. This series premiered in 2003 and lasted for 22 issues but if you have all of them, it makes for a great story. Many Silver Age fans remember Dial H for HERO, a series of short tales featuring young Robby Reed, who discovered a mysterious dial that would transform him into a variety of weird superheroes to save his small town in Colorado. Robby's adventures were the ultimate childhood wish fulfillment. What would happen if an adult had the dial and became a superhero?

Pfeifer's series is a set of short stories for the first 14 issues. In the first one, a young man named Jerry Feldon, a soda jerk going nowhere, find the dial while washing dishes. (Who lost it? A old lady in a senior citizen home who used it to transform herself into a young hero.)

Jerry transforms into a hero and discovers the joy of flight, super-strength, and the ego-boost that comes along with it. But everything goes wrong soon afterward. Jerry can't control his powers, he makes mistakes, even causes his sweetheart to get injured while foiling a robbery. He even tries to commit suicide in a glorious manner.

The artwork in the first year of the run is mostly by Kano. Kano's style and storytelling was perfect, since it required someone good at drawing everyday life and people mixed with the fantastic. The tone of the stories seemed very much in the vein of Will Eisner's Spirit. Some arcs were dark, others humorous. After Jerry's story concluded, the Dial bounces around to a variety of people:

An executive who becomes so addicted to the Dial that he loses his family and job.
A school girl who uses the Dial to become part of the in-crowd.

All of these tales are just superb. Brewing in the background as a sub-plot are glimpses of the adult Robby Reed, who is in prison and struggling to learn of the Dial's location.

[Lightwhisper · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very different vision about having powers and the lust it can change who you are. Dark, but new.

[Camilo Guerra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Geoff Johns en su tiempo, reto al que leyera el primer numero de este comic y no le gustara, el se lo compraria de su bolsillo.

Nadie pidio que le devolvieran el dinero.Yo tampoco.

La historia es muy silver age, cuando una persona se encuentra con el disco H E R O , el cual transforma al portador en un superheroe, con todo lo que implica, la liberación, el poder, la carga...oh la carga.

Es un comic muy simple y sencillo, agradable de leer.El arte de Kano es simple,oscuro y detallado.

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dial H for Hero was a Silver Age series about Robby Reed a teenage boy whose mysterious dial could transform him into different superheroes (dial the letter H ... E ... R... O...). In this one, the dial passes from hand to hand (Robby turns up later in the series) and to every user it's something special—a way to matter, to escape their boring lives, to impress people. It easily surpasses the 1980s and New 52 Dial H series. Unfortunately this is the only collection from the series.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent "off-the-beaten path" kind of superhero hero story. The Dial H concept has some strong runs including the China Mieville and Sam Humphries ones.

This book pulled of the rookie superhero angle better than Kick-Ass (without the realism). It starts as an anthology book of sorts with various people using the "dialer". Eventually, the original hero Robby Reed returns.

[Taye De · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, I really love the art of this book. This art... it's already enough for me to know the story of each character presented. The colors, the lines, the emotions presented on each character IMMACULATE. This is the first comic book, that made me feel so seen as someone having trouble with his worth as a person. I love it.

[Justin Decloux · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first arc is really fun, but the last two issues are typical anthology stories with okay punchlines.

I was hoping it would be craziness like the China Mieville run, but it was not to be the case.

[Ashcan F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Otro reboot que no se sostuvo en el tiempo pero que dio pie a grandes historias con el lienzo de DC.

[Ribrarian Not · Rating 4 out of 5]

Libro de historietas con ISBN propio.
Salió sin numeración pero llegaron a publicarse dos tomos.

[David Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would give a 3.5 if that were an option, but think it’s just shy of a 4 — surprisingly enjoyable overall, just a shame that the rest of the series was never collected

[Brian Rogers · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you're not familiar with the old Dial H for Hero comic it was a whimsy filled romp with kids with a magic dial that could turn them into random different super heroes for an hour. (The late 70's/early 80's version asked readers to submit their own heroes for our teen protagonists to turn into.) The 2003 reboot starts with a 20-something who repeatedly fails to save people until he ends up suicidal, moves to a businessman who becomes addicted to using the dial and loses his job and family, and the depressed teenager who shares the dial with her friends, upends her entire school and then loses it out the window of a moving car. Does this say whimsy to you? What the bloody hell is wrong with DC comics?

This was horrid. There's just no other way around it. As my friend Jim pointed out: The trouble is that saying "I think we should make it darker and edgier" is an easy way to sound clever and sophisticated. It takes a true genius to say "Let's recover the spirit of childlike wonder and delight."

[John Gentry · Rating 4 out of 5]

i remember h.e.r.o. from the days of wizard magazine. it was touted as an innovative new series that not only revamped the dial concept but did so in a catchy and well done way. personally I'm disappointed in the fact that I can only find one volume of this printed in trade form. its well worth the read, and the variety of storytelling that comes from new people running into the amulet/ dial/ artifact keeps you entertained. I give it five stars because I plan on going out and buying individual issues and that's not a common occurrence.

[Ange (Our Epic TBR List) Schmelzer · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was classic comic book with regular Joe's becoming heroes with a device that they find here or there which changes them into a different superhero each time they type in H-E-R-O. Except there's a hitch, the need to experience having superpowers begins to drain the holders until they lose everything they have in their real lives. Will the next person do better? Who knows? Who would read the next one?

[Anchorpete · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun little anthology type series, where we get to see what various people would do, if they had the ability to randomly turn into a super hero. Of course, it seems to cause my problems than it brings benefits. I don't know if I would spend money to get a book that is essentially "What happens to this person when they get super powers?" every month, but it was a nice find in the library.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really fun alternate take on what it means to have superpowers, set in the DC Universe. In this volume you get three vignettes on how different people cope with gaining superhuman abilities, and each one is enjoyable in its own way.

[Dony Grayman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Primer tomo (aunque sin numeración visible) de H.E.R.O. de Will Pfeifer, serie de la cual se publicaron dos tomos en castellano (uno más que en inglés) pero que nunca se recopiló en su totalidad en ningún idioma [CHECK].

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had fun

[Jdetrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad stab at this idea, but the stories (especially the first) drag on too long, it's full of unlikeable characters and the resolution to the first story is too pat and comes out of nowhere.

[Fugo Feedback · Rating 4 out of 5]

Por una vez estoy 100% de acuerdo con Geoff Johns: Esta serie no tiene desperdicio.

[La Revistería Comics · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poderes, habilidades, y un prólogo de Geoff Johns que convence hasta al más escéptico...

[Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished the first story arc, and it was better than any comic I've read recently. Wow.

[Mark Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent dark take on the Old Dial H for Hero concept.

[Variaciones Enrojo]

Edición española, tomo 1 (de 2). Introducción de Geoff Johns.