Dial H. #1 preview/discussion spoilers

[iduckles]

Just read this one for the second time, and I really enjoyed it. I was particularly impressed by the art. I found it to be an excellent fit with the story, particularly in the depiction of Chimney Boy. I also liked the drawing of what I assume will be the big bad (weird dude(?) in a suit behind glass). The story wasn't quite as out there and bizarre as I normally expect from Mieville, but since this is the first issue I imagine it needs to busy itself with setting up the premise. I hope future issues get stranger. Mieville is definitely capable of that and it seem that Santoluoco has the chops to follow him. I hope this series has some time to grow and develop.

[nosocialize100]

I simply loved this book. China is amazing. I'm surprised this story wasn't rebooted sooner. The dialogue is spot on too. I reviewed along with some pages here: http://www.adventuresinpoortaste.com...x-weekly-5212/

[Roland Gunner]

I liked how the bizarre heroes reflected the protagonist who was wallowing in misery (Captain Lachrymose), and slowly killing him self by unhealthy eating and chain smoking (Boy Chimney).

Great point! Mieville put really some nice touches in this issue. What got me was Boy Chimney's internal monologue. If you look at Spectre stories, the host is often portrayed as being trapped inside the Spectre. Here its much more fluid. The character's thoughts are constantly bleeding through into each other. This makes you wonder if Nelson is being impacted by his transformations?

I also liked Nelson's character much more in the full issue than the preview. At first he seemed like a total waste of a human being. Later we see that he's just a guy down on his luck. Nelson's still loyal, tough, and capable of being a hero underneath the burdens placed on him by life.

[nosocialize100]

I liked how the bizarre heroes reflected the protagonist who was wallowing in misery (Captain Lachrymose), and slowly killing him self by unhealthy eating and chain smoking (Boy Chimney).

Wow nice observation. Now that you say this I noticed that too.

[iduckles]

I liked how the bizarre heroes reflected the protagonist who was wallowing in misery (Captain Lachrymose), and slowly killing him self by unhealthy eating and chain smoking (Boy Chimney).

I also didn't pick up on this until reading this. It definitely deepens my appreciation for the story.

[Paladin King]

Definitely interesting.

Although it's true that we have average joes as main characters most of the time, we rarely have a fat and ugly guy as the protagonist, that's one of the things that intrigued me at first but now I see that the guy is pretty likable and actually wants to do good.

The creatures were really imaginative too, from Boy Chimney to Captain Lachrymose (Who is pure awesomeness) and their abilities are quite creative. The art captured all this perfectly too.

,

I was pleased to see Mieville go in this direction. It's a route he often takes in his fiction (the protagonist of Perdido Street Station was another overweight loser while the protagonist of the Scar was, well, kind of a bitch. Embassytown's protagonist, meanwhile, started out as a bit of a meddlesome know-it-all)

[Desaad]

I absolutely loved it. I see around the internet that it's not being met with rave reviews, and I can't help but be a bit perplexed; I suppose it wasn't as hugely game changing and bombastic as some expected it to be?

Okay, fair enough, but it was smart, layered, thoughtful, inventive, atmospheric and funny. It was absolutely everything I wanted out of it. There was absolutely nothing simple or staid about what was going on here; the characters were complex shades of grey, the transformations were both wonderfully creative and deeply rooted in the character, giving us a fairly reasonable taste of what the mechanism of transformation is, or at least some part of it.

I have a lot of confidence that this is going to build and build and build and turn out to be spectacular. Had Morrison's Action Comics issue not knocked me so thoroughly out of the park, this issue would have been my personal choice for pick of the week.

[FIFTY-TWO (52)]

I just love Boy Chimney. I couldn't stop laughing at the size changing stove top hat.

[HeroxMatt2.0]

This issue didn't disappoint. Very interested in how things go from here.

What did everyone think about our leading man's qualities? While he doesn't have the "physical" aspect of many alter-ego/superheroes, he does seem to have redeeming heroic traits. He was a bit annoying at the beginning, but I think he's a genuine, good guy. Beneath the fat.

[ArnoldoAAD]

I think this was my second favorite book this week after Swamp Thing, making Animal Man the 3rd

its just brilliant, really well done
I love both Boy Chimney and Captain Lachrymose, the main character is very interesting
the mystery behind all is intriguing, i want to know and see more of all of this, it just connects so well

definitely worth buying

[DarkKnghtJared]

Not entirely sold on it yet, but not a bad first issue.

[HeroxMatt2.0]

Anything with an emo superhero gets my vote.

[Dr. Hurt]

I was confused by Chimney boy's talking and the fat guy talking while being in him or something. Was it meant to be incomprehensible nonsense?

Also, who is the emo superhero? Someone else? The guy the mob boss hired?

[Batman and Charles]

I really liked this. I like that Nelson isn't the typical handsome guy, I really enjoyed the Boy Chimney and Captain Lachrymose pages, thought they were really well-done. Another page I thought was awesome was the one where Nelson was trying to remember what he had dialed, it was both really well-written and illustrated/designed. It's little details like that that make a book great.

Dr. Hurt, the emo superhero was the second guy Nelson turned into.

[Desaad]

I was confused by Chimney boy's talking and the fat guy talking while being in him or something. Was it meant to be incomprehensible nonsense?

No, it was pretty comprehensible.

Also, who is the emo superhero? Someone else? The guy the mob boss hired?

?

The Dial turns 'the fat guy' into different super heroes when he dials "HERO". First Boy Chimney, then Captain Lachrymose. The 'guy' the mob boss hired was the old woman, I think, who had 'nothing inside of her'.