Dial "H" for Hero

[kybearfuzz]

I was shopping at one of the local comic book shops and found several issues of "Adventure Comics" where they were running the "Dial 'H' for Hero" series. I remember reading these books when I was a kid. I loved the idea, where two teenage kids found magical dials that allowed them to transform into new superheroes each time for one hour. The real fun of the series was that the readers sent in their superhero and/or villain ideas, which were incorporated into the storyline. The prize for getting your hero picked was a "I Dialed H for Hero" tee-shirt sent to you.

I enjoyed the stories and artwork, especially the George Perez covers for some of them. Of course, I had sent ideas in several times when the series was running. At 8 years old, the idea of seeing my hero in print was a thrilling idea. I would grab the next issue and look for my hero to appear, not realizing the current issue was in design and print before I even sent my idea off. I can only imagine how flooded DC Comics had gotten at the time with submissions. My heroes never appeared and I never got the vaunted tee-shirt. I really wish I had kept copies of my heroes as I don't recall any of them, but I think this series was probably what started me creating heroes of my own for the fun of it. Too bad the series isn't still about, I think I could snag that shirt now :)

Comments

[jprtoronto.livejournal.com]

I have the full Adventure run of that as well -- still kept them and still read them from time to time.

[davemassive.livejournal.com]

You may want to see if you can find the recent run of H.E.R.O., which started in 2003, and has ties to this storyline as well. I -believe- the run has ended but got good marks, as I recall.

Wikipedia is your almighty resource: H.E.R.O.

[hylandr.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed that title. (There was TPB of the first 6 issues -- H.E.R.O.: Powers and Abilities.) It actually stemmed from the original Dial H series which ran in House of Mystery involving a single dial with alien letters and the teen Robby Reed. The secondary H-Dialers (Chris and Vicki) have appeared in Teen Titans on and off with Chris joining in on a few adventures and no longer needing the dial after all this time. (Tho it seems his powers aren't always that controlable.) Then a character Hero (his name, not a code name) got hold of a dial in Superboy and the Ravers. This character ended up being gay and I think was last seen in a story in a Teen Titans annual about Titans West years ago.

(Yes, I loved the whole Dial H thing too, in case you haven't guessed.)