I remember looking at issues of Adventure Comics that featured Dial "H" For Hero and considering whether I should submit a hero to DC Comics for consideration. Mainly I wanted to see one of my made up characters drawn by George Perez on the cover! Alas, I never did, I guess I didn't want to risk signing over a potential million dollar concept to DC! I do wonder how many of the heroes were actually created by fans and how many came from within the DC offices.
Thank you to comics' historian and Patron of this blog, Marc Tyler Nobleman, for suggesting this team-up!
23 comments:
Number? please. I'm sorry but that party is unlisted.
Is that other kid supposed to be Robby Reed?
When was "Dial 'H' for 'Hero' " a TV cartoon?
Sockamagee!
It's from Robby's appearance in the Teen Titans Go comic.
I also wanted to submit a hero for Dial "H," but I wasn't quite creative yet to come up with much. The one hero I did come up with, Electrycyty Man, I never got around to submitting (though I did find my notes on the character much later and had a friend, Bill Jackson, draw a cool picture).
I do recall that the creators of each new hero in the stories was credited in the panel where they first appeared. One of the heroes, in fact, was submitted by Harlan Ellison ("yes, that Harlan Ellison!"). I don't know about the first run of stories, but at least with the second run (with the two kids) every hero was created by a fan. I think that the second run may also have taken villains.
One one occasion during that second run, the boy half of the team noticed that the four-letter dial for HERO could also be used to spell HORROR, and tried it out, become a monster for his teammate to deal with. I don't recall whether that was a fan suggestion, but it was an interesting twist.
It would be interesting if DC were to assign an Earth number to a world where all of the Dial H heroes ever created exist side by side.
I can vouch that four came from me: one heroine (Alchemiss, Adventure #481), two villains (the Games-Master, #483, and the Abyss, #490 and revived in the New 52 'Dial H' series), and one hero (Earthman, New Adventures of Superboy #34-35).
Cool, I remember the Games-Master.
I checked to see if DHFH was in TPB format; no such luck. I didn't think so.
I did the same earlier this week for The Inferior Five, and that time I was surprised to find that it hadn't been done. I'd think that their entire run in Showcase and their self-titled series in the 60s could be pulled together in a single volume. And I'd buy it in a heartbeat.
(And I'm still hoping to one day see the I5 vs. Fin Fang Foom!)
@Bob G: Ah, yes, I remember the second run of Dial "H" For Hero well, I followed it religiously for a while (I read the issue with Abyss and was especially fond of it, thanks Bob B!). I'm not sure it even occurred to me to submit a character, though. Maybe it's just as well that I didn't, for the reason Ross suggested! BTW IIRC the kids' names were Chris King and Vicki Grant.
Although, as I recall this was a time when my comic book purchases were dictated by whatever happened to be available at local convenience stores, and in their infinite wisdom they stopped selling it in the middle of a cliffhanger! However, I did later get some closure thanks to DC Who's Who, so I'm good now.
Finally, it occurs to me that this is a team-up that could conceivably happens for reals, since both characters are ultimately owned by Warner Bros.!
I love this so very much! I’ve wanted this ever since the first Ben 10 episode
Hey DAVITICUS, until my family moved to the suburbs of Long Island in '83, I was at the mercy of the inconsistent news/magazine racks in my neighborhood in East NY Brooklyn. I thought it was normal to miss issues or never see the continuation of multiple part sagas!! Ha! Imagine my delight in discovering specialty comic shops!
Yeah and when they were hungry, either became Captain O R E O.
@Hungry Hungry Horsefeathers: XD
I usually just dial H-for-Hydrox. ;-D
@Bob G.: There was a Showcase Presents b&w TPB of the original 1960s Dial H for Hero series from House of Mystery, and two color collections of the New 52 Dial H by China Mieville. But the '80s series, the one where the readers created the heroes and villains, hasn't been collected.
@BigMike20X6: Which version, the original from 2005, or the present one?; also would Benjy Grimm (Fred and Barney meets the Thing) fit as a companion?
I've been wonder-ring about that myself.
This is another one of those covers that just look like the elements were designed to go together. Bravo.
Don't forget that at least at times you could "Dial V for Villain"!
Good thing it's not being done today. You know how slow dial-up has become.
"Dial S-For-Soap!" starring Ray Milland and Rosemary DeCamp (of Boraxo fame).
Either Chthulu got a bad case of sunburn. Or Patrick Star has become the new Evil Star!
How about Robby Reed or Chris King meeting Thunderbunny in...
"Dial H-For-Hare!"
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