If you’ve been reading Dial H, you already know it’s a weird book. It’s a good thing for readers to understand from the outset because writer China Mieville plunges his readers straight into the weirdness in issue #3. Longtime readers of the Dial H property will have an advantage over those who are just learning the ropes; however, it still takes until the last few pages for Mieville’s seemingly disparate clues to coalesce into something that makes sense. That may sound frustrating, but it actually continues the totally unique vibe of the series nicely.
If you told me that a series about a telephone engineer and transdimensional combat would be on my pull list, I’d probably tell you to lay off the intoxicants. Here we are at Dial H #3, though, and I find myself being won over every month by the title’s oddness and depth. I’ll admit that it’s initially disconcerting to spend so much of the book wondering what the hell is going on and where things are leading, but the payoff is strong enough that it’s all worth it in the end. Furthermore, the sense of confusion that results from Mieville’s style of presentation sets the perfect tone for his main character’s plight. Perhaps most important is that the endpoint for this story is terrifically compelling.
Artist Mateus Santolouco is strong yet again in this week’s offering. His storytelling is once again rock solid, but what caught my attention in this book was Santoluoco’s regard for materials and their properties. Textures are explained well, and the characteristics of the (frequently exotic) substances depicted in the story look realistic. The foundation provided by Santolouco’s pencils and inks is skillfully brought to life by the coloring team of Tanya and Richard Horie. Sudden changes in location, time, or even dimension are clearly delineated by the colors used, affording each sequence a unique personality.
We’re still just beginning to understand the scope of this story, but there’s enough here to feel the excitement of the developments to come. At the same time, I’m certain that some readers will grow impatient for the payoff before it arrives and that others will be put off by the Morrison-like eschewal of comic clichés. Further, I would highly encourage new readers to pick up copies of issues 1 and 2, as they will be totally lost without those introductory chapters. Those caveats aside, though, I recommend that open-minded readers give this series a try. It really is a cure for comic fans who don’t want to give up on the superhero genre but are tired of superhero tropes.
Poet is a freelance writer, mid-core gamer, and frequent IGN contributor. Follow Poet on Twitter, or post a message on his IGN profile.
Source : ign[dot]com
