Wednesday's Finest: 'Heroes for Hire' #1 (Marvel)

By Don M. Ventura

“Hello hero. This is Control. Are you for hire tonight?”

This opening request thrusts the heroes in Heroes for Hire into action. Writing team Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, most recently known for their fresh spin on the galactic Marvel properties Nova and the Guardians of the Galaxy, are onto something both gritty and sci-fi with this new title.

In the book, Misty Knight hires available heroes to jump into action immediately. From the looks of it, her payment either comes in the form of money or leads on cases of which the heroes are working.

Abnett and Lanning are masters of the art form. The book opens fast and goes and goes, with little stopping but plenty of exposition. It unfolds like a great action movie but with the dialogue and intrigue that usually takes a backseat to flashes and sounds. The story involves the heroes, Falcon, then Black Widow, then Moon Knight, and finally Elektra as they all take a part in thwarting a plot to synthesize an Atlantean drug called Hook that is especially addictive to humans.

Misty Knight works as an Oracle-type who hires and communicates with the heroes, providing intelligence as they provide their unique assistance in their brief war on drugs. The book ends with a nice shock ending in which we learn what classic villain is really pulling the strings behind the newly revived Heroes for Hire.

Walker’s pencils are especially nice on the book. The characters are flying, jumping, and running across the panels as they uncover more and more of the mystery behind Hook. The opening two page splash page with Falcon flying across Newark is gorgeous, as are all of his illustrations of the book’s four heroes in action.

I was excited for this book when it was first announced because it takes those characters who can’t seem to sustain a long run on an ongoing title and throws them together into one book where they work well. Like Secret Avengers, with the right writing team, these C-list characters are given the treatment they deserve. Because they are also under-the-radar characters, they are not sacrosanct and therefore their fates are not untouchable.

Heroes for Hire shows a lot of promise based on this series opener. The ending was an interesting surprise. It will be interesting to see how long the heroes run missions for their mystery benefactor and how they will proceed without him providing intel and calling the shots.

Finally, I love the series’ catchy catchphrase (“Hello hero…”) that is instantly reminiscent Mission: Impossible ’s iconic “Your mission, should you decide to accept it.” Where can I get a T-shirt?