The world of Super Corporate Heroes isn’t your typical superhero world. It tows the line between the average superhero world and our own world which makes the commentary about both interesting. Image this if you will, all vigilantes work for and are licensed by Superhero, Inc. which is a private company that regulates and payrolls superheroes. Here’s the thing about that though… they’ll only save you if you have the money. Meaning as our first chapter of the story points out; if you’re hanging from the ledge of a building on fire then you must agree to their terms of being rescued and pay them on site. That’s how the story opens and it’s the perfect introduction to the world.
The story covers a lot of possibilities of this system, a system that has shrunk the police force and private security force to the point of skin and bones. You buy Superhero, Inc. insurance for your building, your school and if you don’t then they got you by the balls when you’re in danger.
The story also looks at how well-known characters would work in this system. You have your Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman archetypes along with a pretty amusing Spider-Man archetype as well. They’re homages and very good ones at that since they don’t look or act like their “big two” counterparts.
For instance American Icon is the Superman archetype and he looks a lot like Elvis and acts a lot like a rock star (so Elvis again?). He has maternity cases, rape charges and a slew of other things against him making him the most unliked piece of shit in the universe, but he keeps his job because he draws the people in. It reminded me a lot of sports personalities.
In the case of the Wonder Woman archetype the creators address the problem of women being paid less to do more in the workplace. I was very impressed by this conversation and the fact that it was being brought up in a superhero comic book. It was my favorite commentary of the story.
The Spider-Man archetype was the funniest part of the story. His webs come out of his butt and everyone gets really grossed out by this and their responses are quite funny.
Now while there’s only one subject to the story and that’s essentially paid superheroes, the writers Suzy Dias and Miguel Guerra manage to tackle the subject from every angle. It’s not like reading the same chunk of story only we’re now following this superhero archetype instead of that one. That keeps the story interesting throughout the entire volume and a real treat to read.
The dialogue is never dull and comes across very realistic. If you recall in the beginning I said it tows the line between our world and fiction and that comes not just from the situations, but how the characters handle them. What they say sounds like the most appropriate thing to say in the situation making for some great conversations.
The art definitely favors more of 90s era of style with the beefcake heroes, but it really works in favor of the story. When there’s action it’s easy to follow and very dynamic; when there’s a conversation it’s not distracting and yet adds to the scene keeping it from being dull to look at. What’s really impressive about the art is the amount of reoccurring characters it manages to cover. I imagine this comic was drawn over a larger period of time so the fact that Guerra kept each character consistent in their look and design is impressive. The coloring is good. It’s a little flat at times and I think it could have been more vibrant to add to the story, but it doesn’t detract from the story either.
Anymore it’s really hard for me to get into any superhero title. There’s just so much of it that it’s pretty common, but with Super Corporate Heroes I found that the story was easy to get into and enjoy. In fact I wanted to keep reading more.
Score: 4/5
Writers: Suzy Dias & Miguel Guerra Artist: Miguel Guerra Letterer: Suzy Dias Publisher: 7 Robots Price: $9.99 Website