Heroes For Hire #4

Reviewed by Ismael Samayoa
January 27, 2007

Author: James Palmiotti Artist: William Tucci Publisher: Marvel Comics Review Rating: Recommended

From the epic storyline of Marvel’s Civil War, Heroes For Hire is a spin-off that is catching the eyes of new and old comic book fans alike. The comic puts together a band of neglected characters and makes them entertaining enough to even surpass my interest in the Civil War storyline. The comic is called Heroes For Hire, a title Marvel has already used twice in the past, but third time’s definitely the charm with this series. The team is led by cyber-armed beauty Misty Knight, and other characters, such as samurai dream girl Colleen Wing, Spiderman’s ex-lover Black Cat, and master of Kung Fu Shang Chi cover an interesting range of characters from Marvel’s past.  There’s even a new hero, Tarantula, with blades on her wrists and toes, making this unknown hero down right deadly.

Issue 4 puts us in the middle of a storyline that has our heroes investigating The Corporation, an organization that has been transplanting Skrull organs into super villains allowing them to shape shift at will. To make things interesting, The Corporation sends villains out to assassinate each hero.

What I love about Gray and Palmiotti’s writing is that they have their own fresh perspective, unlike many other writers today. Their writing is one part 70’s style cop movie, one part odd ball mafia and villains, with a dash of witty one-liners that keep you giggling all through the comic.  With the amazing work of Francis Portela and Billy Tucci as the artists, and Tom Palmer and Terry Pallot as inkers, Heroes For Hire is already off to a good start. The book is filled with action shots that are as cool as they are gorgeous. The artists provide scenarios that are off beat and fun to see, and they sure know how draw the ladies! They draw the female charters with grace, strength, and give the women in the comic book an intense sense of confidence.  Usually the male superheroes stand out alone when it comes to being a character of strength, but in Heroes For Hire, the women do too.

I give Heroes For Hire a high Evolution Factor.  This is the first time I have read this title and I can’t help but want to read what happens next. It says something about the writers of a comic book when they can take characters that were considered a joke from years of neglect, and make them fresh and interesting for readers again. So in a nut shell, read Heroes For Hire and see for yourself what I’ve been raving about.