Written by Suzy Dias & Miguel Guerra
Art by Miguel Guerra
Letters by Suzy Dias
Published by 7 Robots
“Jackie Chan is to Bruce Lee as Super Corporate Heroes is to Alan Moore’s Watchmen.” This is a quote from the back of Super Corporate Heroes Vol.1. While I agree with it to some extent, Super Corporate Heroes is definitely a deconstruction of the modern day superhero; I also disagree because the tone isn’t even remotely as dark as Watchmen. SCH is a tale about what happens when our modern day heroes become sick of just scratching by in life as their only income comes from whatever job their alter-ego makes in life. (Clark Kent couldn’t have been making humongous paychecks just being a reporter! Not everyone is Bruce Wayne.) They decide to capitalize (literally) on the fact that people need to be saved. So they start Superhero Inc., a money-grubbing insurance company that charges outrageous rates for people just to be saved by their top of the line heroes.
As much as this is a deconstruction of the modern hero, it’s also a lot of fun. Whether it’s watching people become utterly disgusted by Spinlar’s…unsavory ability to secrete spider webs out his butt or the legal jargon that you would never in a million years associate with superheroing, this book has a serious tone but is great at never taking itself too seriously. Even amidst all the fun, this book is definitely a reflection of our modern day society. Dias and Guerra managed to sprinkle in quotes from recent political figures (I won’t spoil which ones!) and even reflects some of the recent controversy regarding our country’s recent healthcare reform. This is a brilliant series that has a little of everything that I think anyone can appreciate and a big part of that is appreciating the subtle nods to things going on in our culture today. I also loved that between each issue, the next one is set up with an article from either a newspaper or a magazine that gives you a little back story on what you’re about to read. Never once in this totally new, unique universe did I feel like I didn’t know exactly what was going on.
Miguel Guerra’s art in SCH is top notch. I love seeing new superheroes and an artist’s take on them. It’s a lot of fun seeing new powers, new costumes, and character designs for this series, and there’s plenty of each to go around! It would’ve been really easy to phone this one in and make the numerous amounts of heroes in a really generic style, but Guerra definitely didn’t take the easy way out. Each hero feels unique and different; not only in the writing, but in the way they look as well. Not only that, but it’s obvious he pays attention to every little detail; whether it be the shadows on someone’s face or the cobblestones in a rooftop, this book is absolutely gorgeous.
This is definitely a series worth checking out if you’re a fan of superhero books. This is an extremely unique take on capes that manages to be a reflection on modern society as well. The plot is absolutely brilliant and the art stays on par with it throughout. I love seeing creators take an original approach towards a genre that I’ve loved my whole life and books like SCH is the epitome of that. It has humor, action, real life struggle, and even manages to be a social dialogue along with all of that. Simply put, go to www.7robots.com and figure how you can get in on this amazing tale!
4 out of 5 nerds
Irwin Fletcher
I'm an LA journalist who really lives for his profession. I have also published work as Jane Doe in various mags and newspapers across the globe. I normally write articles that can cause trouble but now I write for FTN because Nerds are never angry, so I feel safe.
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