Product Description: As Civil War rages throughout the Marvel Universe, an unlikely group of heroes have gathered together to hunt down and capture criminals who refuse to sign the Registration Act. In response to the overwhelming number of masked fugitives on the loose, Misty Knight and Colleen Wing use their bail-bonds skills, underworld connections and government funding to lead an all-new Heroes for Hire into battle. Action, adventure, crime, beautiful women and Kung Fu chaos come together in this explosive new saga from writers Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti, with art by Billy Tucci! Featuring Black Cat; Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu; Paladin; Misty Knight; Colleen Wing; and the all-new Tarantula. Collects Heroes for Hire #1-5.
what is this I only got this cause I was picking up all the Civil War books. What you have is a bunch of characters you've never heard of, don't care about, and that are uninteresting. Pass on this one.
Fun...But Not Great Heroes for Hire is certainly a light, enjoyable superhero read - lots of action, some witty banter, decent art. Those looking for a comic that will knock your socks of, though, ought to look elsewhere.
Heroes for Hire has had a fiew incarnations in the past - previously, Luke Cage (AKA Power Man) had been "Luke Cage: Hero for Hire." Later, he and Iron Fist combined forces to form the superhero team of Heroes for Hire - the name and purpose is self-explanatory. The team re-emerged in he late 1990s under a short-lived title of the same name. In this more recent incarnation, "Heroes For Hire" has revamped itself as a superhero bounty-hunting team made up of some little-known/little-remembered characters from the 1970s (ex-cop Misty Knight, urban samurai Colleen Wing, and Master of Kung Fu Shang-Chi, and the oddball bug-magnet Humbug) with newcomer Tarantula and the inimitable Black Cat, among others.
This title starts out as a Civil War tie-in, as the group is hired by Tony Stark (AKA Iron Man) to help bring in villains who have refused to register their identities under the new superhero legislation. Misty and Colleen, with their long history, form the core of the group, and before long they're pulling sting operations and dealing with the usual bad guy issues - until they come upon a lab that is full of altered Skrull organs (for those new to the Marvel Universe, Skrulls are green, shape-shifting, imperialist aliens) and one of their enemies, Ricadonna, escapes from Sing-Sing. There's also an entertaining run-in with Marvel's formerly most-wanted fugitive, Captain America.
What's good about this comic? First, the covers - penciled by Bill Tucci of "Shi" fame. Second, the interior art - while not jaw-dropping - is well done and certainly up to the usual Marvel standard. I also enjoyed the characters - especially the fact that a number of them haven't really been in comics for some years. Good to have them back.
What's bad about this comic? Unfortunately, the writing. I hate to say it, but while there are some good lines here and there, much of the dialogue and banter is not very interesting. When characters start debating the pros and cons of the new Superhero Registration Act, its hard to find it believable at all - they sometimes get on "political" high-horses and just come off as wooden instead of impassioned. Also, there are points where the dialogue and the art don't seem to mesh - panels in a couple of spots become confusing, and it seems as though either the artist or the writer didn't communicate too clearly what they wanted in the script. Now, don't get me wrong here - I'll probably read more Heroes for Hire, and it is a fun comic. However, don't expect too much from it.
Lame The writing record of veteran inker Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray is spotty at best. While they've crafted a brilliant re-launch of DC's Jonah Hex, everything the two have teamed up on has come off as just plain lame thanks to atrocious dialogue and a hokey story; and Heroes for Hire is no different. No, even though it says Heroes for Hire, don't expect any Luke Cage or Iron Fist, but instead we get a story to tie-in to Marvel's Civil War event involving a new team featuring the Black Cat, Misty Knight, and Shang-Chi: Master of Kung-Fu among others. The story, if you want to call it a story, is so mind numbingly dull and brainless that you'll swear it's the mid-90's all over again. The only thing that saves Heroes for Hire from burning in the scrap heap is the art by Billy Tucci, which is solid enough. That being said, this Civil War tie-in is definitely not worth your time, but if for some reason you feel that you need to own every Civil War tie-in there is, save this one for last.
I really liked the hokiness of it. I really like Bendis and he knows what he's doing. It's so silly to ask for realism in Superhero comics. Doesn't anyone take English class anymore? Fiction is meant to be fictitious. Why would you want realism? They are superheros. The don't exist. It's not about being realistic. It's about being un-realistic. Fiction is just that... fictitious. He knows he's bringing back hokey characters... that is the whole point. I can't stand the fanboys flaming all the Civil War stuff. It's a comic book. Did you expect a high literary series? Did you expect the Scarlet Letter? Huck Finn? It's a comic and it's much better than grumpy fanboys say it is. You just can't satisfy weirdo fanboys I guess. One star reviews are entirely childish.
awful. just...awful. I can't believe I got suckered into buying this. I was high on Civil War hype. This is the juvenile underbelly of the Marvel Universe. The characters are the kind of 5th string 70's and 80's recylce jobs that Bendis seems to get off on bringing back around, except they are so poorly written, plotted, and pencilled that it boggles the mind. The appeal of rejuvenated old characters like Colleen Wing and Misty Knight at first blush seems natural enough. Utilized by a writer of sufficient grittiness and low-down like Bendis, Rucka, or Ennis, these characters could have brought a more realistic aspect to the Marvel U. Instead, this immature and amateurish writer treats us to:
1. Bad "street talk." Every character refers to every other character as "my sister" or "homegirl" or something just as groan inducing. Misty Knight is written like a white guy's idea of what 'Lil Kim would sound like if she had super powers.
2. Bad "chop-socky" dialogue. More cardboard characters spouting nonsense. Shang-Chi, the "Master of Kung-Fu" is given lines that might as well begin with the phrase "Lisen, Grasshoper..." ...I wouldn't have been surprised by seeing some kind of "wax on, wax off" scene... to quote: "My superior attack is but a reaction to your maladjusted aggression. I am more than willing to put aside this folly and speak as men do."
3. A plot with as many holes in it as these poorly drawn super heroines' costumes. The entire plot hinges on a plan by super criminals to implant Skrull organs into their bodies in order to aquire shape-shifting powers. A quote (as delivered by the "street-wise" Misty Knight): "You put a Skrull kidney (or whatever) into a villain...presto, shape-shifting villian."
4. The lamest, most washed up supporting characters and villains ever assembled in one book: Humbug, Orca (a giant guy with the super powers of...a killer whale!!), Palladin, and some they cooked up just for this book apparently-- an "arch-nemesis" for Humbug (a guy who's super power is telepathically commanding insects)..."The Exterminator."
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