Two-in-One Review: Super Hero Happy Hour Visit the bar where everybody knows your name, but not necessarily your secret identity, with Super Hero Happy Hour. Randy: Being a super-hero is a stressful job, so it makes sense that a few of them would hit the bars after their rounds and tie one on. Dan Taylor and Chris Fason have decided to give us an inevitably humorous look at the after-work world of super-heroes. Don: "Being a super-hero is a stressful job"?!? Randy... Randy! Tying that beach towel around your neck will not enable you to fly. Hmm, Randy's stopped taking his medication, so it would seem. Anyhoo, the creators behind this small-press book offer a light, fun read, and they do so in a surprisingly unconventional visual style. Super Hero Happy Hour #1 published by Geekpunk written by Dan Taylor illustrated by Chris Fason & Avian Bakotich Don: The Hideout Bar & Grill is a quiet little bar where hard-working folks can get away from it all for a bit... well, hard-working super-folks, anyway. They enjoy a couple of belts, compare notes and have a few laughs... and they gossip like old women in a hair salon. Randy: As time has gone on, we've started to see more and more of super-heroes' private lives, so it seems only natural to examine them in a setting that plenty of normal working joes frequent: a bar. It also seems natural, just from the dichotomy between the outlandish nature of super-heroes and the mundane nature of bars, that the book would be a comedy. Fason and Taylor use this concept as a vehicle for a variety of gags, ranging from mildly funny to occasionally side-splitting. Don: The concept behind Super Hero Happy Hour is far from a new one. We saw a super-hero bar in Kurt Busiek's Astro City, and recently, Ron Zimmerman introduced a Manhattan watering hole where the villains get together. Mind you, it's not as though the idea's been done to death either. This book does a nice job of carrying on the relatively new tradition of bringing a balance betwen wonder and the everyday to the super-hero genre. Randy: This is your average "first five minutes of Cheers" type of story, which means that it is largely "someone enters, banter begins. Someone else enters." This does get a little repetitive, but what makes the story work is the dialogue, which is funny and clever, trodding on territory familiar to those who read The Tick and other super-hero parody but also managing to serve up plenty of new jokes. "Drain the sidekick" is a particularly funny phrase to me, and the exchange where the heroes trade arch-enemies like baseball cards was quite fun as well. In terms of plot, the story is more like a Seinfeld episode, serving largely as a vehicle for jokes, but at least they're good jokes. Don: Yes, it is like a Seinfeld episode, in that there's no actual plot. That's the book's weakness... well, it is if the creators want to go anywhere with the idea. For now, though, the super-hero satire holds up pretty well. In the wake of the inundation of Spider-Man merchandise connected to the hit movie, it was hilarious to see the Punisher knockoff complaining about the quality of his action figure. Randy: This book is graced by a cover from Scott Morse, and it's clear that Chris Fason has been heavily influenced by Morse's style. The simple linework and exaggerated figures are reminiscent of Morse and make for perfectly clear storytelling, although a little more detail in the backgrounds would have helped with the sense of place at times. Fason's style is quirky, though, and sets the humorous tone of the issue well without delving into over-the-top territory. Don: The art was a pleasant surprise. The premise and characters are hardly what one expects from a small-press book; I usually expect and enjoy something a bit more experimental or less mainstream for comics when it comes to subject matter. But the art is definitely quirky and unconventional. The Morse influence is undeniable, but I see some Marc Hempel in there as well. The art is inky, but the dark visuals never overwhelm the lighter tone of the script. Randy: Closing out the book we have a really neat idea, a real "bar trick" illustrated by Avian Bakotich. I'm fascinated by these kinds of things, and the "how do you get a cherry into a martini glass without touching the cherry or the glass?" was a fun one-page bit to end the issue on a high note. Don: These creators have a good sense of humor, and I'm not just talking about the gags in the script. The "letters pages" include rejection letters (but encouraging) words from a couple of comics publishers, as well as some notes from other comics pros. This is clearly a labor of love. As is the case with many small-press books, it's a little pricey, but if you're a fan of independent comics work, this will be up your alley. For more information on Super Hero Happy Hour, visit http://www.geekpunk.com. Email Randy and Don comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board.