This story about wish fulfillment versus responsibility for one's own life continues to entertain and impress with its balance between the realism of the everyday and wonder of the super-hero genre. There's a lighter tone at play, chiefly in the art, but it lulls the reader into something of a false sense of security. Pfeifer's grounded script and characters are easy to relate to, and in witnessing the main character's failures, we can see a better path for ourselves.
Jerry is horrified by his disastrous encounter with a drug dealer whom he injured critically, and he returns home, determined to have nothing more to do with the H-Dial. As he tries to settle back into his regular life, though, he finds himself turning to the dial for strength again -- this time, in order to summon up the courage to ask out Molly. They arrange to go out after work that night, but something happens at the ice-cream parlor that leads to what Jerry believes is his ultimate sin.
Kano's artowkr here strikes me as something of a cross between the styles of Dev (Young Heroes in Love) Madan and Peter (JSA, Starman) Snejbjerg. The book doesn't seem quite as dark as it did in the first two issues. Don't get me wrong... there are some scenes that colorist Dave Stewart dreanched deep, moody blues and muted greens. But that slight touch of lightness grants the traumatic climax of this issue a greater degree of impact, and the lightness speaks to the sense of wonder that contrasts with the more realistic elements as well.
John Van Fleet has been doing an amazing job with the covers for this series, and the cover for this issue is his best yet. It sums up the turning point in this issue perfectly, but it doesn't give too much away either. Van Fleet also captures the delicate balance between the magic of super-heroes and the more mature side of the series wonderfully.
The most unexpected moment in the story comes when we realize who had the dial before Jerry. Pfeifer hinted at it before, but given the character's age, I thought perhaps that was a bit of a red herring. Not so, apparently, and somehow, this elderly lady brings a tone of foreboding and silliness all at once. I think she was thrown in there for those of us who have read previous H-Dial stories, and expected someone like Vicki Grant or Hero from Superboy & the Ravers to turn up here. There's a bit of an air of mystery to the old lady as well, and I hope we learn more about her in future issues.
When it comes to Jerry's story, Pfeifer really doesn't tell the reader anything s/he didn't learn in the previous two issues, but he does lead Jerry to a significant turning point, one that has a greater impact that what we saw at the end of the previous chapter of this story arc. Jerry's inexperience hasn't just had dire consequences, but has impacted his own life. He finally learns that the dial isn't a magic solution to his problems, that it's just making them worse. The next and final step in Jerry's learning process is that he's responsible for his own messes, and instead of providing easy solutions, the dial simply exacerbates his mistakes. But I wonder if he'll use the lesson as a means to improve his life, or as a final excuse to give up the ultimate responsibility.
