If you’re anything like me, the shelves holding your books, comics, DVDs and CD’s are sagging under the weight of your obsession. I regularly loan out entire short boxes of material simply to keep the shelves from cracking and books from piling on the floors. This is one reason I must have comics with utility: multifunctional, economic and most importantly, good. Hench is one such book.

I first bought Hench on the strength of author Adam Beechen’s personality. He’s a charming fellow who has been writing for DC recently, but I’m one who likes to see early work so I can better appreciate the development of talent, perhaps selfishly hoping to find that Element X that will rocket me to stardom too. Even if that never occurs it leads to some interesting finds.

Hench tells the story of a henchman, the unsung heroes of the world of villainy, named Mike Fulton, an injured ex-football player who’s drawn into henching by the excitement, simplicity and potential profit. Beechen immediately sets up a recognizable superhuman tableau, consisting of both hero and villain with some recognizable archetypes and tantalizing novelties. The way Fulton’s henching affects his personal life are sympathetic in the extreme and it becomes more and more difficult to begrudge the man for taking up the life, however poorly justified it may be. At the end of the day some money changes hands but he convinces himself that no one is really getting hurt, he’s just doing what he has to do to feed his family. The results are mixed, but the particulars you’ll have to see for yourself.

And seeing this books is a treat all its own thanks to Manny Bello. Never have characters that normally hover in the background looked so good. Every face is unique and even with the ever-changing costumes required by each villain you can easily keep track of the principle players. Bello utilizes another trick that novice readers will gloss over while veterans will squeal. Part of the inspiration for this book was wondering what the lives of guys caught “on screen” by certain inspiring images but who have never had their stories told. To remedy this, Bello recreates some of the most powerful and enduring covers seen in the history of comics but now the story of those others is complete and fully imagined.

This book is an affordable alternative to owning any of the issues paid homage within and is at the same time a complete story all its own worth reading regardless. Beechen and Bello have continued their collaboration with Dugout which I can’t wait to get my hands on but in the meantime I’ll be rereading Hench. At least until I get called in for the next big score, it’ll be the one then I’m out, I swear…

Originally posted at Going Train

Vital Stats:

Author: Adam Beechen

Artist: Manny Bello

Published by AiT/Planet Lar

Price:$12.95

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