Several chapters in, I figured out I was missing the point of this. It was apparently meant to kick-start a dozen different series for Dark Horse. But the quality of the individual stories was highly variable (from ugh to meh to hmm). And the framing story was impossible to crack. ( )

Didn't know Dark Horse had their own superhero universe? Well, that's understandable, it didn't last very long and there's not much to write home about.

Produced at the height of the early 90s comic book, Dark Horse Heroes is symptomatic of everything that was going wrong in the industry at the time. It's essentially an overextended crossover that attempts to introduce an entire universe of characters in one go, with the result that few of them are developed beyond their basic concept.

The book's more interested in ridiculously long fight scenes, poorly drawn angst, urban decay and machismo so butch it's basically a self-parody (more than one male character is dressed in what amounts to bondage gear).

There are a few interesting ideas here but they don't get any space, and some of the art is quite striking if uneven. But I really am looking for nice things to say.

Should be of no interest to anyone other than those interested in seeing how overinflated the superhero comic-book market was back in the day. ( )

Not bad, not bad. I've never read too much of the Dark Horse superhero comics and now there's a few I might track down. Much of the artwork is wonderful. The stories aren't bad. ( )