Dial H #4

Has Nelson chosen the name "Rotaryman" as his base persona?

All hell was breaking loose at the end of last issue when Ex Nihilo and The Squid had summoned some Great Old One looking thing named Abyss out of The Void before Manteau and Baroness Resin (Nelson!) could stop them.

All hell continues to break loose since Ex Nihilo is unable to restrain Abyss. The Squid tries to calm Abyss down as they were companions long ago before they fell into the Void. But Abyss silences The Squid by filling him full of Void Holes.

A less discerning reader might think he shot him with dark energy. But it's obvious he's removing the space along a directed path causing holes in reality. But not holes actually because they don't lead anywhere and they can't be filled. It's simply missing reality. Or, you know, not.

Baroness Resin notices a figure deep inside Abyss just before Manteau throws a chair at Abyss and Abyss disappears. I don't think the chair had anything to do with Abyss disappearing in a FRRRCRACK of non-light. Perhaps Abyss just couldn't remain materialized for very long. Or maybe Abyss just decided this hotel party was for crap and headed of to the local TCBY. But because of the timing of the chair and the disappearance, Ex Nihilo begins blaming Manteau for driving Abyss away. The chair is just a convenient excuse though. Everyone knows Ex Nihilo would be blaming Manteau anyway. Those bitches just don't get along.

Ex Nihilo knocks Manteau out with her Magic Crystal Gun. She takes her Rotary Dial and Squid grabs Manteau. Baroness Resin tries to stop them but turns back into Nelson before she can do anything. Ex Nihilo recognizes him as Darren's friend so she unmasks herself, revealing that she's Doctor Wald, Darren's specialist after his beatdown by his gangland friends. She decides to play super villain and explains to Nelson how she got to where she is today.

A walking nothing? Also, Nullomancer sounds like a Places and Predators Specialist Mancer Class. It probably is now! I should also make a Randomancer which acts like the Dial H Rotary Phone heroes.

The Squid poisons Nelson with his finger ink and he and Ex Nihilo leave with Manteau and her dial. They think that Nelson was somehow piggy backing off of Manteau's dial, so they don't think to check him for a dial of his own. I guess it's time for Nelson to create his Rotaryman costume and rescure Manteau!

Abyss and The Squid were banished into the Void by other heroes using Dials. Are these villains from a past run of Dial H for Hero? The man who was used as a doorway to bring Abyss into our world was the brother of one of the Dial Users who banished Abyss. Was this one of the original stories?

Ex Nihilo begins torturing Manteau in an effort to find out where Abyss went. Manteau doesn't know. But Manteau does know how to use the Dial and it's possible she tells Ex Nihilo because a new Dial Hero appears! While Nelson is watching Abyss run wild in the streets on the television (because his dial is broken again), he sees another weird hero arrive on the scene.

It must be Ex Nihilo. She has the Magic Crystal Gun on her back.

While Nelson watches helplessly, he's visited by The Squid.

Since I have nothing irreverent to say, I figured I'd just scan this whole scene.

Apparently Squid Boy can't shut up, so here's some more of his exposition.

So Abyss is an escaped slave? Or escaped cattle!

The Squid needs Nelson's help to stop Ex Nihilo. She's just pissing Abyss off and The Squid thinks if Abyss gets angry enough, he'll eat the sun. But if Nelson helps stop her, The Squid might be able to talk some sense into The Abyss and they'll go back to romping about the galaxy as petty thieves. But Nelson points out that his Dial is broken and only Manteau can fix it. The Squid suggests they go rescue her. Vernon and his crew are holding her in a warehouse nearby and they're nervous about all of these crazy super heroes. So it's time for Nelson to play pretend!

Nelson just went full retard.

Squid and Rescue Jack easily overpower the guards by squirting finger ink at them and throwing wrenches at their heads. The guards do have guns but seem to forget how to use them once they're scared out of their minds. Nelson rescues Manteau and discovers she's actually an old woman. He gets her back in costume just as Vernon busts in and shoots The Squid. Rescue Jack takes out Vernon with a sledgehammer and the rescue is complete! I'm sure The Squid is okay.

Interlude: I can hear the Unipiper riding by on Hawthorne as I type this from my backyard. Who, incidentally, is also known as squidkidd.

Abyss is just going about his business robbing a museum of pretty shiny geodes. It loves scintillating jewels and crystals. But Ex Nihilo is still bothering it. She attempts to reason with it when it shows her The Squid and Nelson rescuing Manteau through itself. It becomes a door to their location and Ex Nihilo dives through to stop Squid from rescuing Manteau.

She's no longer Tap Out. My guess is she's Swiss Army Knight!

Dial H #4 Rating: +1 Ranking. Another issue with a lot of explication and back history. But I really like the origin of The Squid and Abyss. Plus Abyss still has a mystery rider within him that he picked up while lost for decades. Perhaps it'll be another Dial Hero? Maybe the Dial Hero that banished them was caught up in the banishment himself? And since Manteau is as old as she is, perhaps she's one of the original Dial H for Hero characters as well! Maybe.