T'ain't easy to play with classic comic imagery in a way that's mindful of the original artist's strengths and limitations - and also adds something to the image. (Even Jaime Hernandez had difficulties when he tackled the Action cover for a DC collection of Bizarro stories.) And Bello unfortunately fails to rise above fanzine level imitation. His art is a biggest flaw in an otherwise diverting work: at times, you wish Bello had a strong inker helping to enhance his erratic figures, though in some panels, the composition looks so wonky that I suspect even a good clean-up crew wouldn’t help. More than once I found myself wondering what one of AiT's more consistent graphic artists would make of this material (Demo's Becky Cloonan, say), which is not what you want your reader considering as you're trying to tell your story. . .
Still, Bello does pull out some arresting images (the face-to-mask showdown between Fulton and Still of the Night is effectively visualized, though there's a panel of a shoe smashing costume glasses that makes it look as if we're viewing clown clogs). For all its visual flaws, Hench provides a memorable look at lumpen-prole life in the world of superhero comics.








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