Popular culture is often at its most sensational and impactful when it reflects the grim realism of the world around us. The dreadful famine in Ethiopia during the mid-1980s – a harrowing humanitarian crisis whereby an estimated 1 million Africans died of starvation – etched a painful mark on the minds of the many. Through television, million across the world could see Africa as – in the words of Bob Geldof, the man who launched Band Aid in 1984 to unite the world of music against famine – ‘the gaping wound in the world’s soul.’ Such a tragedy led famously to ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’ – the charity single, with its proceeds going to aid those in need in Africa. Band Aid is remembered as the most crucial pop culture response to the famine, but it wasn’t all left to the musicians. In 1985, Marvel Comics produced Heroes for Hope, an all-star one off (featuring even Alan Moore in his singular Marvel (non-UK) credit). Masterminded by Jim Shooter, Marvel’s one-off raised $150,000 for the American Friends Service Committee to assist in famine relief work. The following year, it was DC’s try at an all-star one-off – Heroes Against Hunger.
Heroes Against Hunger was published in 1986 and was originally an idea from Jim Starlin and Bernie Wrightson. Collecting a wide array of comic book talent, Heroes Against Hunger is famed for its depressingly dramatic cover by the masterful duo of bronze age art Neal Adams and Dick Giordano, with even the all-mighty Superman powerless in the face of a widespread famine!
While DC was always going to feature Superman as the star character of any story aimed to attract readers and broader audiences, Heroes Against Hunger is a tale where the rare limitations of such a titanic force are on show. Those words on the cover from Lex Luthor to Superman – “They’re dying, Superman – and not all your power can save them!” – has the impact of a punch to the gut. Even with the powers of the Man of Steel, such widespread famine and mystery cannot be seemingly eradicated. Comic book covers are meant to be a hook, attracting readers to a story with impact and shock. Upon opening the first page to Heroes Against Hunger, readers would be surprised but pleased to find an advertisement-less forty-eight-page comic book. But more interestingly, since this is an all-star effort, there is a page detailing the writers and artists for each page. Writers and artists work on two pages each, with Jim Starlin and George Perez opening with the first and concluding with the last page. The names of such legends as like Mike Barr, Gerry Conway, Steve Englehart, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, Jack Kirby, and Dan Jurgens is enough to attract die-hard comic book fans, but there are names of creators lost to time. Think of Heroes Against Hunger as a talent showcase of a kind – all in the good name of charity.
It all begins in the dried wastelands of Ethiopia – the place of famine and depression. Superman flies along with tons of topsoil – his aim is to invigorate the land of Africa to grow crops and return food to the desperate people. Even with the natural disasters and strong desert winds hindering his progress, Superman doesn’t give up. However, even with his own brilliant powers, it is never enough. The famine cannot be solved by one man, even a godly one. That message is stressed heavily by Lee Ann Layton, a no-nonsense charity worker whose groundwork for starving Ethiopians has made her resistant to the promise and potential of superheroes changing the world. She understands the problems of Earth are too complex to be solved just by one man, even a Superman. She is a recurring character throughout the special, and while her personality is rotten and rude, she helps give Heroes Against Hunger a good ending.
With those opening pages, the depressing scene is set. The world is in crisis; people are starving. As a charity special, the aim of this comic book should have been more than a money-making exercise (although primarily, for such a holy cause, that is what it rightly is). Heroes Against Hunger should unite fans and readers across the globe not just against famine and food poverty, but it should politicise and energise them too. This comic boom ought to have encouraged people to donate money to good causes, and perhaps to get more involved directly and dedicate their time on Earth to helping the unfortunate. A good story with real impact could have led to such positive change. But ultimately, Heroes Against Hunger doesn’t come close. Planes carrying aid are shot down over Ethiopia. One plane, linked to Wayne Enterprises, brings Batman onto the scene. From here, the story branches out into two pathways. The first – featuring Superman – is unbelievably dull and pretty irrelevant to the main message of the special, while the second – focusing on Batman and Lex Luthor – is more relevant but ultimately slightly confused in its direction.
Superman smells sabotage as his plan to plant soil and food in Ethiopia is foiled by explosions and bombs. Readers are witness to a mystery tale taking the Man of Steel out of Africa and back to Metropolis, before then returning to Ethiopia on a long-drawn-out wild goose chase. The writers cram so many ideas into the story – from pointless pseudo-science explanations to humanoid androids who barely play a role in the tale – to the point those middle pages are really full of wind and nothing else. It almost seems as if the tragedy of Africa isn’t going on. When the Man of Steel returns to Ethiopia, his underground exploits take him to the Master, an ugly (and extremely bland bald-looking villain) who essentially thrives on misery. Literally! He craves entropy and decay, and sufferance really turns him on. Therefore, the Master is as bland a villain as can be. He just likes being evil, making him one of the dullest creations in DC history. These pages whereby Superman locates and fights the Master reminds me of a typical Silver Age tale, especially as this villain can transport his foes away to random outer-space locations. This would brilliantly fit the 1950s, but its bland science fiction approach is hideously out of place in a tale of such realistic depression.
Heroes Against Hunger’s seemingly great strength – its array of genuine talent and creative names – quickly sinks and becomes one of its tragic failures. Although there is a plot established which all the writers continue, such a large selection of writers means that there will be a natural clash of styles. Oddly, Superman is written to be a rather petty protagonist here, one who will too quickly throw his toys out of his pram. However, it’s in terms of storytelling where the quality drops. Some writers favour dynamic captions and dialogue, while others take a more leisurely approach to the tale. These styles all have their merits, and it cannot be disputed that the likes of Roy Thomas, Jim Starlin, Marv Wolfman, and Doug Moench are great writers (the less said about Cary Bates and Joey Cavalieri the better). However, the clash between styles disrupts any natural flow to the overall story. This doesn’t make those scenes between Superman and the Master any better.
If its some consolation, the scenes featuring Batman and Lex Luthor are actually relevant to the tragedy at hand. Batman realises that Lex Luthor – after recently discovering a formula for increased plant-growth – could become the saviour of Ethiopia. We are witness to Lex Luthor’s success after colonising another planet using such a formula and feeding thousands. But Luthor only agrees to aid when Batman tells him that Superman is failing to help the people of Africa. Morally, Lex Luthor has always been all-over-the-place. One consistency is that he is in love with himself, and therefore will do anything which benefits his own progression. Here, it takes Superman’s failure for Luthor to become interested, and we’re left with a rather awkward (but somehow genuine and oddly warm) tri-partnership between Batman, Superman, and Luthor.
Involving Luthor into the story doesn’t exactly progress any plot about helping the people of Ethiopia. Instead, we are back to fighting the Master, who has placed a forcefield over Earth and blocked out the sun, thereby threatening the entire natural order. While clever thinkers and writers could suggest that the Master is a metaphor for those who trample over the Ethiopians and delight in their plight for financial or personal gain, the link between this inter-galactic villain and the starvation of millions is tenuous. Sure, there may be be some vaguely interesting drama whereby Lex Luthor witnesses the apparent death of Superman – a moment which transforms Luthor into a near-hero in a battle against the Master. But in the end, the dry sci-fi foe is banished into deep space. With that, the Master is never seen again. His greatest crimes – the near-destruction of Earth and distracting us from what should have been a deeply impactful story.
With the Master gone, our heroes suddenly remember the reason why this whole mission began in the first place. With Luthor’s formula, the goal is to bring new life to Ethiopia with farming and food. Luthor unleashes his machine – but, expectedly, nothing happens. This is when Lee Ann Layton returns to the scene and gives an explanation to Ethiopia’s plight. This really should have featured much earlier in the tale, but in short, the death of farming and agriculture caused by political and economic turbulence led to the disastrous famine. Ultimately, the message for our heroes is one of charity. By working together, we can achieve great things and great change. That thought brings a smile to Lee Ann Layton’s face. It’s only tragic that such a wholesome and true message could not have been backed up with an impactful and inspiring story.
The greatest flaw of Heroes Against Hunger is not its purpose or focus, but it’s plot. A story of this nature should aim to inspire future generations to not just take seriously the problems of the present but formulate solutions for the future. Many readers of Heroes Against Hunger may have been aware of the dreadful famine, but less aware of its horrific nature or human cost. It’s depressing that it is twenty-seven pages into this story where we first see the terrible state of the people of Ethiopia. It’s a genuinely hard-hitting scene, with a tear coming to Lex Luthor’s eye as he witnesses a malnourished child.
However, just one page later, we never see the poor Ethiopians again! We are back to the Master and his irrelevance. The opening pages to the special are not offensive, but what follows is. Readers needed to see the grimness and horror of the famine – the human cost. Writers should not have left these people as statistics, but as singular personalities with their cries for food and freedom. Aside from that child, no other Ethiopian is really seen. This should have been a story where Superman comes face-to-face with the ongoing tragedy in Africa, to learn of the effects of malnutrition on the families of today and the generations of tomorrow. A tale of this kind could have fundamentally changed or altered Superman, reinforcing his humble attitude and strong belief that humanity can only progress when we all work hand-in-hand. Overall, Heroes Against Hunger should have inspired a younger generation of readers to become political for the sake of helping the poorest in the world. In the end, writers just bored them with a typical science-fiction plot and a half-baked moralistic tale with no detail or impact.
Predictably, the same trouble for the inconsistencies between writers occurs for the artists. The range of quality is varied, and there are certainly some distinct styles. Joe Brozowski and Gray Morrow’s art, for example, is most unique, with a 1930s-looking Batman appearing completely out of place. The same applies to Denys Cowan, whose work here is pretty unpolished and somewhat static. That all said, the classics are here – bask in the creative fluidity of Curt Swan and George Perez. Dave Gibbons produces some absolutely stellar artwork here, full of drama and wonderful storytelling. It’s also superb to see the King at work once again, with Kirby’s outer-space scenes classically depicting the artist’s eloquence and creativity (even if Al Milgrom may not be the best inker for that). Sadly, that problem of a lack of consistency continues. The transition between styles can be jarring, but it’s not as sharp as the change between writers.
VERDICT
Overall, DC’s Heroes Against Hunger will always be remembered for its cause rather its quality. That is a great shame – were the writing better and plotting tidier, its impact could have been more than financial. Aside from one or two great moments, its plot featuring the Master is woeful and the difference between writing styles is far too disruptive. There is certainly some great artwork and storytelling on show, but sadly, the final product is a disappointment. I know it may only be a comic book, and the cause is more than noble, but this story really needed to inspire young readers. Sadly, it fails to be both an inspiration and an enjoyable comic book.
Next Week: TBC.
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