Heroes For Hope Starring The X-Men #1

   A couple of days ago, I reviewed DC's Heroes Against Hunger, a benefit comic book released in 1986 to raise awareness and funds for famine relief in Africa. Unbeknownst to me until after reading Heroes For Hunger, it turns out DC was following suit after Marvel published their benefit comic a year earlier. Maybe had I known this, I would've read Marvel's offering first. But I was really looking forward to reading Heroes Against Hunger and chose it first instead. But hey, in the spirit of fairness, I went on and read Heroes For Hope afterwards.

    In this benefit special, the X-Men are facing their worst fears and they are trembling in terror and defeat. With the help of Rachel Summers and Storm, the mutants are able to regain their confidence. After the attacks, the X-Men determines that the offender is stationed in Africa and race to the region to prevent further damage. 

    Landing in Ethiopia, the X-Men come face-to-face with the horrors of hunger and famine and volunteer to unload planes laden with relief supplies. But the mutants will have to act fast because every minute they spend helping their fellow man, the unseen terror that assaulted them back at the X-Men mansion grows ever stronger.

    Geez- this was a stinker. I gave Heroes Against Hunger a solid rating, trying to be as impartial as can be. I tried to do the same with this book but Marvel didn't make it easy for me. Yes, dozens of legendary writers, artists, and editors got together and worked pro bono for this project- including Berni Wrightson, Alan Moore, Frank Miller, and The Man himself, Stan Lee. Why even the master of horror, Stephen King contributed 3 or 4 pages! But no matter how hard I tried, I just hated this book. 

     The plot was a mess. There was very little cohesion between the assortment of writers. Plus, I thought this book was supposed to be about hunger relief. But honestly, the famine in Africa seemed like an afterthought. Plus, most of this story takes place in the deepest darkest recesses of the minds of several X-Men, including Magneto and man was it dark! 

     I know that people dying of starvation isn't joyful stuff. But unlike DC's publication, this special was a giant downer. For a title called Heroes For Hope, the main characters sure are hopeless.

Sorry folks, but I just ain't on board with this one. Like they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions and the intentions behind this landmark comic were very genuine. However, I found that attempting to get through this rambling mess was hellish to say the least.

    Not Worth Consuming.

    Rating: 3 out of 10 stars.