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Less Than Heroes
In the city of Philadelphia there is a tall building at 18th and Market Streets atop of which lives four individuals. They are the official protectors of the city. Their job is to be around when traditional law enforcement fails. But are they really heroes? Meet Philadelphia's contracted super-hero team, Threshold. A quartet more interested in milk and cookies than crime and punishment. A team more concerned with battling indigestion than their arch enemies. Sure, they have super-powers. They can leap tall buildings, fly, and do all the stuff other heroes do. More than human? Probably. Less than heroes? Without a doubt.
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
24 people want to read
About the author
David Yurkovich
35 books15 followersDavid Yurkovich is the 2017 Delaware Division of the Arts Fellow in the category of literature (fiction). David began writing in 1992 with a focus on graphic novels and comics. His first self-published comic was funded by a grant by the Xeric Foundation. As a writer and illustrator, his works include Death by Chocolate and Less Than Heroes (both published by Top Shelf Productions) and Altercations (published by Sleeping Giant).
In 2007 David wrote, designed, and published Mantlo: A Life in Comics, a benefit magazine to help aid in the medical expenses of Bill Mantlo (creator of Rocket Raccoon and numerous other Marvel properties). In 2016, David was among 10 prose authors statewide selected to attend the Delaware Seashore Poetry & Prose Writers’ Retreat. His short story, “The Last Day of Summer,” appeared in the 2016 anthology Beach Nights (Cat and Mouse Press). He has published two prose novels, Glass Onion and Banana Seat Summer, with two manuscripts in development. In June 2017, David provided an introduction to the second volume of the Deadly Hands of Kung Fu Omnibus, published by Marvel.
Most recently, David designed, edited, and contributed to Halloween Party 2017!, the first issue of The Milton Workshop Anthology Series, published by Devil’s Party Press. He and his family reside in historic Milton, DE.
David can be reached at davidyurkovich.wordpress.com
In 2007 David wrote, designed, and published Mantlo: A Life in Comics, a benefit magazine to help aid in the medical expenses of Bill Mantlo (creator of Rocket Raccoon and numerous other Marvel properties). In 2016, David was among 10 prose authors statewide selected to attend the Delaware Seashore Poetry & Prose Writers’ Retreat. His short story, “The Last Day of Summer,” appeared in the 2016 anthology Beach Nights (Cat and Mouse Press). He has published two prose novels, Glass Onion and Banana Seat Summer, with two manuscripts in development. In June 2017, David provided an introduction to the second volume of the Deadly Hands of Kung Fu Omnibus, published by Marvel.
Most recently, David designed, edited, and contributed to Halloween Party 2017!, the first issue of The Milton Workshop Anthology Series, published by Devil’s Party Press. He and his family reside in historic Milton, DE.
David can be reached at davidyurkovich.wordpress.com
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 12, 2017
this has been sitting on my bookshelf for a couple years. that Warren Ellis quote be damned. I do not want my super hero comics to be like this.
January 1, 2021
Recently having read The Boys (and with the show being so popular), I think it's hard to avoid some parallels with that later series. Both of them try to take an approach of realism to superheroes. But while superpowered people in The Boys are all horrible human beings, Yurkovich's world is mostly mundane. If you like laughing at the absurdity of things like bureaucracy, then this will probably appeal to you.
August 11, 2020
Better than Mystery Men!
May 11, 2014
This review originally appeared on my blog, Shared Universe Reviews.
I appreciated Less Than Heroes more than I liked it. It is very good though. It’s unfortunate but my lack of enjoyment can be largely attributed to my distaste for the art. I’ll get to that later though. Yurkovich mentions in an essay collected in the back of the trade paperback that he’s a fan of superhero comics of the Silver and Bronze age. That’s were a lot of the inspiration came from. When reading the comic I also got the sense that Watchmen was also an inspiration and that was partially confirmed in the essay. I think there is also a hint of Grant Morrison’s Doom Patrol (I later discovered that this was indeed and inspiration by reading an interesting article on CBR). Not necessarily that things are overtly weird, but there is a sense of quirky oddball superheroics present throughout the story. That could also be the Silver age influence on Yurkovich’s writing though.
Yurkovich’s Less Than Heroes is another comic in the superheroes-done-realistically genre of comics. Unlike other comics that have tried this approach, Yurkovich heroes are not government registered vigilantes. Instead, they’re (often) unionized work for hire vigilante working in syndicates that offer their services to large cities that have problems with supervillainy. The biggest and most well-known group is the New York Superhero Syndicate (NYSS). They’re the biggest because New York also happens to have the highest concentration of supervillains. Hiring a group of heroes can be very complicated and extremely expensive. In a scene during the last chapter, we see the mayor of Philadelphia trying to hire the NYSS’s Delta Squad to help save his city. The leader of Delta Squad presents multiple contracts and other legal documents to be signed before any of her team members go and do anything for the city. I thought it was very interesting that the NYSS aren’t paid. Instead, the city of New York has agreed to provide them with health care and life benefits. It’s a great little scene and Yurkovich pulls it off rather well.
Unlike many of the larger cities, Philadelphia didn’t want to pay the exorbitant price of hiring a superhero syndicate. Instead, they choose to hire an independent non-unionized team called Threshold. For the team it’s a great opportunity to work as a hired superhero without needing to be affiliated with the larger teams. For Philadelphia, Threshold presents a team of heroes that’s probably not worth the money the city is paying. They have a lot of recreational time in no small part because the city is populated with freelance superheroes and because there aren’t a whole lot of villains in Philadelphia. By the end of the comic, Yurkovich will have forced Threshold to prove themselves as a team after the arrival of the Stamp Collector and several other villains from New York. Whether they succeed or not is partially up to the reader’s interpretation. What’s clear though is that the NYSS’s price may have been far too high for Philadelphia. Perhaps Threshold isn’t so bad after all. Either that or they’re a useless bunch of posers.
As I mentioned earlier, the most disappointing thing for me was the art. Yurkovich has a very blocky style. The characters look stalky and stiff. Yurkovich also uses shadows and shading rather liberally and it doesn’t really mesh well with his square lined figure work. I did, reluctantly, get used to it. By the end of the comic I even began to accept the art’s intentional irregularities in figure and form. Despite not liking the art, it did fit well with the story’s tone. The story, much like the art, is quirky and angular, this story is the result of careful thought and planning on Yurkovich’s part as opposed to a story that flourished naturally on the page. From what I could gather from Yurkovich’s essay, he’s been thinking about his own universe of superheroes for quite some time. Despite all this, the unappealing art makes it difficult for me to truly like Less Than Heroes past my appreciation for this interesting take on the superhero genre. There are even things about the art that I appreciate, the lack of overly rendered musculature and artificial looking anatomy, but then other things like the 3D art and computer graphics, take me right out of the story.
I have to conclude that Less Than Heroes isn’t for everybody. There is equal part worship and disdain for superheroes and it takes a particular type of reader to be able to appreciate that. Readers who are more open to varied styles might even enjoy Yurkovich’s art much more than I did. I’d rather see Yurkovich develop his writing and work in conjunction with another artist. That sounds mean but heck, I had a hard time with it. I’ll end things by encouraging you to check out this interesting article about the origin and production of Less Than Heroes. You can find the article on CBR here.
I appreciated Less Than Heroes more than I liked it. It is very good though. It’s unfortunate but my lack of enjoyment can be largely attributed to my distaste for the art. I’ll get to that later though. Yurkovich mentions in an essay collected in the back of the trade paperback that he’s a fan of superhero comics of the Silver and Bronze age. That’s were a lot of the inspiration came from. When reading the comic I also got the sense that Watchmen was also an inspiration and that was partially confirmed in the essay. I think there is also a hint of Grant Morrison’s Doom Patrol (I later discovered that this was indeed and inspiration by reading an interesting article on CBR). Not necessarily that things are overtly weird, but there is a sense of quirky oddball superheroics present throughout the story. That could also be the Silver age influence on Yurkovich’s writing though.
Yurkovich’s Less Than Heroes is another comic in the superheroes-done-realistically genre of comics. Unlike other comics that have tried this approach, Yurkovich heroes are not government registered vigilantes. Instead, they’re (often) unionized work for hire vigilante working in syndicates that offer their services to large cities that have problems with supervillainy. The biggest and most well-known group is the New York Superhero Syndicate (NYSS). They’re the biggest because New York also happens to have the highest concentration of supervillains. Hiring a group of heroes can be very complicated and extremely expensive. In a scene during the last chapter, we see the mayor of Philadelphia trying to hire the NYSS’s Delta Squad to help save his city. The leader of Delta Squad presents multiple contracts and other legal documents to be signed before any of her team members go and do anything for the city. I thought it was very interesting that the NYSS aren’t paid. Instead, the city of New York has agreed to provide them with health care and life benefits. It’s a great little scene and Yurkovich pulls it off rather well.
Unlike many of the larger cities, Philadelphia didn’t want to pay the exorbitant price of hiring a superhero syndicate. Instead, they choose to hire an independent non-unionized team called Threshold. For the team it’s a great opportunity to work as a hired superhero without needing to be affiliated with the larger teams. For Philadelphia, Threshold presents a team of heroes that’s probably not worth the money the city is paying. They have a lot of recreational time in no small part because the city is populated with freelance superheroes and because there aren’t a whole lot of villains in Philadelphia. By the end of the comic, Yurkovich will have forced Threshold to prove themselves as a team after the arrival of the Stamp Collector and several other villains from New York. Whether they succeed or not is partially up to the reader’s interpretation. What’s clear though is that the NYSS’s price may have been far too high for Philadelphia. Perhaps Threshold isn’t so bad after all. Either that or they’re a useless bunch of posers.
As I mentioned earlier, the most disappointing thing for me was the art. Yurkovich has a very blocky style. The characters look stalky and stiff. Yurkovich also uses shadows and shading rather liberally and it doesn’t really mesh well with his square lined figure work. I did, reluctantly, get used to it. By the end of the comic I even began to accept the art’s intentional irregularities in figure and form. Despite not liking the art, it did fit well with the story’s tone. The story, much like the art, is quirky and angular, this story is the result of careful thought and planning on Yurkovich’s part as opposed to a story that flourished naturally on the page. From what I could gather from Yurkovich’s essay, he’s been thinking about his own universe of superheroes for quite some time. Despite all this, the unappealing art makes it difficult for me to truly like Less Than Heroes past my appreciation for this interesting take on the superhero genre. There are even things about the art that I appreciate, the lack of overly rendered musculature and artificial looking anatomy, but then other things like the 3D art and computer graphics, take me right out of the story.
I have to conclude that Less Than Heroes isn’t for everybody. There is equal part worship and disdain for superheroes and it takes a particular type of reader to be able to appreciate that. Readers who are more open to varied styles might even enjoy Yurkovich’s art much more than I did. I’d rather see Yurkovich develop his writing and work in conjunction with another artist. That sounds mean but heck, I had a hard time with it. I’ll end things by encouraging you to check out this interesting article about the origin and production of Less Than Heroes. You can find the article on CBR here.
January 4, 2015
I dont know why people dont get this book, its funny as hell and brings me back the feeling of the 90's and 2000's. Its not the perfect superhero book, its really short and it doesnt have a solid long term story, its more like a recopilation of shorter stories, wich could be annoying because it left a lot of questions pending.
As I said, its a great book, with really good jokes but also great serious and dark reflections. The art is also really good, I liked yourkovich's style, it's always great to find and artist who can tell a story in real black and white and also has his own particular style.
As I said, its a great book, with really good jokes but also great serious and dark reflections. The art is also really good, I liked yourkovich's style, it's always great to find and artist who can tell a story in real black and white and also has his own particular style.
September 19, 2012
This surreal tale wanders between spoof and nightmarish confusion, as the "heroes" of Philadelphia fight crime with super-powers both real and imaginary, and find themselves trapped in a postage stamp, among other odd situations.
I didn't care much for the artist's visual style, but the story was strange enough that I couldn't put it down. It kept me turning the pages, wanting to see what weirdness would come next.
I didn't care much for the artist's visual style, but the story was strange enough that I couldn't put it down. It kept me turning the pages, wanting to see what weirdness would come next.
April 11, 2021
This tells the story of Threshold, a superhero team local to Pittsburgh. Yurkovich's darkly amusing universe (this is one of the rare segments not obsessed with Food Crimes) is one of the best of the 'post-Watchmen' take on superheroes, with appealingly angular artwork which suits the storyline. I recommend to anyone who wants to experiment with superheroes outside of the mainstream.
March 30, 2007
A superhero spoof graphic novel. I didn’t particularly care for it—-I found it to be kind of disjointed, like it was mostly written as an excuse to throw in one-liners here and there, rather than telling a funny story.
November 6, 2008
It took a little bit to get into this book, but it ended up being a lot of fun. However, the art work was at times confusing. Overall, pretty darn funny.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews