Herc #5

August 1, 2011

Title: Lost City

Writer: Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente
Pencils: Neil Edwards
Inks: Cory Hamscher
Colorist: Jesus Aburtov
Letterer: Simon Bowland
Cover Artist: Ale Garza & Christina Strain
Editor: Mark Paniccia       
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Hercules and his unlikely allies, Man-Bull and Basilisk, find themselves going into battle against the worshippers of Kyknos. Battle is nothing new for Hercules, of course, but now he finds himself powerless, overwhelmed by the prayers of his own worshippers, fighting giant insects in the middle of Manhattan while his more powerful allies are busy beating the hell out of each other elsewhere in the Fear Itself crossover. As formidable a warrior as Hercules is, this time he may have to swallow his pride and turn to the one place he never wanted to go again: his father, Zeus. This new angle for Hercules has really made the new series a joy to read. Pak and Van Lente haven’t decreased the level of the threats our former Prince of Power has to deal with, but with that power gone, he’s had to change his entire approach to battling the creatures. The result is a way of looking at Hercules that nobody has ever done before. Entertaining, different, and exciting – this is some great work.

Rating: 8/10

Herc #4

June 11, 2011

Title: All Versus All

Writers: Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente
Pencils: Neil Edwards
Inks: Scott Hanna
Colorist: Jesus Aburtov
Letterer: Simon Bowland
Cover: Michael Kaluta & Jim Charalampidis
Editor: Mark Paniccia       
Publisher: Marvel Comics

A powerless Hercules has found himself helping defend a group of escaping supervillains against the son of Ares, Kyknos. But when the people of Brooklyn see Herc fighting on the side of known villains like the Basilisk, they turn on the hero, forcing him into a fight he didn’t want.

Herc has been de-powered for this entire series, but this is the first time we really see the sort of toll it can take on the former Prince of Power. We see Hercules not just hurt (he’s been hurt before), but worse than that: weary, exhausted and worn-down. It’s clear, both from the writing and some great artwork, that he’s not used to feeling that way. It’s also kind of stressful for him to have to worry about PR, of all things, but it puts a nice, different kind of spin on the book.

The whole Fear Itself thing has felt pretty tenuous. I’m still not getting just how or why this book ties into that main crossover, except for some vague sensation that “fear” is spreading across the Marvel Universe, but the writing team of Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente are at least making the most out of what’s been handed to them. The book is exciting, well-written, well-illustrated, and full of real character drama and development in the midst of all the action. That’s how Herc has always been at his best with this creative team, and this arc is no different.

Rating: 8/10