The Heroic Age: Prince of Power #3

August 5, 2010

Title: Our Lady of Slaughter
Writer: Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente
Penciler: Reilly Brown & Zach Howard
Inker: Terry Pallot & Zach Howard
Colorist: Val Staples
Letterer: Simon Bowland
Cover: Carlo Pagulayan, Paz & Peter Steigerwald
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Publisher: Marvel Comics

The unlikely allies, Amadeus Cho and the mighty Thor, have undertaken a quest to find the artifacts of life that may help them find the lost Hercules, but the heroes will have to take on some of the most power gods of myth if they’re going to get the artifacts before the insidious Vali.

The Marvel Universe plays with the Asgardian gods all the time, and the Greeks have always been pretty well represented too, but it’s a lot of fun to see Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente delve into other mythologies. There’s a lot of great Egyptian stuff in here, and it’s not just the trappings either. These writers have done their homework, pulling in actual stories, myths, and concepts to craft this story of Hercules’ return. Much of the fun in the Incredible Hercules series was in seeing the growing friendship and partnership of Amadeus and Hercules. Thor makes for a good substitute in this story, not just in terms of power, but in giving Amadeus somebody to relate to. This is an odd pairing, where the God of Thunder is the character who has to help anchor a mere mortal to reality to keep him from going off the deep end.

The artwork is solid, but not really spectacular. Reilly Brown, Terry Pallot, and Zach Howard tell the story with good layouts and choreography, although their faces and body types are just okay. They’re getting the job done, though, which is more than can be said for some artists out there.

This miniseries, like the Hercules book that birthed it, has been a lot of fun. Marvel has already announced a follow-up to this series, but I really hope that Pak and Van Lente are allowed to continue the saga of Herc and Amadeus in an ongoing series rather than these “series of miniseries.”

Rating: 8/10