Let’s face it, while Planet Hulk was one of the best Hulk stories in recent memory, the fallout of that event, World War Hulk, was a disappointment. In a word, it sucked. Nothing happened. We only got two things out of it. First, we got some great art out of John Romita, Jr., one of the best artists out there today. And secondly, and most importantly, for this post, we got The Incredible Hercules.Everyone knows the story of Hercules. Or at least, you should. Greek strongman and warrior who was the son of Zeus, to the annoyance of his stepmother, Hera. Talk about your issues. Illegitimate son, and she hates YOU for it. Oi, talk about your issues. But that’s just the start, Hercules also has the older half-brother in Ares, who also wants to kill him. But the Greekiness coems into play when you find out his estranged wife is his sister Hebe. Yeah. Your family probably seems normal compared to these lunatics.
Somehow, the writer, Greg Pak, combines the already convoluted universe of the Greek Gods into the sometimes confusing Marvel Universe with ease. He even uses it to explain why death seems to have a revolving door attached to it. And let me tell you, it’s satisfying.
When it comes to the supporting characters, Herc has quite a few. First and foremost, you have the 7th(or is it 8th?) smartest person in the world, Mastermind Excello, otherwise known as Amadeus Cho(at right, drawn by Gary Frank, who I previously stated should draw nothing but Superman. I retract that and say he should just draw everything ever). Not willing to simply be the annoying precocious kid, he’s actually quite important to Hercules, as much as Iolus was to him back in the ancient time. And he has an interesting way of seeing the world, much like Neo he “sees” the world differently than we do, with mostly physics equations. It just makes him quite hungry.
Then there’s his wise sister Athena, who may or may not be pulling the strings in ways Hercules doesn’t want.
And finally, there’s Hercules’ own libido, which seems to get him in more trouble than it’s worth. Just look at the highlight of the series so far, the arc titled “Love & War.” I pretty much died seeing Herc run for his life after bedding the queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta.
Speaking of Love & War, that holds the distinction of being everything the DC “Event” Amazons Attack WANTED to be. Does anyone else remember that story? Yeah, you do? But you don’t want to? Me neither. It’s definitely the recommendiest of my recommendations. But that’s not all. While I enjoyed last years Marvel Event Secret Invasion, it was more flash than substance. Herc’s SI tie-in was easily the most thoughtful entry I read. It’s about a group of “rag tag”(if you will) group of Earth’s Gods as they take on the Skrull Pantheon. There’s a heartbreaking farewell here, as well as some *gasp!* inducing moments. I’ll save that for you to find out.
Now, this being Hercules, you can’t really have any main villain other than Hera. She’s big, she’s bad, she’s the wronged woman. And in Zeus’ absence, she’s running the show. She also has almost the entire family, if you will, working towards his demise, even Titans. Who were the enemy to his father, The Almighty Zeus.
all in all, I can’t speak highly enough of this book. It’s probably the traditional superhero book I look forward to each month the most, because while it can be quite serious, it never takes itself TOO seriously(check at right for an example, hehe). Pak manages to inject the right amount of humor into a book that would be quite the bucket of fail at the hands of any lesser writer.
And finally, in news I got at WonderCon a few months ago that made my day. Hercules has done quite well since taking over the title from The Incredible Hulk(if that helps explain why he’s at 130+ after only two years, then you’re welcome), so he’s in it for the long haul. So why don’t you do yourself a favor, and pick up the sleeper hit , The Incredible Hercules.