SENYC Report: Marvel – The Next Big Thing

Marvel came out in force for Special Edition: NYC. Though they easily flattened the competition when it came to number of panels, this was the one to see if you wanted to know what was coming from the House of Ideas.

The panel was moderated by Senior VP of Publishing Tom Brevoort and featured a slew of top name talent. This included Senior X-Men Editor Mike Marts, fan favorite writer Peter David, Storm writer Greg Pak, and Deadpool editor Jordan D. White. There was even a surprise guest in the form of Katie Kubert, the former editor of Batman and Detective comics who had announced her departure from DC less than twenty-four hours before!

Aquaman #30 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (story), Paul Pelletier & Alvaro Martinez (pencils), Sean Parsons & Raul Fernandez (inks), Rain Beredo (colors)

The Story: Aquaman is not going to be clapping and exclaiming “Hercules” after this.

The Review: If I can distill the difference between Parker’s Aquaman and Geoff John’s Aquaman to a few, pithy words, it’s the loss of the title’s epic quality. There’s no longer the sense that we’re reading a run for the ages, but rather a more typical superhero series. That’s not a bad change, exactly; instead of decompressed, measured storytelling, we have adventures that feel more spontaneous and bombastic. After enduring so many deep, wide-ranging conflicts, Aquaman deserves to maybe coast a little.

This brawn-on-brawn battle with Hercules certainly fits the bill. There’s a smidge of tragedy in how far the mythic hero has fallen, of course, and a touch of dramatic potential regarding his treacherous imprisonment by the Atlantean king, but that’s only an inch of depth we’re talking about. Aquaman versus Hercules is half-mindless entertainment, with the occasional call for reason (“Try to think! Remember who you were!“) thrown in.

Aquaman #29 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (story), Paul Pelletier (pencils), Sean Parsons & Norm Rapmund (inks), Rain Beredo (colors)

The Story: What the Atlanteans really needed were hieroglyphics for “Do Not Enter.”

The Review: I have to admit, when you take the time to count up all the things science has given us over the years—indoor plumbing, refrigeration, penicillin, instant ramen—it’s pretty obvious that intellectual curiosity has paid off for us. Even so, fiction seems obsessed with stories where the pursuit of knowledge unleashes forces that humanity isn’t ready for, from the most recent issue of Letter 44 all the way back to Adam and Eve. I guess we could use the constant reminders of our own fallibility.

You know who could have used that reminder? Dr. Daniel Evans, the archaeologist who burgled Aquaman’s trident. It’s doubtful he would’ve heeded the warning; directly confronted by Arthur, he stammers, “I couldn’t risk that you would refuse to lend…,” which is scientist talk for “I knew you wouldn’t let me do it if I asked so I just went ahead and did it anyway.” Sadly enough, this isn’t the most imprudent decision he makes. His actions involve a whole lot of stupid.

Herc #9 – Review

By: Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente (writers), David Hahn (penciller), Roy Richardson (inker), Jesus Aburtov (colorist)

The Story: Herc’s daddy issues interferes with his getting it on with the woman he loves.

The Review: After the completely baffling and apparently pointless crossover with Spider-Island, which seemed to include Herc only to sell some half-spider on half-spider intercourse, this title is set to get back to normal.  Problem is: you don’t know what “normal” is since the series has been plagued with Event tie-ins from day one.  With hardly a supporting cast and only a vague mission to protect Brooklyn, it almost feels like we’re back to where we started.

Herc #7 – Review

By: Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente (writers), June Brigman (penciller), Roy Richardson (inker), Jesus Aburtov (colorist)

The Story: Spider-Herc, Spider-Herc, / does whatever a Spider-Herc does.

The Review: Once upon a time, crossovers were a rare, novel event.  Then they became frequent pleasures, then common fool’s errands.  Now they come about every other month, and the effect on all comics, be they solid ongoings or criminally under-promoted minis, has been irritating, pointless, or detracting.  As a newborn series, Herc hadn’t a chance to stand on its own two feet before Fear Itself dragged it along in its wake.  Now that it’s over, we finally have a chance to see Herc grow into the title it’s meant to be.

Just kidding.  Enter Spider Island, ably demonstrating the downside of having all the heroes operate out the same city; if one has an epic adventure, shared universe etiquette dictates everyone has to participate, or at least acknowledge it.  Here, Hercules gets to join in on the fun, which makes sense as an entertaining interlude to an already prospering title, but when you have one that hasn’t even established much of an identity yet, it doesn’t seem wise to let the star attempt to take on someone else’s.

Not that Pak-Van Lente don’t bring their trademark humor to the gimmick.  Herc has clearly established himself as second only to Deadpool in the mockery department, and while Spider-Man is no slouch when it comes to self-deprecating jokes, there’s still plenty of laughs to be had at the web-slinger’s expense.  In the midst of crowing over his extra surge of power, Herc wonders, “But what is this strange new feeling?  With this great power…comes great…angst?”

Had the writers simply stuck with these kinds of gags, the issue probably would have worked better, but we also have three competing distractions: guest appearances by several X-Men (no telling why they had to show up in this title—don’t they have, like, eight of their own?), Anansi the African spider-god-trickster, and Arachne, who vaguely reveals herself for two panels and, aside from giving us a fine view of an arthropod behind, serves virtually no purpose to the issue.

Herc #6 – Review

By: Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente (writers), Neil Edwards (penciller), Cory Hamscher (inker), Jesus Aburtov (colorist)

The Story: Brother, do you know the Truth about Herc?  Oh, ye of little faith…

The Review: For the last couple issues, I’ve concluded that even with the Fear Itself brand and obligatory tie-in issues, this title hasn’t really been affected all that much by the Event.  Pak-Van Lente have managed to execute a story arc that seems in keeping with their original agenda: let Herc savor the mortal life; give him a new residence, mission statement, and outfit; have him experience the ups of a loving crowd and the downs of a popular backlash.

As well as Pak-Van Lente have carried these points to fruition, there’s a rushed quality to it all that suggests Fear Itself actually has affected the title in a subtle fashion.  I noted last issue that since Herc has been mortal for only a short while (even shorter in context of the story), Hermes’ invitation to return to Olympus feels very premature.  The same feeling lingers through this issue’s major moments; they’re all good, appropriate scenes, but seem a couple arcs too early.

Kingpin prophetically commented that people love to build up an idol and tear him down, and while Herc now has firsthand experience of that, it doesn’t feel entirely genuine considering the Brooklynites’ behavior dances to the three magical tunes: the Norse serpent, witch-goddess Hecate, and son of Ares Kyknos.  Even so, that Herc’s unyielding courage proves affecting enough to sway the New Yorkers out of their panic-induced violence is heartwarming indeed.

Similarly, the big turning point in the issue involves Rhea drastically redefining her relationship with Herc, but since they’ve only known each other for about two days, their relationship hadn’t much of a definition at all beyond possibly “friends with benefits.”  The scene where she finally gives up her revolutionary ideals in favor of simple faith in our hero definitely builds well on her initial view of Herc merely as a useful symbol, but lacks the impact it’d have had we seen more interaction between the two or more of her rationalist behavior at work.

Herc #5 – Review

By: Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente (writers), Neil Edwards (penciller), Cory Hamscher (inker), Jesus Aburtov (colorist)

The Story: And here I thought New York City couldn’t get any weirder.

The Review: Even though in both his mythic and comic book incarnations Hercules technically gets counted as a god (of heroes, no less), it’s hard to think of him as such.  We are far more familiar with his exploits as an adventurer on Earth than those he ever had as a divinity, and especially in the comic books, his brash, gung-ho personality hardly lends itself to the lofty purposes of his fellow immortals.

Small wonder then that the cries of his “worshippers” for help serve to merely annoy him to distraction (“And if you left me in peace for five seconds perhaps they’d be answered!”) more than please him.  Still, even though he’s no god any longer, Herc is ever the mensch, vowing to do right by those that remain his faithful.  On an interesting note, one I’m rather ashamed to not have noticed before, does anyone find it odd how as a mortal, he can still hear “prayers” to him?

Considering Herc has been mortal for—what?—four days in-story, his meeting with Hermes, who bears a possible offer of godhood from Zeus, seems rather premature.  If anything, the speech and command for our favorite hero to return to Olympus and stand by while the world passes into its twilight hour is merely a contrived way for Pak-Van Lente to incorporate elements from Fear Itself, which has only tangentially affected this title despite the brand on the cover.

You’ll have the strong suspicion that, had it not been for the obligatory Event tie-in, the writers would’ve really preferred to devote more time to Herc’s struggles against the entire borough of Brooklyn gone wild magic.  Herc’s attempts to confront his challenges head-on, only to fall back thanks to new ones constantly popping up behind him, should be more enjoyable, but feels too truncated to develop beyond a passable energy.

Herc #4 – Review

By: Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente (writers), Neil Edwards (penciller), Scott Hanna (inker), Jesus Aburtov (colorist)

The Story: What?  No pitchforks and torches?

The Review: When it comes to solo heroics, writers usually take the trend of letting their hero baby-step his way long steadily bigger and greater trials before pitting him against the conflict of his life.  It makes sense; no point in tossing the rookie into the deep end of the ocean before he learns to doggy-paddle.  But Hercules is already a pro at this biz (a former god of it, in fact), so it doesn’t seem out of the question to throw a major challenge right off the get-go.

But experienced as he is, his new mortality has set him back to square one.  In his glory days, a few Raft escapees and Kyknos, son of Ares, would have been a walk in the park; now, he can literally be felled by a little girl (granted, she stabbed him in the back with a pair of clipping shears).  It doesn’t stop there, though.  Pak-Van Lente also drop in Hecate, witch goddess, and a whole NYC borough of mobbing civilians, a challenge worthy of a god he now faces as a mortal.

As you can tell, this issue has a lot of problems going against our favorite mensch, so such so to the point you’re left just as bewildered as he is.  Remarkably, Pak-Van Lente manage to give each set of conflicts some time to develop, especially where it concerns the growing disarray of Brooklyn.  We get some humorous scenes of neighborly confrontations gone out of control (“I know you’ve been laughing at us.  Ever since the bedbugs!”), but also some moments of genuine horror, like a pack of mauling dogs threatening children after ravaging their elderly owner.

Even though the descent into chaos seems universal, Rhea remains the only one seemingly unaffected aside from Helene and the Warhawks, devotees of Ares.  Her apparent immunity to the growing paranoia warrants investigating, especially since she’s so quickly become Herc’s lady-friend and loyal supporter, yet remains largely a mysterious, if well-read, figure.  But now that she’s a captive of the Warhawks, there’s plenty of incentive to dive deeper into her history.

In the meantime, Herc gets left largely on his own, one vulnerable man with some fancy weapons against an entire city gone to heck.  His only ally: Griffin, the Raft prisoner gone feral, thanks to a magical twist that probably should’ve been shown to us, since I, for one, already forgot about that character since last issue.

Herc #3 – Review

By: Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente (writers), Neil Edwards (penciller), Scott Hanna (inker), Jesus Aburtov (colorist)

The Story: None of you guys are holding, right?  She’ll get seriously mad if you’re holding.

The Review: Sometimes crossover events can really hijack a title, forcing the storyline into a direction it never had any intention of following, or at least one that doesn’t suit the title’s tone or interests (e.g., Brightest Day and Birds of Prey).  Other times, the crossover can be so superfluous, it makes you wonder why they even bother to drag the title into it in the first place.

Anyone who’s worried having the Fear Itself brand stamped onto this issue means distracting spillover for a fledgling title that’s barely got its own story going yet, have no fear.  The one direct connection to Marvel’s summer Big Thing involves a breakout on the Raft (of less scale than the one that launched The New Avengers).  Other than that, the issue’s left to its own devices—evidence of the often pointlessly invasive nature of these big events, I suppose.

Pak-Van Lente continue building on the complications from previous issues; though the plight of Hercules’ followers remains a foreboding mystery, Kingpin’s foretelling about Herc’s newfound public support plays out to a tee.  His popularity quickly builds to a fever pitch, which he handles with characteristic breeziness (“Snuffles will taste my steel.  Next!”) despite the predictably selfish concerns he faces (“First, you gotta get the socialists.”).

Herc #2 – Review

By: Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente (writers), Neil Edwards & Scott Hanna (artists), Jesus Aburtov (colorist)

The Story: Step right up and have your drink shaken, not stirred by a living legend!  Seriously.

The Review: There are plenty of mythological figures running around in comics, two of the biggest being Thor and Wonder Woman (who isn’t really part of mythic canon, but whose roots are so deeply embedded in myth she might as well be).  What sets Hercules apart from these characters, and also what makes him so special, is his enthusiastic embracing of modern life and pop culture, things from which Thor and Diana still tend to keep their distance—and thereby us.

By comparison, Herc’s so much more relatable, even more so now that he’s been rendered mortal, with mortal concerns, such as trying to find a job and a place to live.  In spite of all this, he remains a hero to the core, and to be worth his salt, he needs a mission.  Since he can’t always depend on villains like Hobgoblin to pop up on a regular basis, Hercules makes up his own agenda to protect a New York City borough from the Ares-devoted mobsters, the Warhawks.

This perfectly balanced melding of mortal concerns infected with mythic influences has been a great trademark for Pak-Van Lente’s conception of Hercules and his stories.  Not only do they use Herc’s ancient origins largely to comic effect (“Who’s thy daddy, now?”), they also make some clever parallels between his famous exploits (the lifting of the world on his shoulders) and the current action (his inability to keep a building from collapsing on him).  These are fun details for mythology buffs, but they also highlight the uphill battles he’ll have to fight from now on.

Herc #1 – Review

By: Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente (writers), Neil Edwards (penciller), Scott Hanna (inker), Jesus Aburtov (colorist)

The Story: Uh-oh…does the incredible Hercules have a little boo-boo?

The Review: Despite being one of the most likable and collaborative heroes around, Hercules’ godlike powers don’t really allow him to mix up with his fellow Avengers and their usual foes too often.  But with his superhuman powers diminished and the title of his newest ongoing reduced simply to his nickname, Pak and Van Lente show that Herc’s going to have to rub shoulders with the rest of us mortals for a while.  There’s of course a lot of potential for that kind of storyline, and Pak-Van Lente have already begun mining it in this first issue.

Nothing starts the blood pumping for an action series like guns and fisticuffs on a speeding train.  Herc’s takes down the gang of Warhawks in neo-classical fashion, proving his power loss hasn’t affected his battle skills any.  Pak-Van Lente also smartly use the opportunity to give brief intros to his arsenal of weapons and demonstrate their surprising effectiveness against conventional arms (his arrow piercing through one thug’s Uzi into his shoulder is especially great).

There are plenty of other myth-based superheroes that don’t really figure their mythological roots into their stories except as a theme, so it’s really impressive how present Herc’s ancient Greek origins stay throughout the issue beyond his weapons.  The prayers of his worshippers seem to be guiding him toward a more Herculean challenge than disarming the Kingpin’s street mafia.  No doubt the two tie together somehow, but this issue remains determinedly vague on that front.

And Herc wouldn’t be the hero we love without his enthusiastic embrace of modern American culture.  His delight in liquor gives us a pretty good joke (seeing a can of beer offered at his altar: “Best.  Offering.  Ever.”) and gets him a temp job, which can only mean more hilarious beats to come.  And there are few heroes in either of the Big Two who are as sexually comfortable as Hercules—the cut from meeting Rhea to him sprawled naked in bed is possibly one of the best scene-jumps you’ll have read this year.

Chaos War #4 – Review

By: Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente (writer), Khoi Pham (pencils), Thomas Palmer (inks), Sunny Gho (colors), Simon Bowland (letters) & Mark Paniccia (editor)

The Story: Now that the Chaos King has given the beat-down to just about the entire Marvel U., how is anyone going to stand up to him?

What’s Good: This issue becomes much more of a Hercules story than a Marvel U. story.  If you’re a Herc fan, you’ll love it because all of the other Marvel characters who have played roles in Chaos War thus far kinda fade to the side.

The central problem is that Herc’s God Squad and all other forces standing against the Chaos King have been pretty thoroughly trounced and they’ll either have to flee (which leads to a neat Galactus/Cho moment) OR someone is going to have to seriously level-up.  I’ll let you guess what is probably going to happen as the issue ends on a note that makes me excited for issue #5.

Pham, Palmer and Gho continue to do a nice job on the art.  A special kudos needs to go to colorist Sunny Gho.  Colors are really important to making cosmic or godly events seem…well…cosmic and godly.  And he does a very nice job.  Also, I usually don’t care about cover art at all, but Dan Panosian’s cover is really nice.  Note, I’m giving the kudos based on the art being a pin-up and I’ll discuss the dictated content below.

Chaos War #3 – Review

By: Fred Van Lente & Greg Pak (writers), Khoi Pham (art), Sunny Gho (colors) & Simon Bowland (letters)

The Story: The Chaos King ramps up his attack on the godly realms.

What’s Good: If you were not a religious Hercules reader (and perhaps even if you were), Chaos War #1 was pretty uneven.  After reading it, you couldn’t help but think that Marvel had screwed the pooch by having FOURTEEN tie-in issues (one-shots & minis) associated with this event.  “Those aren’t going to sell at ALL”, thought this reviewer.  But then Chaos War #2 was quite good and now Chaos War #3 is seriously excellent.  Those tie-ins are looking very purchasable right now!

This comic is everything you could want in a big event comic: the stakes feel very large and it has big action.  And I mean BIG action…..like Zeus punching Galactus in the face!

Catching up on the story, the Chaos King, in the form of Amatsu-Mikaboshi (Wiki it if you’re confused) has laid waste to the planes of Hell and now is turning his attention on the various realms of “heaven” leaving nothing but Herc and his God Squad to save the universe.  It is very good and has lots of big, “hell yeah” or “Oh no!” scenes as well has some trademark Van Lente humor (Amadeus and Thor getting a little friendly when Venus sings a love song).

This was Pham’s strongest issue of the series thus far and there are a few really spectacular splash pages (i.e. you don’t feel ripped off that you sacrificed an entire page of story for that).  He and Palmer give this comic an almost throw-backy feel with all the cross-hatching as contrasted with the heavy shadow we see in so many Marvel books these days. But, it is throw-back with modern sensibilities in terms of panel construction, perspective and coloring.  It is very nice.

Chaos War #2 – Review

By: Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente (writers), Khoi Pham (pencils), Thomas Palmer (inks), Sunny Gho (colors) & Simon Bowland (letters)

The Story: The Chaos King continues his assault, taking on underworld as Herc tries to raise a squad of immortals to defend the universe.

What’s Good: There was just something wrong with Chaos War #1.  If you were not following the overall Hercules story for the last couple of years, you felt a little like being at a cocktail party where you don’t know anyone and no one is really making an effort to include you in the conversation.  BUT, after reading through this issue #2, you feel like you know everyone and that this is a party that you won’t mind hanging out at too much.

It was just a lot of fun seeing Herc trying to raise a team of gods to do battle with the Chaos King.  Of course, he’s going to get Thor and that’s kinda fun because neither of them is the sharpest tool in the shed (moreso Herc).  And there is a fun little scene of Venus trying to revive the fallen mortals by singing Bob Marley (“Get up, stand up…” it must be a LOT of fun to pick these slightly inappropriate songs for Venus).  But from there the fun really begins as Herc starts using his new supergod powers to summon a raft of big-time powerful folks to help in his battle against the Chaos King and they’ll need it because the Chaos King has some serious firepower on his side too (as if he needs it).  This issue just clicked in a way that the first one did not, so if you were really down on the first issue understand that you might want to give it another chance.

Chaos War #1 – Review

By: Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente (writers), Khoi Pham (penciller), Tom Palmer (inker), Simon Bowland (letterer)

The Story: Hercules returns from a death that never really happened, gets made fun of by the heroes of the Marvel U, fights with them needlessly and then uses his apparent semi-omnipotence to bring them along to fight generic monsters.

What’s Good: Pham and Palmer put some pretty attractive art onto the page. Pham’s got the creativity to make the alien come alive and I’ve always thought that Palmer makes any artist’s work look more fluid. They both create some nice textured effects, especially in the opening scene with the weird backgrounds of Nightmare’s realm. King Chaos’s appearance is very dynamic and Nightmare’s emotive face is almost all we need to tell the story. I’ve never had strong feelings about letterers before, but I really feel this issue would have worked better if Bowland had used invisible ink for this issue; that would have kept the writing from sinking this battleship.

Incredible Hercules #138 – Review

By Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente (writers), Rodney Buchemi (artist), Guillem Mari (colorist)

The Story: Hercules and the Mighty Avengers unite to take the fight to the doors of Hera’s impenetrable corporate fortress, where she has assembled herself a new pantheon of dark gods to supplant the one governed by Zeus.

The Good: I have to give the guys credit for their outstanding treatment of the Mighty Avengers and actually find myself
wishing they’d take over that title as well, given the disastrous conclusion to “The Unspoken”. Pak and Van Lente write the team with energy and purpose, and they’ve never looked better when Buchemi draws them. There was one moment in particular that stuck out in my mind, when Pak and Van Lente gave US Agent a moment to speak out against the idea of gods and polytheism, that I thought was not only a great bit of characterization, but also smart commentary that puts Marvel’s gods into an interesting perspective. I’m also glad to see Marvel has taken a page from DC’s playbook and decided to include back up features to justify their $3.99 price tags. If this is the road the industry has agreed to go down, the very least they could do for us is include extra content to incentivize the extra cost.

The Not So Good: Remember what I was saying about US Agent’s rant against gods? If that was the good part, then Athena’s follow up to his monologue, while not necessarily bad, inadvertently works against the story. The idea of this story arc, if you’ll remember, is that Hera has convened a dark pantheon of Greek gods who will bring about the extinction of the planet so they can usher in a second creation under their direct control. Okay, cool, sounds dire and epic. I can follow along with that. And yet, when Athena basically described the gods as being superheroes of the old world, I couldn’t help but feel that diluted the story to just another case of superheroes fighting super villains to save the world. It’s early in the story though, so I’m not going to let that initial disappointment prevent me from having a good time. Finally, I’ve noticed that in recent months writers, no doubt under orders from their editors, have resumed giving Hercules that nauseating, faux-Shakespearean dialogue that all Marvel deities have been afflicted with since the 60s. That’s a huge shame. I liked that, if only for a little while, Pak and Van Lente were unafraid to have Hercules sound like a contemporary hero for all ages and not a relic from the past.

Conclusion: Incredible Hercules #138 marks the beginning of another solid story, but it doesn’t feel like the kind of thing you need to rush out to the comic shop to buy and that’s strange for this book.

Grade: C

-Tony Rakittke

Mighty Avengers #31 – Review

By Dan Slott & Christos Gage (writers), Sean Chen (artist), Yeung & Morales (inkers), John Rauch (colors)

Well, it’s now five months later and the best I can say for this story is that it’s finally over.  Thank. Freaking. God.  With “The Unspoken”, I feel that Mighty Avengers has hit something of a sophomore slump.  I finally gave up on this issue, and the overall storyline, about halfway through when, during a giant-sized fight with the Unspoken, Pym says “You’ve chosen to spend your time wallowing in past mistakes…not learning from them and moving on.”  I thought this was terribly apropos as it’s exactly what Slott and Gage have done.  These are both smart guys and good writers, and yet their sprawling story was exactly the kind of uninspired, MacGuffin-driven nonsense that was in style back in the 70s.  I’d like the think the bar in storytelling has risen considerably higher since those halcyon days, and yet this story utterly failed to become anything more than a less-than-average potboiler.

This story more or less seems to have been hatched for no other reason than to bring the various Avengers teams together for the upcoming ‘Siege’ storyline.  There is some value to this decision, as it was truly entertaining to see characters from the Initiative, New, and Mighty Avengers interacting with each other.  However, considering what a non-threat the Unspoken turned out to be, (which was a shame considering how much time the writers spent building him up to be a Serious Villain) and the disappointing way the Xerogen gas was finally resolved (really, Pym?  That was your great solution?  Kind of a buzzkill for the guy Eternity named Earth’s Scientist Supreme), I almost wish Pym would have called up the other teams and invited them over for beers and Xbox since it would have achieved the same goal, been just as entertaining, and taken up a fraction of the issues.

Despite an incredibly uninteresting, disappointing storyline, culminating in this issue that proved to be too little too late, I nonetheless feel like this book is headed in a direction that’s going to pay off in a big way down the road. Of the crop of Avengers books being published right now, this is the one that keeps me coming back month after month because I believe in its potential, even when the comic doesn’t live up to it.

Grade: D

-Tony Rakittke

 



Incredible Hercules #136 – Review

By Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente (writers), Reilly Brown (artist), Nelson DeCastro (inker), Guillem Mari & Ulises Areola (colorists)

The Story: As Queen Alfyse prepares to lead her kingdom to war against Asgard, the epic saga of Thorcules and Hercuthor ends the only way it can, with the bad boys of polytheism throwing down and giving each other the gift of battle!

The Good: This latest storyline is easily one of the finest crafted by Pak and Van Lente, and that’s high praise for a book that is telling consistently good stories month after month.  Part of what makes this comic, and this storyline in particular; so successful is that for the time being at least both Hercules and Thor have the benefit of being kept at a relatively safe distance from the mainstream Marvel universe.  Since neither character is currently mired in continuity they are both free to enjoy a certain degree of latitude, which the creative team takes full advantage of to great effect.  This issue sees the delightfully absurd premise of Hercules pretending to be Thor taken to its logical extreme as Thor does unto Herc what’s already been done to him.  Presumably this is done in order to somehow stem the tide of Queen Alfyse’s impending war, but we know the real reason is simply to give the guys a chance to beat on each other while wearing each other’s clothes, and oddly enough I am so okay with that.  The battle royal between Herc and Thor is as much a raucous comedy as it is an epic, glorious brawl, and you’ll find it hard not to chuckle as each champion resorts to a string of dirty tricks to best the other.  The best part is that you can still pick up this issue without having read the previous ones and still follow along just fine, and in my opinion that is one of the hallmarks of some great storytelling.  I would of course be remiss if I didn’t compliment Brown and the art team for brilliant rendering this tale of balderdash and bravura, as their efforts made every page a pleasure to take in and enjoy.

The Not So Good:  You’ll notice soon that the brawl between Hercules and Thor devolves into a series of progressively infantile jokes and will either find them to be thoroughly amusing or just a tad too juvenile and out of character.  You wouldn’t be wrong either way though, just be forewarned that this is not your typical superhero battle.  Then again, maybe that’s a good thing.

Conclusion:  Wow, what a damn good comic!  You can’t go wrong with picking up Incredible Hercules 136 this week.  Not to be missed!

Grade:  A

-Tony Rakittke

Mighty Avengers #28 – Review

By Dan Slott and Christos Gage (writers), Khoi Pham (artist), Allen Martinez (inker)

The Story: Cut off from the rest of their team by the machinations of Loki, US Agent and Quicksilver have no other choice but to battle The Unspoken alongside China’s premiere superhuman army.  Statue discovers ‘Scarlet Loki’s’ treachery but is prevented from revealing it to the other Mighty Avengers so she turns to her friends on the Young Avengers for help.

The Good: Ever since Slott came on board, I feel like this title has found new life and a sense of fun that is well worth my money.  There is a vibe to this book that reminds me of the kinds of Avengers stories I grew up reading, when dynamic and dramatic team rosters united against epic foes. Uber Republican US Agent was by far my favorite character in this issue, and I laughed out loud when he reverently referred to Norman Osborn as being a patriot.  What made that scene even cooler was his fight with the Collective Man, a Communist who can summon the strength of every person in China.  Delightfully mad ideas like this keep me coming back to this book every month.

The Not So Good: This was a fairly average issue that didn’t amount to nearly as much as it would have you believe it did.  I was so into the battle against The Unspoken that when Slott changed scenes to Pym injecting team members with keys to the Infinite Avengers Mansion or Stature deciding how to overcome the spell Loki placed on her, I felt like they dragged on longer than necessary .  The funny thing about that though was that when I went back to look at these scenes again, they really weren’t that long after all.

Conclusion: The Mighty Avengers is one hell of an entertaining book that harkens back to an older, more enjoyable tradition of Avengers stories.  If you’re fed up paying $8 a month for Bendis’ Avengers books, I strongly encourage you to give this a try instead!

Grade:  B

-Tony Rakittke

Incredible Hercules #131 Review

By Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente (writers), Ryan Stegman (artist), Terry Pallot (inker), Raul Trevino & Chris Sotomayor (colorists)

Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente, on the off chance that you’re reading my review of your comic book right now, please know that I forgive you for those incredibly shitty “Dark Reign” tie-in issues; and that after this issue in particular I now hold special places for you both in my heart.  After taking a break from the title for a few months, I have returned to Hercules with this issue to find that not only is it every bit as funny as I remembered, it’s even funnier.

The best punchline of this issue, and easily the entire series to date, comes early on as Hercules is battling the reflection of his mortal self in Hell.  I won’t spoil the surprise for you, except to say that if, like me, you’ve ever groaned and wondered why all the gods in the Marvel Universe talk like they’re starring in a high school Shakespeare production, then this issue was written for you. Overall this is a very solid, very enjoyable issue; and I was especially pleased that I could pick this up after taking a break from reading it and still follow what was happening.  And that’s really the key to this comic’s success, I think it has less to do with any kind of a plot as much as it is the joy we get from watching Marvel’s ultimate frat guy punch and womanize his way through one merry adventure after another with the shit-eating grin and reckless abandon we’ve come to love in the Lion of Olympus. That’s all there is to it, and Pak and Van Lente are right to stick to this formula as closely as possible.

I enjoyed the bold lines and expressive qualities of Stegman’s art but felt it was often overpowered by Pallot’s inks. Fortunately, the dynamic colors of Trevino and Sotomayor compensate for this and make the finished pages absolutely sparkle. With all the melodramatic doom and gloom running rampant throughout Marvel’s “Dark Reign” snorefest, it’s a real treat to come across that occasional comic that wants nothing more than to laugh loudly at it all and entertain. This is one of those comics, so be sure to check it out.

Grade:  B+

-Tony Rakittke

Incredible Hercules #129 – Review

By Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente (Writers), Ryan Stegman (Pencils), Terry Pallot (Inks), and Raul Trevino (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: I love how Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente blend the Greek myth with the Marvel universe in Incredible Hercules. It helps to give the series a very unique feel.

The Story: Herc and Amadeus head to Erebus, which just happens to be a glitzy casino where those that have died and believe they shouldn’t have gamble for a chance to live once more. There they search for Athena’s “secret weapon.” What weapon? His name is Zeus…Herc’s father!

What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: The creative team’s spin on Erebus makes the latest issue of Incredible Hercules one of the most entertaining in quite some time. From the casino atmosphere to the clever cameos and hilarious dialogue, everything just flat out works. However, it’s not perfect.

The flaw is that throughout the course of the book, not a lot actually happens to drive the story forward. Outside of the last couple of pages, Herc #129 seems more concerned with fun, quips, Greek mythology, and commenting on the nature of comic book death than moving the plot along. While it’s not necessarily a bad thing because the book is so enjoyable, it is quite noticeable.

Writers Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente do an impressive job of keeping the humor flowing and the atmosphere lively. As always, the interactions between Hercules and Amadeus are a highlight, though nearly every character gets a chance to shine. I especially dug: Aegis’s nerdy conversation with Amadeus since it is sure to get a laugh out of those that get it, and Charon the river Styx boatman’s small, yet memorable appearance.

The artwork by Ryan Stegman, Terry Pallot, and Raul Trevino effortlessly brings the vision of the writers to the page. It’s bright, full of personality, and very much up to the challenge of bringing the Erebus casino and it’s inhabitants to life. It’s great fun to try and figure out which deceased Marvel characters are playing the games or enjoying the atmosphere.

Conclusion: Clever and hilarious, Incredible Hercules #129 is a creative success all around. While light on story, it more than makes up for it by being a whole lot of fun.

Grade: B+

-Kyle Posluszny

Incredible Hercules #128 (Dark Reign) – Review

By Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente (Writers), Dietrich Smith (Pencils), Terry Pallot (Inks), and Raul Trevino (Colorist)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: The Incredible Hercules has disappointed me as of late. The series remains fun and humorous, but the storylines have been rather weak. If Hercules and Amadeus Cho weren’t so entertaining to follow, I probably would have dropped the book months ago. But since they are, I figured I might as well give Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente another issue or two to right the ship.

The Story: Incredible Hercules #128 is pretty much one big fight scene. Herc’s group, the Olympus Group, and the Dark Avengers square off in a battle filled with action and, unsurprisingly since Herc’s involved, comedy. Plot progression doesn’t really happen until the end, so in order to avoid a spoiler, that’s all I will say for this section.

What’s Good: As usual, Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente do a great job of handling the humor and character work that makes Incredible Hercules such a fun read each month. The writers’ efforts are complimented nicely by the art teams lively, cartoony visuals that keep the battle action-packed and, oddly enough, hilariously amusing. Watching The Sentry and Venom (Dark Spidey) get knocked around like Loony Tunes characters is quite satisfying.

What’s Not So Good: I wish the plot driving the big battle interested me more. The characters involved keep me reading, especially when the mythology behind some of them comes into play, but as a whole I can’t help but respond to the story with a resounding “Meh.” Maybe things will pick up next issue, but I’m not counting on it.

Conclusion: A Hercules flavored throwdown is always worth checking out. Just don’t expect much from the story.

Grade: C

-Kyle Posluszny

Incredible Hercules #127 – Review

By Fren Van Lente and Greg Pak (writers), Dietrich Smith (artist), Cory Hamscher (inker)

The Story: What the hell just happened?  It took TWO writers to come up with this!?  Aegis, a completely forgettable character from New Warriors, is apparently killed by a member of Hera’s dark pantheon to absolutely nobody’s regret.  Hera meets with Hercules, Amadeus, and Athena to talk about how much she dislikes them, and Norman “Are You Sick of Seeing Me In All Your Comics Yet?” Osborn shows up with the Dark Avengers to discuss how much he generally dislikes everybody.  There, I just saved you $2.99.  If you still want more though, read on…

The Good: I grinned at the idea of a Greek diner being used as holy ground for the gods to convene without fear of agression against themselves, and enjoyed Smith’s double page spread of the Dark Avengers, but those things aren’t nearly enough to justify buying the comic, especially when this title is usually capable of packing so much more value and entertainment into its pages.

The Not So Good: How about everything other than the previous two ideas I just mentioned?  I don’t know if this was a bizarre standalone issue, a “Dark Reign” tie-in forced upon the creative team, or the first episode of an inexplicable storyline, all I can say is that this is the first issue of Incredible Hercules that completely failed to entertain me.  Van Lente and Pak have done amazing work on this title and I’ve been singing their praises for months now, but this issue was an incredibly poor example of what they are otherwise capable of achieving.

Conclusion: A waste of the paper it was printed on.  You don’t need this.

Grade: D-

Tony Rakittke

Mighty Avengers #23 – Review

By Dan Slott (writer), Khoi Pham (artist), Allen Martinez and Danny Miki (inkers)

Even as I grew to despise Bendis’s writing over the years, I was always willing to give him a chance when it came to The Avengers because they have long been a favorite team of mine since childhood.  From Avengers, New Avengers, Mighty Avengers, and right up to Dark Avengers, Bendis has conned me into thinking that each new iteration of the team might be the one that delivers the kind of epic action and drama that I’ve come to associate with the franchise.  Sadly, every title has let me down.  They’ve become vanity projects for Bendis full of overblown, Seinfeldian dialogue and plots that aren’t nearly exciting enough to justify the $3.99 price tags that are conveniently on his comics.  Needless to say, when I learned that Bendis was leaving Mighty Avengers I became optimistic, and when I read the roster for Slott’s new team, I became excited.  This team, a powerful combination of characters old and new, was a group of Avengers that made sense.  More importantly, it was a team I felt would be fun to read, and so far this title definitely delivers.

Completing the “origin” story of this new team of Avengers, this issue finds Hank Pym, now calling himself Wasp in honor of his late wife, being challenged by none other than Tony Stark for leadership of the group, which has been mysteriously assembled to combat the ancient Chaos god Cthon.  During the conflict egos clash, insecurities arise, a leader emerges, and the team’s malevolent founder is revealed.  In the sea of crap that Bendis has thrown the Avengers franchise into, Slott’s opening storyline on this title is a much needed breath of fresh air.  His script easily balances action, comedy, and characterization in ways that remind me why I’ve loved the Avengers for so long.  Khoi Pham’s art works best on a large scale, and if you don’t believe me, just check out the covers to his first three issues of this comic and tell me you wouldn’t buy a poster of it right now if you could!  Slott and Pham will need a little time to make this title their own, but I’m willing to give it to them because they have finally given me an Avengers comic I can enjoy again.  This is shaping up to be quite a fun comic and I hope you’ll give it a try!

Grade: B+

Tony Rakittke

The Incredible Hercules #124 – Review

By Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente (writers), Clayton Henry & Salva Espin (artists), Raul Trevino & Lee Loughridge (colorists)

The Story: “Love and War” continues with this hilarious issue that pits Hercules, Namora, and Athena in a battle royale with the baddest Titan of them all, Atlas.  Amadeus uses his love of refined sugar and hot Gorgons to escape from the Amazons, but with the heavy hitters preoccupied, Artume is free to pursue her vendetta against the world of man.

The Good: Some of the gags in this issue are the funniest to date, and I applaud Pak and Van Lente for making this a consistently amusing title.  From George Washington’s bizarre visions and Namora showing Atlas where the capital of Thailand is, to Hercules being bludgeoned with the Washington Monument and visions of everyone’s fondest desires, you’ll be hard pressed not to chuckle when you read this one.

The Not So Good: I was satisfied with this issue up until the end when I realized that, no, “Love and War” still wasn’t over yet, and I would be forced to endure what has proven to be a string of wonderful gags and ideas held together by a mediocre story. This plot about the Amazons’ quest for yet another reality-changing MacGuffin who isn’t nearly as interesting as say, their initial quest to find the hidden location of Atlas.  In fact, the Amazons themselves are easily the most boring part of this story, and I had hoped Pak and Van Lente would end “Love and War” with this issue. However, I was wrong. Now I’ve officially had enough of it.

Conclusion: An issue of great ideas that could have ended the storyline on a satisfying note, but chose to drag it on instead.  Since Pak and Van Lente seem to be writing this for a graphic novel release, you might be better off waiting to read that instead.

Grade:  C

-Tony Rakittke