Incredible Hercules #119 (Secret Invasion) – Review

Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente, (Writers) Rafa Sandoval, (Penciler) Roger Bonet, (Inker) and Martegod Gracia (Colorist)

This latest issue of The Incredible Hercules is really just one extended fight scene as Kirby, the pup recently revealed to be a Skrull, causes all sorts of trouble for the God Squad. While an extremely quick read, it sets the stage nicely for the showdown between the Skrull god and the God Squad. I really wish there was more to say about this issue, but, to be honest, the focus here is on action, not story.

I have no problem with comics featuring non-stop action, but I do have a problem if the action isn’t very well orchestrated. The scenes of calm look great, but those are few and far between. Maybe they were just running on a loose plot, because the art team just doesn’t seem to have a handle on everything that is going on in this issue. At times, it feels as though penciler, Rafa Sandoval, is more concerned with creature design than visual storytelling. There is a lot of good stuff to look at here, but you have to work to find it amongst the chaos. Truth be told, I happen to like this art team, but they have to get a handle on how to control the chaos because epic battles these are not.

As for the writing, it is as enjoyable as always. Incredible Hercules continues to be one of the best written books each month even when the writing takes a bit of a back seat to the action. The humor works as it should, the characters continue to entertain, and the visual chaos is translated into all sorts of fun dialogue. Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente continue to make one heck of a writing team.

While I like Incredible Hercules #119 quite a bit, the issue is weighed down by the poor art direction. I can understand what Sandoval and his team were going for, but there is just too much going on in nearly every scene. That said, I am still enjoying the hell out of this tie-in and can’t wait to see how the team handles Kly’bn, the Skrull God. (Grade: B)

-Kyle Posluszny