Wonder Woman #23.2: First Born – Review

By: Brian Azzarello (story), Aco (art), Matthew Wilson (colors)

The Story: Needless to say, First Born has a well-deserved chip on his shoulder.

The Review: After introducing the First Born and building up to what was supposed to be a huge battle with Wonder Woman, their actual confrontation turned out a little disappointing.  To be clear, the fighting itself was fine, but the oomph wasn’t there; something definitely felt missing.  In retrospect, it just comes down to how new First Born is to the scene.  Not only does he lack a long, personal history with Wonder Woman, he doesn’t have much history at all.

The timing of Villains Month couldn’t have better under such circumstances.  I don’t know if Azzarello is clever or lucky or what, but he’s been able to use both of DC’s promotional campaigns to his narrative advantage.  Just as #0 developed a connection between Diana and Ares that proved crucial to later arcs on this series, this issue feels very much like a natural coda to last month’s events as well as a strong prelude to the next.

Wonder Woman #4 – Review

By: Brian Azzarello (writer), Cliff Chiang (artist), Matthew Wilson (colorist)

The Story: Someone pop on some AC/DC and turn it up—Wonder Woman’s mourning.

The Review: As a young buff of Greek mythology, I always found the gods and goddesses baffling in their arbitrariness.  Even the most reasoned and benevolent ones would have their petty streaks from time to time, and few of them had any moral compunction about using their power with impunity and without regard for the consequences to mortals.  For that reason, I’ve never felt inclined to feel sympathetic to any of them.  They are gods, after all.

For the most part, Azzarello stays true to the conniving, scheming world of the Greek pantheon.  Ever since Apollo’s oracles revealed Zeus “doesn’t exist,” a truly astonishing pronouncement if you ever heard one, you’d think there’d be some kind of uproar among the divinities, or at least some kind of inquiry as to how this could possibly happen.  But we’re talking about the ultimate mafia family here, so when the head of the household disappears, power plays abound.

To that end, Apollo goes to Ares to secure an alliance of sorts, or at least support for when he makes his bid for leadership.  To your surprise, Ares agrees to stay out of the bidding with little resistance.  In fact, he seems quite lethargic, even melancholy in this portrayal.  While Apollo states that Ares is “vital—now, more than ever,” Ares responds with only a weary smile, as if millennia of spinning the world’s conflict has finally gotten to him.

Hera doesn’t even seem aware, much less affected, by her husband’s disappearance; she only wants to get her revenge on the dalliances he left behind.  Now, her oft-extreme retaliations against those she feels has wronged her may sway you into thinking her mean-spirited or horribly spiteful, but here, she reminds us she has every reason to be: “I am the queen of the gods…the goddess of women…ultimately yet, a woman.”  And any woman would be enraged by such constant infidelity from her husband.

Wonder Woman #3 – Review

By: Brian Azzarello (writer), Cliff Chiang (artist), Matthew Wilson (colorist)

The Story: Diana joins the ranks of women (and men) who have major daddy issues.

The Review: Even back in ancient days the concept of the Amazons captured people’s fancies.  Granted, society at that point was such that a race of women who lived and acted on the same footing as men had the same novelty as, say, hydras and sheep with golden wool.  Anyway, DC’s fictional Amazons for a while followed their traditional forbears in a strict ban on interaction with men, but Wonder Woman’s relationship to Man’s world weakened that prejudice over time.

In this new DCU, the Amazons are back to man-hating with passion; even male gods aren’t spared from their wrath and scorn, judging by their threats to the injured Hermes last issue.  Actually, the Amazons don’t tiptoe around any god at all, not even the literally shadowing presence of Strife.  Even as they bury the casualties of the demi-goddess’ power, that doesn’t prevent them from back-talking her with seeming impunity: “…you trick us into murdering our own…and now you mock us.”  “A god’s appetite truly has no shame.”

This brings up a question I bring from the original myths: if the gods are so inclined  and capable of interfering in mortals’ lives, why don’t they go all out in exercising that power?  The most likely answer, of course, is the gods simply enjoy themselves more going the hard way about it.  They indisputably have the upper hand in raw power, so the only amusement they can get out of us is to bring themselves down to our level and see if we can match them that way.  Little wonder why Hippolyta and Zeus hooked up; she saw a man who could actually match her skill in battle, and he saw a mortal woman who could give the king of gods a challenge.

Ultimately, the truth about Diana’s parentage indeed creates discord on the island (one woman darkly speculates on Hippolyta’s death), but it also brings to light tensions that have afflicted Diana since childhood.  Paradise, it seems, offers little protection from the usual mean-spirited taunts most people receive as kids (“…not since I was a little girl have I been called [Clay].”).

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 #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.

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

Incredible Hercules #134 – Review

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

The Story: The Mighty Thorcules and his child-father Zeus continue their excellent adventure through the realms of Asgard, stopping along the way to give the gift of battle to a band of trolls, share double entendres with the queen of the dark elves, and find yet more ridiculously amusing ways to ruin their best laid plans.

The Good: Everything, I kid you not, but especially the fine folks making this comic.  With the addition of the art team of Brown, DeCastro, and Mari, I feel like Incredible Hercules has finally found the quality of talent it needs to bring to life the light-hearted kinds of stories Pak and Van Lente are knocking out of the ballpark month after month.  If every single person producing this book hasn’t yet been offered an exclusive contract, then Marvel is making a huge mistake, since they have the right people for this book. I’d love to see them all stay on it for as long as possible. That said, this continues to be a very funny comic, and while the rest of the Marvel Universe seems to be drowning in a sea of grim melodrama, I really appreciate that I can turn to this book to escape all the bleakness and simply have some fun.

The Not So Good: The only thing that slightly annoyed me with this issue was DeCastro’s heavy-handed inks, especially the way he seemed to outline characters thick, black lines.  This approach often made pages look like they were animation cels, which in turn made the overall story a little too cute and a little light-hearted at times.  If DeCastro would ease up a little on the ink, this would easily be corrected.  Even if he doesn’t though, I didn’t find it to be a big enough problem to detract from the story.

Conclusion: Incredible Hercules is a great book made even better with a  stellar creative team now firmly in place.  Longtime fans of the character, and anyone familiar with his rivalry with Thor, will surely bust a gut laughing throughout storyline. And judging from the last page, I’d say things are about to become funnier than ever.

Grade:  B+

-Tony Rakittke

The Incredible Hercules #130 – Capsule Review

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

Some Thoughts Before The Review: I have a feeling that far sooner than later I’m going to begin trade waiting Incredible Hercules. While I really like what Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente are doing with the series (it’s consistently funny and consistently entertaining), it rarely leaves me feeling like I can hardly wait for the next issue.

The Story: Accused by Pluto, Zeus (accompanied by Hercules) stands trial in front of a jury of 501. Meanwhile, Aegis and Amadeus Cho travel the underworld in order to find Cho’s parents…

What’s Good And What’s Not So Good: Steeped in the series’ trademark mix of mythology, humor, philosophy, and history, Incredible Hercules #130 is one of the most intelligent Marvel comics I’ve read in a long time. For those of you that can truly appreciate the layers of depth, the latest issue of Hercules is a real treat. The trial of Zeus is perfectly executed (it’s loaded with weighty themes), the artwork is totally solid (though occasionally cluttered or inconsistent), and the funny stuff keeps things fairly accessible for those that aren’t familiar with everything Pak and Van Lente throw into the story (there’s a LOT to digest).

Conclusion: The Incredible Hercules #130 is a MUST READ for history, mythology, or philosophy fans. It’s absolutely loaded with good stuff.

Grade: B+

-Kyle Posluszny

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