Monday Musings, The First
Ok, so let me first say that my input to this blog has been rather limited. The Crone Zone is clearly the major contributor, and I know that I’ll never write as much as he does. Plus, he knows a hella lot more than I do about comics. But in an attempt to add some variety to Snark Free Waters, I’m going to try and do some regular contributions in the form of, what I have decided to call Monday Musings.
Why Mondays you ask? Well, I usually don’t get to pick up my comics for the week until Friday or Saturday, and then I’m usually busy all weekend, and I have no class on Monday, so I’ve got time to write something up. Theoretically, anyway. So without further BS, let’s begin.
Today’s topic shall be Hercules. Now, being relatively new to the comics scene, I only started collecting comics about 10 years ago, I pretty much missed all of Herc’s appearances in his first bout of popularity. But I’m a big fan of the character from Greek mythology, and I’ve just about always enjoyed Frank Tieri’s work, so I figured I’d give the series a shot.
The premise is definitely one that Tieri could have a lot of fun with. Hercules having to redo his legendary 12 Labors as a new reality show? The possibilities are endless. I think Tieri did a great job of matching up the original labors with a new set of modern ones. Herc did things like fight Abomination, steal Captain America’s shield, swipe a SHIELD Helicarrier, and fight some of the Mole Man’s giant monsters. I’d list more, but I only have the last 2 issues with me, and I can’t remember any of the other ones.
While overall, the 5-issue mini-series is a fun romp with the H-Man, there is an undercurrent of redemption throughout the tale. In the first issue, Hercules is pretty much at rock bottom, causing drunken scenes at funerals, throwing people through walls at bars, the usual. By the end of issue 5 though, because of his last labor, Hercules has regained a good bit of his status, especially with his fellow Avengers. I really got a feel for the Marvel version of the character, and I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing him get a spot on the roster of some team book.
Tieri really has a great grasp on the dialogue. Hercules has the typical, ancient Greece style going on, while his camera crew sounds like the typical early 20s crowd. The art, by Mark Texeira, with Jimmy Palmiotti on inks, is quite well done, I think. When the inevitable trade comes out, I would suggest picking it up, if you want a fun story about the man who was once the world’s greatest hero.
Why Mondays you ask? Well, I usually don’t get to pick up my comics for the week until Friday or Saturday, and then I’m usually busy all weekend, and I have no class on Monday, so I’ve got time to write something up. Theoretically, anyway. So without further BS, let’s begin.
Today’s topic shall be Hercules. Now, being relatively new to the comics scene, I only started collecting comics about 10 years ago, I pretty much missed all of Herc’s appearances in his first bout of popularity. But I’m a big fan of the character from Greek mythology, and I’ve just about always enjoyed Frank Tieri’s work, so I figured I’d give the series a shot.
The premise is definitely one that Tieri could have a lot of fun with. Hercules having to redo his legendary 12 Labors as a new reality show? The possibilities are endless. I think Tieri did a great job of matching up the original labors with a new set of modern ones. Herc did things like fight Abomination, steal Captain America’s shield, swipe a SHIELD Helicarrier, and fight some of the Mole Man’s giant monsters. I’d list more, but I only have the last 2 issues with me, and I can’t remember any of the other ones.
While overall, the 5-issue mini-series is a fun romp with the H-Man, there is an undercurrent of redemption throughout the tale. In the first issue, Hercules is pretty much at rock bottom, causing drunken scenes at funerals, throwing people through walls at bars, the usual. By the end of issue 5 though, because of his last labor, Hercules has regained a good bit of his status, especially with his fellow Avengers. I really got a feel for the Marvel version of the character, and I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing him get a spot on the roster of some team book.
Tieri really has a great grasp on the dialogue. Hercules has the typical, ancient Greece style going on, while his camera crew sounds like the typical early 20s crowd. The art, by Mark Texeira, with Jimmy Palmiotti on inks, is quite well done, I think. When the inevitable trade comes out, I would suggest picking it up, if you want a fun story about the man who was once the world’s greatest hero.
posted by Sean Hutchinson at 2:50 PM
2 Comments:
I agree, there WAS a lot of fun stuff in Hercules.
What did you think of the scene with Hercules and Cap in #4?
I think it was a great scene. Good for Cap to stand up and be the better man. Hercules makes good use of the exclamation "Zounds!", which is always awesome in my book.
And Herc's comment about the Avengers letting Wolvering join was pretty funny.
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