Comic Book Review: Incredible Hercules #136

Hercules has been a favorite in the bunker. If you like fun, action filled stories, this is the book for you. On the other hand, if you are looking for a serious drama filled book you probably want to pass on Herc.

Creative Team

Writer: Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente
Pencils: Reily Brown
Inks: Nelson DeCastro

Art Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 7.5 Night Girls out of 10

Synopsis: “Thorcules versus Hercuthor” features a twist on the epic Thor versus Hercules battles of the past. Hercules is impersonating Thor. He has joined the Queen of the Dark Elves(she believes he is actually Thor). She is ready to invade Asgard. Hercules is accompanied by what appears to be a young boy who is actually Herc’s father Zeus who has been stripped of his memories and been reborn.

Thor pretends to be Hercules and the two battle. If Herc wins, the Dark Elves win Asgard. I can honestly say that I have never seen some of the fighting techniques used in a comic. This is a first. Thor wins the battle. The deceptions are revealed. Herc ends up with the girl and the invasion is stopped.

Comments The Good: Normally, we give a full description of what happens in a book. I choose not to do that in this case. If you are a fan of fun action packed comics, run to your local store and pick up this book. A full description would ruin many of the surprises and jokes the authors have put in this story.

The characterization is spot on. Plots are advanced. Too many books stretch a story so thin that nothing happens in many issues. That is not a problem with this issue.

The Bad: I thought this book suffered from a problem that seems to be growing in modern comics. Nicely drawn panels are disrupted by cartoonish faces. Sometimes the faces are more realistic, other times they look like manga drawings.

Overall: If you can relax and enjoy a funny book, then Incredible Hercules is a great title to purchase. Pak and Van Lente continue doing a great job with this book.