Incredible Hercules

Hercules Fall of an Avenger #1.

After the last couple of years of concentrated awesomeness that has been Incredible Herc, here we are at the end of one of the best books going today.

It was a sad issue, which is to be expected, I got a little misty eyed as everyone told stories about Herc, some funny, some sad, but all of them showed just how much Herc has meant to the MU in general and how he was viewed by several of the heroes.

Got a pretty good chuckle when the Elven Tickler made it's infamous return though, wouldn't be an issue of Herc if you didn't laugh out loud at least once.

Bit of a surprise at the end, but with the up coming series it makes sense.

The Atlas back up was another good read as Namora and Venus travel the world investigating all of Herc's investments and telling everyone Herc is dead. Man, Herc got around, but he honestly seemed to be doing allot of good when everyone just assumed he was a fool. The part that got the biggest laugh out of me is finding out that Herc was one of the prime investors for Stark Industries from the very begining, no one ever thought about that, lol.

Over all, great issue, if Herc has to have a send off I'm glad it's going like this, it was sad, funny, a few shocking moments, and just plain a good read.

^ What he said. It was nice to see how he touched so many people in the MU in a positive way. The fact that he had a stake in Stark that had zeroes going to a second line was hillarious, now Atlas holds that stake. Next time I have a brew I'll have to give a sip to Herc.

Hercules: Fall of an Avenger #1

It was perfect timing in reading an issue like this, with my Smash of the Titans hardcover just arriving in the mail. I never had a chance to see the battle and team-up between the incredible tandem of Hulk and Hercules during the events that lead to World War Hulk, so Banner's reference during Herc's eulogy has me all the more excited. The first part of this send-off is a wonderful treat for both old and new Hercules fans who've either been here for the duration or--like myself--jumped on during the Assault On New Olympus. Without question, Ariel Olivetti is a love-or-hate artist. His often larger-than-life, painted characterizations capture superheroes at their most wondrous (often too far with the amount of enormity in the upper-bods), all the while containing some of the most inelastic. But for such a reflective, narrative-driven piece, Olivetti's daydreamy art works to a tee.

The Atlas back-up (better get used to that name) is the best in the business, even more of a treat with Paul Tobin guest-writing this month. As far as I can recall, this is the first time an author other than Jeff Parker took a swing at the Agents, though it's possible other backups have been scripted by others. Regardless, this is the most memorable non-Parker take. Maybe Tobin and Parker could even co-script or take turns penciling the forthcoming arcs of the Atlas ongoing. Most importantly, both stories reflect on the sorrow passing of Hercules with just the right amount of humor. My only problem comes with the questionable stale sexual references from Namora, Black Widow and company during one's death. Not kosher.

Still, what Fall of an Avenger #1 does best is have readers just as interested in reading the second part. In the business of selling comics, that's always a bonus.

4/5 Bags&Boards - Lovely

^Great stuff. I loved the various tales everyone had about Herc, especially the Thor/Herc drinking contest with Frost Giants...I think they hooked up with some Frost Giant chicks after too! And the stories from Herc's various superheroin hook ups were hilarious.

The Atlas backup was good too. Nice to see Herc was an accidental genius business man.

My only problem comes with the questionable stale sexual references from Namora, Black Widow and company during one's death. Not kosher.

That was one of the big jokes running through out Incredible Herc, Herc had a running count against Cho whether Cho was counting or not.

I believe the final tally was 18,643 for Herc to 1 for Cho, not for lack of Amadeus' trying, lol.

If you stuck with the book since the beginning the whole speech from the ladies totally made sense, jumping on late you missed so much awesome. Heck, the Incredible ThorCules arc was my best arc of the year from 2009.

Fresh03 wrote:

My only problem comes with the questionable stale sexual references from Namora, Black Widow and company during one's death. Not kosher.

That was one of the big jokes running through out Incredible Herc, Herc had a running count against Cho whether Cho was counting or not.

I believe the final tally was 18,643 for Herc to 1 for Cho, not for lack of Amadeus' trying, lol.

If you stuck with the book since the beginning the whole speech from the ladies totally made sense, jumping on late you missed so much awesome. Heck, the Incredible ThorCules arc was my best arc of the year from 2009.

I loved the whole thing. I smiled a wicked smile when Northstar "excused himself" from the service (I was all "Herc, you dog! ").

Dr. Wade Fucking McNasty wrote:

Fresh03 wrote:

My only problem comes with the questionable stale sexual references from Namora, Black Widow and company during one's death. Not kosher.

That was one of the big jokes running through out Incredible Herc, Herc had a running count against Cho whether Cho was counting or not.

I believe the final tally was 18,643 for Herc to 1 for Cho, not for lack of Amadeus' trying, lol.

If you stuck with the book since the beginning the whole speech from the ladies totally made sense, jumping on late you missed so much awesome. Heck, the Incredible ThorCules arc was my best arc of the year from 2009.

I loved the whole thing. I smiled a wicked smile when Northstar "excused himself" from the service (I was all "Herc, you dog! ").

Exactly, back in the day they were having sex with Swans, horses, oxen, demons, etc... A little bi action's nothing to this series, lol!

Seriously though, I did just about fall out of my chair when I saw that panel, great stuff.

Oh, Herc, how I miss you already...

Dr. Wade Fucking McNasty wrote:

Fresh03 wrote:

My only problem comes with the questionable stale sexual references from Namora, Black Widow and company during one's death. Not kosher.

That was one of the big jokes running through out Incredible Herc, Herc had a running count against Cho whether Cho was counting or not.

I believe the final tally was 18,643 for Herc to 1 for Cho, not for lack of Amadeus' trying, lol.

If you stuck with the book since the beginning the whole speech from the ladies totally made sense, jumping on late you missed so much awesome. Heck, the Incredible ThorCules arc was my best arc of the year from 2009.

I loved the whole thing. I smiled a wicked smile when Northstar "excused himself" from the service (I was all "Herc, you dog! ").

I was like is that implying what I think it's implying??

Hercules Fall of an Avenger 2 of 2

This issue was definitely the epic end to the celebration of the life of an epic character. The gods of the Greek pantheon have a falling out and take sides in a battle between Apollo and Athena for the right to be the head of the pantheon. This battle however is decided by Earthborn champions. Apollo and Athena choose their sides and in the end Cho is victorious not only over Apollo’s champions but then the groups turn on the gods. All this was used as a device for Amadeus to search Hades for his fallen friend.

Greeted in Hades by the Persephone, queen of the realm (at least 6 months out of the year,) Amadeus finds himself a new goal. As the new head of the Olympus group and its holdings he has the means at his disposal in order to pursue it.

The story add-on in the back of the book was touching. Finding out a little more about the softer side of Hercules, he started an orphanage. Venus and Namora discover this and do all they can to doctor the books to keep it open. It was nice to see something else good live on from Herc’s escapades.

At least we have Amadeus Cho Prince of Power to look forward too in the new future. We will see the role he takes as head of the Olympus group and discover what further adventures the world holds for him. I don’t know if Agents of Atlas will continue as a back story in that book, but it will be interesting to see what they do with their new assets as well.

4 out of 5 Monsterous Orphans

hrdwrkngXsoldier wrote:Hercules Fall of an Avenger 2 of 2

This issue was definitely the epic end to the celebration of the life of an epic character. The gods of the Greek pantheon have a falling out and take sides in a battle between Apollo and Athena for the right to be the head of the pantheon. This battle however is decided by Earthborn champions. Apollo and Athena choose their sides and in the end Cho is victorious not only over Apollo’s champions but then the groups turn on the gods. All this was used as a device for Amadeus to search Hades for his fallen friend.

Greeted in Hades by the Persephone, queen of the realm (at least 6 months out of the year,) Amadeus finds himself a new goal. As the new head of the Olympus group and its holdings he has the means at his disposal in order to pursue it.

The story add-on in the back of the book was touching. Finding out a little more about the softer side of Hercules, he started an orphanage. Venus and Namora discover this and do all they can to doctor the books to keep it open. It was nice to see something else good live on from Herc’s escapades.

At least we have Amadeus Cho Prince of Power to look forward too in the new future. We will see the role he takes as head of the Olympus group and discover what further adventures the world holds for him. I don’t know if Agents of Atlas will continue as a back story in that book, but it will be interesting to see what they do with their new assets as well.

4 out of 5 Monsterous Orphans

Yep great tribute to Herc, and looking forward to what Cho has planned. Also, the back up Atlas feature was a nice touching story too.

Hercules: Fall of an Avenger #2

Some closure but my grief remains unabatted…

In my mind Incredible Hercules was the best thing thing to come out of World War Hulk, period. The misadventures of the Greek God Hercules and the 7th Smartest Person in the world Amadeus Cho have been an absolute blast to read. They’ve taken on everyone from Shield, to Ares, to the Amazons, to even the Mighty Thor himself and every issue contained so much concentrated awesome that I had no idea why more people weren’t picking it up.

I mentioned in my blog “Gods vs. Marvels” that during this new age that mortals of the MU have begun to elevate themselves to a level in comparison to the so called Gods of the MU. In this issue we see that theme continue as Amadeus is forced to Champion Athena’s cause to become the new leader of the Greek Pantheon while she’s opposed by Apollo and his Champion Phobos.

To say that Amadeus isn’t taking Herc’s death well is an understatement. As the issue progresses you see more and more open defiance against the group that has been manipulating his life nearly since it began. He openly criticizes them and even hatches a plan to have all of their current schemes blow up in their faces. Amadeus shows them that while they call themselves “Gods” they had better watch their backs because while they might consider him a pawn in their games he’s far more than they bargined for and they’ve all painted targets on their backs for their involvement or lack thereof in Herc’s fall.

Even with all of the seriousness this issue contained it still maintained Incredible Herc’s trademark sense of humor. The mind-blowing sound effects make their return, "BOZZFITE!!!", Phobos’ manipulation off Pluto is laugh out loud inducing, and Amadeus retains his trademark smart-assness that has made him one of my favorite marvel characters.

Pak and VanLente are such a great team. This issue guest stars a ton of prominent MU characters and each has exactly the voice I’d expect them to. They work subtlties into dialogue and the back grounds that make you study each panel as you know they’re building towards something big and they deliver in spades in the last couple of pages as the reveals start to unfold.

To say Ariel Olivetti’s art in this issue is great is an understatement. Each page looks like it was painted, although I believe he was using digital coloring to get the effect, but knowing him he may well have painted each page. He captures the action, drama, grief, pain, and hilarity of each panel to perfection. I can’t think of anyone who could have delivered better for my money than what he accomplished in Fall of an Avenger.

The Agents of Atlas back up by Paul Tobin and Reilly Brown continues to deliver what it did in issue one as we see Venus and Namora globe trotting and trying to get to the bottom of Hercules’ finances and deliver the news that he’s gone. Last issue you got to see how much Herc affected peoples’ lives either with kindness or his blundering into good fortune. This issue focused on a mythological creature orphanage started by Herc to house those that have nowhere else to go. As it was last issue the back up is nearly a tear jerker. With Herc gone those of us who have followed his exploits over the last couple of years can’t help but feel a deep sadness and this story tugs at those heart strings as the AoA see just how big of a hole there is in the MU without Herc in it.

I found Hercules: Fall of an Avenger to be one of the more satisfying conclusions to a remarkable series that I’ve seen in a long time. It moves the players into position for the next story yet still makes you feel just how big of a deal Herc’s death is. With how cheap death generally is in comics these days it’s a nice change of pace to see a mini like this that deals with it in a manner actually befitting the fallen.

Hercules: Fall of an Avenger gets a 4.5/5 blasphemes.

Now, bring on Amadeus Cho: Prince of Power!

Prince of Power #1 of 4

Thank you Marvel for letting Greg Pak continue bringing us readers one of the most epic stories that nobody is reading. Pak has continued to be nothing less than awesome with his treatment of the Incredible Hercules and the current Prince of Power, Amadeus Cho.

We had the opportunity to watch this friendship/partnership thrive for 2 years as Amadeus Cho learned how to be a hero from one of the greats. With his friend fallen and new seat at the head of the Olympus group I was sure that there was going to be something great coming for the 7th Smartest person in the Marvel 616 Earth. I was right.

Amadeus has pulled together his new resources and old friends in order to go on his quest to find his fallen comrade in arms and mentor. This story actually began in the Fall of an Avenger mini where Amadeus discovers that Herc was not residing in the Elysian Fields or Hades. Now armed with Herc’s mace, a lot of money, his quantum hyper-mind, and some useful Banner-tech; he is prepared to scour the universe and all its realities to find the former Prince of Power.

On this quest he seeks out information on what he will need to do in order to return Herc to his place in the Greek pantheon. He is advised by an exiled Asgardian Halfling into the ingredients he will need “to become like unto a god.” This is an excellent nerd-out moment for fans of the Herc and Mighty Avengers series that have been following the concept of the Age of Marvels/Age of the Gods. (I guess they went with Age of Heroes instead though.) Because it supports some of the theories that readers and fans have come to regarding what it takes to be a god in the Marvel Universe.

This book is worth every bit of your time to read the story is great so far and the concepts are something that actually make the reader think. Not to mention the greatest sound effects in comics. REBOOOOT

4.5 out of 5 Awesome Onomatopoeias

hrdwrkngXsoldier wrote:Prince of Power #1 of 4

Thank you Marvel for letting Greg Pak continue bringing us readers one of the most epic stories that nobody is reading. Pak has continued to be nothing less than awesome with his treatment of the Incredible Hercules and the current Prince of Power, Amadeus Cho.

We had the opportunity to watch this friendship/partnership thrive for 2 years as Amadeus Cho learned how to be a hero from one of the greats. With his friend fallen and new seat at the head of the Olympus group I was sure that there was going to be something great coming for the 7th Smartest person in the Marvel 616 Earth. I was right.

Amadeus has pulled together his new resources and old friends in order to go on his quest to find his fallen comrade in arms and mentor. This story actually began in the Fall of an Avenger mini where Amadeus discovers that Herc was not residing in the Elysian Fields or Hades. Now armed with Herc’s mace, a lot of money, his quantum hyper-mind, and some useful Banner-tech; he is prepared to scour the universe and all its realities to find the former Prince of Power.

On this quest he seeks out information on what he will need to do in order to return Herc to his place in the Greek pantheon. He is advised by an exiled Asgardian Halfling into the ingredients he will need “to become like unto a god.” This is an excellent nerd-out moment for fans of the Herc and Mighty Avengers series that have been following the concept of the Age of Marvels/Age of the Gods. (I guess they went with Age of Heroes instead though.) Because it supports some of the theories that readers and fans have come to regarding what it takes to be a god in the Marvel Universe.

This book is worth every bit of your time to read the story is great so far and the concepts are something that actually make the reader think. Not to mention the greatest sound effects in comics. REBOOOOT

4.5 out of 5 Awesome Onomatopoeias

Yep, this was great. Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente have done an amazing job with all these characters over the last couple years. I love me some Cho lol.

And yes, greatest sound effects in comics!

hey i'm a little late on this but with only 5 books on my list this week I found this the perfect time, if any...

it's a basic continuation from Inc. Herc...I guess I put this off to TRY and talk myself into thinking it was unneeded but the combination of Pak and Van Lente is just too good. And yes....KRAKKABATHROOMMM

the book is smart but more fun if anything

Prince of Power - 4/5

"KRAKKABATHROOMMM"?

Was he doing #2? Can't wait to pick this one up. My LCS didn't get my order in due to the holiday.

Prince of Power #2 of 4

Pak continues to deliver a fun and entertaining story with Amadeus Cho the new prince of power. This issue reveals more of what the plot of this mini will actually entail. We already knew that Cho was seeking a way to locate Hercules (who is absent from Hades the Elysian Fields or Tartarus) and in order to do so he is trying to figure out how to become a god. There has been a wrench (hammer) thrown into his mission when he has to face off against Thor and have a great debate on who was a better friend of Hercules. Finally deciding to work together as the heads of all the pantheons are holding Cho in sour light thinking his plot is to steal what is most precious to them.

He has the recipe, he has ZERO ingredients, a new ally, and the empire he left behind has been seized by Vali Halfling (the illegitimate son of Loki). This story is shaping up vary nicely and has enough suspense in it to keep you wanting more. As always, you will find within this tome top quality onomatopoeias.

4 out of 5 Krrrozzzoverrs

I still need to catch up on Chaos War but I'm loving this news...new ongoing title "Herc" hits in April!

http://blog.newsarama.com/2011/01/26/greg-pak-and-fred-van-lente-launch-new-marvel-ongoing-in-april-chaos-war-5-spoilers/