Honest-to-Zeus Awesome: Incredible Hercules #116

If you were to find yourself in a REALLY tough spot, one where you needed a true hero watching your back, would you rather have some crazy dude in spandex arrive to save the day or a genuine, honest-to-Zeus, legend? I think the smart answer is legend, and there is no one more legendary than The Incredible Hercules!

One of the best ideas Stan Lee and company ever had was the notion to incorporate characters from myth and legend into the Marvel Universe. Super-hero comics are often discussed as our modern mythology, tales of mighty heroes and villains battling it out, with the fate of mankind hanging on their titanic struggles. What better way to make those battles truly epic, than to bring in the very first great heroes envisioned by mankind? Thus, we have whole pantheons of Greek, Roman, and Norse heroes hanging with the Avengers, or Loki really ruining the Hulk's day. Genius!

Though guys like Thor and Balder may be more awe-inspiring, Hercules is by far the most awesome immortal around. He's a good-hearted, hard-drinking, not-so-bright, demi-god that you just have to love! He's defeated thousands of villains and monsters since the dawn of human history, but he's happy to crash on your couch with a pizza and a keg or two of beer. And he does it all in a leather skirt. How can you not love this guy?

As far as I know, this Incredible Hercules series, which sprang to life out of World War Hulk, is Herc's first ongoing title. Brought to you by writer's Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente, with art by Rafa Sandoval, this book mixes mythology with modern Marvel's biggest events, to provide an excellent, important, and FUN read month after month. In the most recent issue, Herc is traveling around the country, with many stops for beer, with his sister Athena and his sidekick, the super-genius teen Amadeus Cho. Following their disastrous attempt to shut down S.H.I.E.L.D, Athena seems to be directing "the boys" efforts in a more useful direction. Of course, Herc seems to attract trouble everywhere he goes, and it isn't long before he gets them involved in a knock-down, drag-out fight with the Eternals. Much punching and kicking ensues!

This is seriously one of the most fun series Marvel has on the stands, and it really deserves your attention! Verily and forsooth, you must read The Incredible Hercules #116! It is a great jumping-on issue, with an awesome story, great art, and fun characters. Plus, there may just be a connection to a certain green-skinned, bumpy-chinned invasion that you wouldn't want to miss. Try it now, while it is the guaranteed Book of the Week at Four Color Fantasies. Don't let Herc down, or he may have to come crash at your place. Your fridge wouldn't last a day!

Take a bet on Wild Cards #1

Viruses, in general, are pretty bad news. At best, they give you a nasty case of the sniffles and totally ruin your day. At worst, they can kill you. Worst of all, there's not much you can really do about a virus. Once the little buggers get their claws into you, you just have to take your vitamins and try to ride it out. Regular old Earth viruses are bad enough, just imagine what could happen if aliens started dumping their viruses on us. Yikes!

That nightmare scenario is just the starting point for George R.R. Martin's Wild Cards #1: The Hard Call from Dabel Brothers Publishing. Over six decades ago, aliens from the planet Takis decided to test out a horrible little virus/weapon on the inhabitants of New York. Most victims of this Wild Card virus drew the Black Queen, an instant, horrible, death. Some became Jokers, disfigured freaks whose lives would never be the same. A tiny, tiny, percentage become Aces, gaining amazing powers and abilities.

The Dabel Brothers have become well-known for creating comic series based on highly respected and loved literary works. Wild Cards began life as a series of "mosaic novels" created and edited by George R.R. Martin. Many authors contributed stories to the Wild Cards books, and a complex mythology built up around this world and its characters. Sounds a lot like the way the DC and Marvel Universes were formed, doesn't it? Wild Cards is really a perfect concept for translation to comics. Writer Daniel Abraham and artist Eric Battle are off to a great start with this first issue.

This issue starts off with two main plot lines. One follows the Croyd "The Sleeper" Crenson as he struggles to survive, and solve a murder, in the slum known as Jokertown. The other deals with a high school student who gets caught up in a new Wild Card outbreak, and finds out that maybe drawing an Ace isn't as great as he imagined. If you've never heard of the book series, you can jump in here, without feeling the least bit lost. If you are already a fan of the books, you will definitely love this comic. It lets the Wild Card universe grow in new directions, and offers up a new way of looking at your old favorites.

So wipe your nose, take a cough drop, and head over to Four Color Fantasies to pick up this guaranteed Book of the Week. This series has the potential to become the next big thing, so don't miss out on your chance to get in at the beginning!

Wolverine: First Class

Wolverine: he's the best there is at what he does, and what he does is gently and patiently mentor new mutants! OK, not quite, but we all know that deep down Wolvie is just a big softie, no matter how much he may try to hide it. That deeply buried sensitive side especially comes to the forefront when ol' Logan is partnered with a kid sidekick. Like, you know, Kitty Pryde.

In Wolverine: First Class, by Fred Van Lente and Andrea Di Vito, readers get a flashback to the early days of the all-new, all-different, X-Men. The X-Men still don't know one another very well, and they just got a new recruit in the form of an extremely young Kitty Pryde. Professor Xavier, in a move that can only be described as reckless child endangerment, thinks it will do wonders for both Wolverine and Kitty if they are forced together on a mission to locate a new and powerful mutant.

Longtime X-Men readers already know that Wolverine and Kitty have a pretty long mentor/mentee history together. This issue takes us back to get a new look at how this partnership got started. Wolvie is a grumpy old veteran and Kitty is a sweet, inexperienced newbie. Working together will either teach them something new, or get them both killed. Wolvie's betting on the pessimistic side of that equation. (I told you he was cranky, didn't I?)

This series is appropriate for Wolverine fans of all ages. It takes place out of continuity, with no worries about the latest crossover events and no need to know the last 25 years of X-Men history. You get a complete story, done in one issue, with nothing more required to enjoy the tale. This makes Wolverine: First Class a great book for new fans, or for fans of ye olden days who may have lapsed in recent years.

So what are ya waitin' for, bub? Pick up Wolverine: First Class this week, while your enjoyment is guaranteed! If you don't, Wolvie might go into a berserker rage and wreck all your old Claremont/Byrne X-Men issues. I don't think anybody wants that.