What do you think?
Rate this book
Fear Itself #21
Fear Itself: Herc
A bold new era for the lion of olympus! The Chaos War left hercules without powers - and without a sidekick. but when mythic evil stalks the streets, and a latter-day band of Hercules worshippers cries out for their savior, what is the son of Zeus to do? he takes his three thousand years of combat experience, raids the armory of ares for the most fearsome weapons of legend, descends from heaven and gets medieval. return to olympus with Hercules' "Dream Team" of writers Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente! COLLECTING: HERC 1-6
144 pages, Hardcover
First published March 14, 2012
About the author
Greg Pak
1,714 books594 followersGreg Pak is an award-winning Korean American comic book writer and filmmaker currently writing "Lawful" for BOOM and "Sam Wilson: Captain America" (with Evan Narcisse) for Marvel. Pak wrote the "Princess Who Saved Herself" children's book and the “Code Monkey Save World” graphic novel based on the songs of Jonathan Coulton and co-wrote (with Fred Van Lente) the acclaimed “Make Comics Like the Pros” how-to book. Pak's other work includes "Planet Hulk," "Darth Vader," "Mech Cadet Yu," "Ronin Island," "Action Comics," and "Magneto Testament."
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 28, 2015
No longer immortal, the Hercules of the Marvel Universe takes on the mantle of “Protector of Brooklyn” ...
“Fear Itself: Herc” contains exactly what I want to see in a graphic novel reprint collection. To begin with, the issues collected within this volume have a distinct start and end point. This gives the impression that you truly bought a graphic NOVEL, not just a bunch of consecutive issues of some comic. (Other collections pick up in the middle of some extended story and/or drop you off without a conclusion.) The story contained within obviously is based on earlier events in the Marvel Universe, and has interactions with other comics published at the same time, but the reader needs little to no knowledge of those events.
The comic utilizes characters from the Marvel Universe that (I assume) have never encountered the Greco-Roman (former) god in earlier tales, but effectively integrates them into the existing story while maintaining their unique characterization. Man-Bull, Basilisk, the Griffin, the Hobgoblin, plus a cameo by Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin – all play an important role in the story.
Most importantly, the story told in the collection deals with a philosophical question (without ever actually stating it) – what constitutes a superhero? Is it powers? Is it attitude? Is it action? Is it … what? Or to what proportion?
This graphic novel was definitely worth the time it took to read.
RATING: 5 stars.
“Fear Itself: Herc” contains exactly what I want to see in a graphic novel reprint collection. To begin with, the issues collected within this volume have a distinct start and end point. This gives the impression that you truly bought a graphic NOVEL, not just a bunch of consecutive issues of some comic. (Other collections pick up in the middle of some extended story and/or drop you off without a conclusion.) The story contained within obviously is based on earlier events in the Marvel Universe, and has interactions with other comics published at the same time, but the reader needs little to no knowledge of those events.
The comic utilizes characters from the Marvel Universe that (I assume) have never encountered the Greco-Roman (former) god in earlier tales, but effectively integrates them into the existing story while maintaining their unique characterization. Man-Bull, Basilisk, the Griffin, the Hobgoblin, plus a cameo by Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin – all play an important role in the story.
Most importantly, the story told in the collection deals with a philosophical question (without ever actually stating it) – what constitutes a superhero? Is it powers? Is it attitude? Is it action? Is it … what? Or to what proportion?
This graphic novel was definitely worth the time it took to read.
RATING: 5 stars.
January 21, 2022
Entertaining and a worthwhile read. A tad ridiculous, as are all adventures of gods, but still exciting
April 29, 2022
Rating: 4,5
July 17, 2014
They try some interesting things with ol Hercules here but ultimately it falls flat. I enjoyed the first quarter, maybe a bit less and then it took a severe nosedive. I tried hard to like the rest, probably out of pity for old dumb Hercules, he's had a tough run, but ultimately flat characters and a boring predictable plot dissuaded me.
Marvel needs to drop the whole Greek/Roman pantheon like Perseus dropped Medusa and stick to the Norse gods & creating new original heroes.
Marvel needs to drop the whole Greek/Roman pantheon like Perseus dropped Medusa and stick to the Norse gods & creating new original heroes.
September 15, 2015
So very bad. Apparently, when Hercules lost his demigod status, he became a bro. The "dialog" was so poor, and the story jumped all over the place. If, like me, you're thinking of reading this because it ties in with the Fear Itself event, don't bother. This volume has very flimsy ties to the event, and doesn't give you anything you need to follow the main Fear Itself story.
August 13, 2012
Fun. Hercules no longer has powers, just some magic weapons. He does his best to start a new life and protect those around him. Difficult with fear everywhere. A great book with Hercules at his best.
September 24, 2013
It was quite enjoyable. Didn't really tie in with the Fear itself storyline, but still it was fun.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews