If there was any other hero that could benefit from the Thor movie publicity aside from the Thunder God, himself, it would be Hercules. The Marvel version of the son of Zeus has had countless adventures alongside the more popular teams of The Avengers, The Champions and Heroes for Hire but never could seem to rise above being something of a black sheep. 

That all changed a few years ago when Greg Pak brought him into THE INCREDIBLE HULK series. Eventually being retitled THE INCREDIBLE HERCULES, that run acquired him a bit of a cult following. Now with a new ongoing comic, called simply HERC, he gets a well deserved light shined on him. 

The first issue basically sets up shop as we discover that Hercules has lost his immortality and is now left with just his strength and a few nifty artifacts at his disposal. In a way, it comes off as the ultimate test of his character. 

Led by voices that plead for his help, Hercules seems to be following signs and omens that give us a feeling that he is being guided by an unseen hand. Even when his old beer-drinking and womanizing ways are touched onto, they appear to be a proverbial carrot pulling him to his fate. There's plenty of action in this issue as his new role of defender of the oppressed brings him into direct conflict with a quite unexpected villain. 

The art, by Neil Edwards and Scott Hanna, does a great job of mixing the majestic image of Hercules and the urban landscape he now walks through. Not only were the fight scenes very dynamic, but even individual expressions were detailed nicely. 

I really like how the comic was presented with brief explanations of his skills and weapons in panels designed to imitate ancient Greek art. This is a neat touch that not only helped reinforce his mythological background but also explained the tools he now carries. Another big plus is the eight page backup feature that presents a thorough chronicle of Hercules' adventures that led up to where we find him now. The easily digested history lesson makes it possible to get up to speed without having to buy any other books (although it does have handy footnotes in case you choose to read the original tales). 

HERC #1 does an outstanding job of laying a foundation and is probably the most new-reader friendly book I've come across in a long time. If you're looking for a series that you can jump right into, without having to know a lot of what's come before, you can't go wrong with this one. This new title looks to be heading in an exciting direction and I can't wait to see where it goes.