Title of the work
Country of the First Edition
Country/countries of popularity
Original Language
First Edition Date
First Edition Details
Frank Tieri, Mark Texeira, Jimmy Palmiotti, Hercules: New Labors of Hercules. Marvel Comics, 2005, 120 pp.
ISBN
Genre
Alternative histories (Fiction)
Comics (Graphic works)
Mythological fiction
Science fiction
Target Audience
Crossover (9 years and up)
Cover
We are still trying to obtain permission for posting the original cover.
Author of the Entry:
Ayelet Peer, Bar-Ilan University, ayelet.peer@gmail.com
Peer-reviewer of the Entry:
Lisa Maurice, Bar-Ilan University, mauril68@gmail.com
Susan Deacy, University of Roehampton, s.deacy@roehampton.ac.uk
Jimmy Palmiotti
, b. 1961
(Illustrator)
Jimmy Palmiotti is an award winning Italian-American writer and comic artist. He also worked as an editor and inker of comic books and he has worked with various companies on a myriad of projects. He currently resides in NY.
Sources:
Profile at the comicbookrealm.com (accessed: May 28, 2018).
Profile at the dccomics.com (accessed: May 28, 2018).
Profile at the comicbookdb.com (accessed: May 28, 2018).
Bio prepared by Ayelet Peer, Bar-Ilan University, ayelet.peer@gmail.com
Mark Texeira (Illustrator)
Max Texeira is a NY native. He is a comic book artist. He was granted the Presidential Scholarship at the School of Visual Arts in NY but he dropped out after two years to pursue a commercial career.
Sources:
Official website (accessed: May 28, 2018).
Profile at the comicbookdb.com (accessed: May 28, 2018).
Bio prepared by Ayelet Peer, Bar-Ilan University, ayelet.peer@gmail.com
Frank Tieri
, b. 1970
(Author)
Frank Tieri is an award-wining comic books writer who resides in Brooklyn, NY. He has written many graphic novels for Marvel, including Wolverine, Iron Man, Underworld and more. He also wrote a story line for a video game, Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds in 2011. He also worked for DC Dynamite and other publishers.
Source:
Profile at the aftershockcomics.com (accessed: May 30, 2018).
Bio prepared by Ayelet Peer, Bar-Ilan University, ayelet.peer@gmail.com
Raul Trevino (Artist, Illustrator)
Raul Trevino is a comic book writer and illustrator who has resided in Mexico and Japan. He has won several awards for his works.
Source:
Official website (accessed: May 28, 2018).
Bio prepared by Ayelet Peer, Bar-Ilan University, ayelet.peer@gmail.com
Summary
This is a comic-book in which Hercules is the main protagonist in a Marvel universe occupied with other superheroes such as Captain America and the Avengers. This is the first volume in which we get to meet Hercules.
In the Marvel universe Hercules is no longer the heroic figure of the past, but a drunken mess. The book opens with a scene of a baby crushing animatronic snakes and it emerges that the setting is a new TV series about the life of the Greek hero. The new series appears to be a failure and the head boss prefers to see clashes between Hercules and Iron man than Hercules’ labours. He is not interested in the hero’s mythology. The newspapers mock Hercules’ drunken habit and the boss calls him: "major-league fodder for the tabloids, an absolute train wreck". The female bartender doesn’t even know Hercules’ lineage and tells him she prefers Xena, Warrior Princess.
Hercules insists that the world still needs its champions and that he will become one, but nobody seems to believe him due to his reckless behaviour. Hercules names his labours yet they impress no one. His era has gone. We need to wait for the continuation of the story in order to find out what Hercules will do next after meeting Eurystheus.
Analysis
Hercules has been portrayed in a variety of ways in many versions of graphic novels and comics, yet there are also similar features: his brawny appearance, his drunkenness and his rather low level of intelligence. Hercules is not actually stupid, yet he is certainly not the cleverest superhero. In fact, while he appears to be a superhero material due to his divine lineage, he is quite an anti-hero due to his character and rowdy behaviour. This is a modern, or even a post-modern, cynical look at superheroes.
The boundaries between reality, fiction and mythology are completely obscured in this work. In this installment, we have a story within a story, of a producer who tries to make a show about the legendary Hercules, while in the “real” world, dominated by the Avengers, the mythological hero is forgotten and hardly even noticed by people. The line between myth, TV and reality is completely obscured, especially with the cliff-hanger at the end which brings the myth into reality with the ominous appearance of Eurystheus.
The novel thus explores the nature of reality and myth, the idea of remembrance, and raises the question as to what really makes someone a hero. On the one hand we see the rejection of the ancient myths by an audience, who prefers modern superheroes, the shiny suit of Iron Man. The old stories and their hero are forgotten and despised. The hero himself also does not act very heroically; unlike the more righteous Avengers; he drinks too much and fights too much – hardly a role model. Does the curtain really come down on one of the ancient heroes? Is he the prototype for the modern superheroes? Can he regain his recognition? These questions are left for the other volumes.
Further Reading
Kovacs, George and C. W. Marshall, Classics and Comics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011.
Addenda
Illustrators: Mark Texeira (pencil), Jimmy Palmiotti (ink), Raul Trevino & Tatto (colors).
