Title of the work
Country of the First Edition
Country/countries of popularity
Original Language
First Edition Date
First Edition Details
John Whitman, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. San Francisco: CA: Chronicle Books, 1998, 320 pp.
ISBN
Genre
Adaptations
Fiction
Illustrated works
Mythological fiction
Novels
Target Audience
Crossover (Children/young adults, fans of the Universal TV series )
Cover
We are still trying to obtain permission for posting the original cover.
Author of the Entry:
Allison Rosenblum, Bar-Ilan University, allie.rose89@gmail.com
Peer-reviewer of the Entry:
Lisa Maurice, Bar-Ilan University, lisa.maurice@biu.ac.il
Elżbieta Olechowska, University of Warsaw, elzbieta.olechowska@gmail.com
Jeff Albrecht (Artist, Illustrator)
Known as an “extreme colorist”, Jeff Albrecht is a contemporary artist who uses an energetic style and bold color choices, and has been producing original artwork for over 25 years. He has worked with the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers, NHL’s San Jose Sharks, the Soul Surfer’s Friends Of Bethany, and the Pacific Whale Foundation, and is the only artist in the world that collaborates with the Maui Ocean Center.
He has used his pictures to raise money for charities and foundations.
Sources:
Official website (accessed: June 5, 2018).
Profile at the jacketflap.com (accessed: June 5, 2018).
Bio prepared by Allison Rosenblum, Bar-Ilan University, allie.rose89@gmail.com
Gary Kwapisz
, b. 1959
(Artist, Illustrator)
Gary Kwapisz’s artwork is dynamic and realistic. He specialises in drawing figures with dynamic movement. His first graphic novel is Civil War Adventure. He has worked on comics such as Savage Sword of Conan and The Punisher.
Sources:
Facebook profile (accessed: May 28, 2018).
Profile at comicbookdb.com (accessed: May 28, 2018).
Bio prepared by Allison Rosenblum, Bar-Ilan University, allie.rose89@gmail.com
John Whitman
, b. 1967
(Author)
Whitman is an American novelist who novelized many TV series, including Xena: Warrior Princess, Star Wars, and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. His most recent project was four novels based on the TV series 24. He attended Berkley (1985–89) and Boston University (1990–91). He was the executive editor of Time Warner Audio Books from 1991–1999.
Aside from being a novelist, he is a martial arts instructor, with a 4th degree black belt in Krav Maga, and was president of Krav Maga Worldwide from 2000–2007. He designed the instructor training program used by Krav Maga Worldwide, founded Focus Self Defense, and in 2009, became the head of Krav Maga Alliance (www.kravmagaalliance.com).
Sources:
Profile at the paperbackswap.com (accessed: May 29, 2018).
Profile at the Harper Collins Publishers website (accessed: May 29, 2018).
Bio prepared by Allison Rosenblum, Bar-Ilan University, allie.rose89@gmail.com
Summary
Hera continually finds way to combat Hercules, and he is forced to confront different challenges and enemies thrown his way. The book has three “scrolls” (chapters) that tell of different encounters. Each story is the novelization of a made-for-TV movie or movie-length episodes from the TV series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. The first scroll is Hercules and the Amazon Women in which Hercules saves the men of a village from “creatures” that are actually women from the village that have broken away from the chauvinistic men and aligned themselves with Hera. The second scroll, Circle of Fire has Hercules stealing fire back from Hera with the help of Deianiera, and helping Cheiron become mortal. The third scroll is called The Wrong Path and is the first episode of the series in which Hera kills Hercules’ family. He puts aside his quest for revenge in order to help save a village from a she-demon.
Analysis
While the stories in this book have a direct basis in mythology, the stories more closely resemble fan fiction than traditional mythological narrations, as they are a written adaptation of certain episodes from the TV series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. As the TV show is meant for an older and more mature audience, the sense of cruelty and pettiness from the gods is not downplayed, and the romantic development between Hercules and certain women (particularly Deianeira), which is usually explained in a line or two in mythological retellings, is stretched out and explored more over the length of the series since there is more time to devote to Hercules’ inter-personal relationships. There is a strong feminist slant in the first “scroll” (chapter) as the women decide to distance themselves from the men of the village, considering them too chauvinistic and vulgar, aligning with Hera.
There are illustrations on every double page facing the text, with captions, allow readers to flip through and understand the main parts of the stories without having to read each page.
Further Reading
Weisbrot, Robert, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys: An Insider's Guide to the Continuing Adventures, Dallas: Taylor Trade Publishing, 2004.
Weisbrot, Robert, Hercules, The Legendary Journeys: The Official Companion, Doubleday Books for Young Readers, London: Doubleday, 1998.
