Mood:
caffeinatedTopic: Comic Books - New
TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3135: This was another comic book given to me at the recent Wizard World Anaheim Comic Con in Artists Alley for possible review in this blog. Doug Sirois, who is an illustrator, and pictured above holding a copy of issue #1 of this mini-series, was credited as the colorist.So what's this comic book / series about? Here's the background info from the web site: "Written by Steve Moore, art by Cris Bolson, colored by Doug Sirois, lettered by Todd Klein, covers by Clint Langley. The stunning conclusion! After an explosive showdown of thunder and lightning on the battlefield, Hercules and his companions are set to end Egypt¹s civil war. But even with a cunning plan to defeat Khadis, Lord of Lightning and the insurgent king Amenmessu, there still remains a traitor in the royal house of Seti II. When the dust has settled on the grounds of war, the future of Egypt is in the hands of Hercules. 28 pages, $2.99” So what's 'My Take' on this last comic of the five issue mini-series? Front Cover: Very imposing Front Cover...Regal even. And when opened up to show a wrap around cover, it is actually a breath taking cover! (What I received was the Cover A WrapAround cover at the top left, not issue #1 Doug is holding in the photo.) Inside Front Cover: Good that there is a 'previously' paragraph, especially since I had NOT read any of the 4 previous issues in this 5 issue mini-series. Normally I would not pick up the last issue of a mini-series that I had not read the earlier issues. So I'll keep that in mind reviewing this issue #5 only. The actual credits are listed on this page. As shown previously above. Splash Page: None / as the story appears to continue from the previous issue. Pages 2 - 24: The rest of the story. Then 5 pages of Houses Ads & a letter from the President / Publisher of Radical Publishing on the inside back cover. Back Cover: On the Cover of this Cover 'A', it is the wraparound cover. I am not aware of what the Cover 'B' back cover shows. So...What did I think of this issue, coming in at the tail end of the story? Well, first let me speak of the storyline. I'm glad there was a 'previously' paragraph on the inside front cover. That helped! I was able to pick up on what had been going on earlier, but had a little trouble identifying the characters who were in this storyline. Again, that is why I normally don't pick up the last issue to read first! The artwork: I found that the story flowed with this artwork. There was a bit of 'red', (blood), in several panels, but I came in on a battle that was going on. Not overly gory, and the battle was soon over. The style of the art fit this genre. The colors: I found that the colors used for this issue to be complementary and not over the top. Some fight scenes today are overly gory in presentation...this was not. Good coloring on this issue. The lettering: Todd Klein is a pro at this. Another good job in placing the word balloons, especially on some pages that were heavy in text. Note: The Hercules Logo and character design were by Jim Steranko...Yes, THAT Jim Steranko. 'Nuff Said! Overall, if this last issue in this mini-series is representative of the entire five issues, then this would be a comic book series that I would enjoy reading. Although I am a big fan of Xena: Warrior Princess, starring Lucy Lawless, I was never a fanatic of the Hercules: The Legendary Journeys TV Show, which ran for 6 seasons. From what I could see from this final issue of the comic book mini-series, this is definitely not like the TV Show. It's more of an epic story instead of a classic adventure yarn type of storytelling. I would give this issue #5 by itself, a Very Fine Plus (VF+) 8.5 out of a 10.0 grading scale, due to the fact that I haven't read the earlier issues, so I had missed the beginning and middle of the storyline. Again, that is not this mini-series' fault that I missed the earlier issues. I'm just grading this based on what is presented only in issue #5. As I said earlier, this was a recent mini-series. This was cover dated for December 2009. For info on how YOU can see more AND order this comic book, check the following web site: Radical Publishing - Hercules - where you can see the other covers, and maybe wait for the TPB (Trade Paper Back), that is in the Pre-Order stage right now. My thanks to Doug Sirois for bringing this comic book mini-series to my attention. Doug does NOT have a Facebook Fan Page, so I will instead show his own web site address here: DougSirois.com. I took a look at it, and found it to have quite a few examples of his works! AND My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now over the 3,131 total posts in number!~ Michael D Hamersky @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com
http://www.comicbookscircus.com/
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