Recommended Reading: Share Your Hidden Gems

The place to talk about your favorite novels, comic books and web comics.
Post Reply
User avatar
Ares
Site Admin
Posts: 4963
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:40 am

Recommended Reading: Share Your Hidden Gems

Post by Ares »

So something I'm going to start doing, and something I freely suggest everyone else do, is recommend books, individual comics issues, creator runs, storylines or other stories that are just GOOD. I did that recently with my Spider-Man/Fantastic Four thread, but I think it might be served better to just have a single thread for everyone, rather than just making a new thread every time I remember a good book or comic I want others to suggest.

Mostly I'm going to focus on lesser known recommends that others might not be aware of, and when possible post images to sell why it's so good. But feel free to share any stories you think others should check out.
"My heart is as light as a child's, a feeling I'd nearly forgotten. And by helping those in need, I will be able to keep that feeling alive."
- Captain Marvel SHAZAM! : Power of Hope (2000)

Want to support me and Echoes of the Multiverse? Follow this link to subscribe or donate.
User avatar
Ares
Site Admin
Posts: 4963
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:40 am

Re: Recommended Reading: Share Your Hidden Gems

Post by Ares »

Anyway, the comic that inspired me to start this thread was Hercules: Fall of an Avenger. These two issues follow Hercules' death, focusing on his funeral and the aftermath of his sacrifice.

The Hercules of this time was one of Marvel's big success stories, getting a revamp much like Iron Fist that pushed him from B-List to A-List for a bit. There was more than a few things I didn't like about the run, but overall it was a LOT of fun, and had some really great moments.

Fall of an Avenger focuses primarily on two things: Hercules Funeral and the legal paperwork of Hercules' estate.

The former is what every good funeral should be, having moments of humor, genuine sadness, and some family members acting like complete tools.

The women in particular had some choice words to say about Herc.

Image
Image
Image


But it never forgot why they were there.


Image
Image


The other story has Namora and Venus looking into Hercules' estate, and finding out that he actually invested a lot of money into various things. Herc actually helped Howard Star found Star Enterprises, and his shares of the company alone make Hercules a billionaire. But not everything Herc sank money into was purely financial.

Image
Image
Image


And then we find out that Hercules has a private island with a hospital dedicated to taking care of the children of various gods, mythological creatures and other semi-divine beings that slipped through the cracks and have been hiding on Earth.

Image
Image

It's honestly stuff like this that I wish we'd see more of in comics, and had gotten more of a focus in Herc's own book, rather than just a one-off story after Herc was dead. Because no one brings up stuff like this anymore. And sure enough, after he was brought back, Herc never really captured that kind of amazing storytelling again.

Basically, I view Thor as sort of the Captain America of gods, while Hercules is more like Iron Man. Cap and Thor are both moral paragons, and they're at their best when they're being noble, providing examples and standing up against impossible odds. Thor is more flawed than Cap, but it still stands.

Herc and Tony are much more flawed, but are capable of immense compassion and humanity, and their flaws makes their moments of humility stand out more.

Hercules: Fall of an Avenger. Check it out.
"My heart is as light as a child's, a feeling I'd nearly forgotten. And by helping those in need, I will be able to keep that feeling alive."
- Captain Marvel SHAZAM! : Power of Hope (2000)

Want to support me and Echoes of the Multiverse? Follow this link to subscribe or donate.
Cinder
Posts: 267
Joined: Sat Nov 05, 2016 3:11 am

Re: Recommended Reading: Share Your Hidden Gems

Post by Cinder »

I ran through most of Amadeus Cho’s earlier appearances and I really liked the whole run leading up to this.
NoOneofConsequence
Posts: 228
Joined: Sun Oct 04, 2020 7:11 pm
Location: Beyond Thunder River

Re: Recommended Reading: Share Your Hidden Gems

Post by NoOneofConsequence »

Yeah, I remember that. I'd always liked the character of Hercules, but that entire run, especially that part, made me love him. And I honestly felt Amadeus Cho worked better as the new Prince of Power than he does as BroHulk or whatever it is they're calling him now.


My own recommendation, and perhaps the most obscure thing ever, is Mark Gruenwald's "Man of Straw" back up story from Captain America #383. It's the story that actually made me like John Walker/USAgent, and over the past 30 years, I'm convinced that the only Marvel writer who has possibly ever read it before using the character is Jeff Parker. Because no one else, not even Kurt Busiek, has ever presented him as anything other than a straw man to punch down at.
What is tolerance? It is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty and error; let us pardon reciprocally each other's folly. That is the first law of nature.
Voltaire, "Tolerance" (1764)
NoOneofConsequence
Posts: 228
Joined: Sun Oct 04, 2020 7:11 pm
Location: Beyond Thunder River

Re: Recommended Reading: Share Your Hidden Gems

Post by NoOneofConsequence »

This isn't a comic, but is actually a long dead comic/comic related material opinion website from around 20 years ago. It was called The Quarter Bin, and I am unfortunately totally unaware of the name of the person who created and maintained it. Unfortunately, it went dark about 15 years ago, but most of it survives in the Wayback Machine.

A few of the highlights include the first article from the Public Square section (dealing with socio-political issues in comics), called Judging Political Comics, about how to judge the quality of "political" comics beyond whether one agrees with the premise/side or not. It's one of those things I wish more comic book writers (and other writers in general) would consider before churning out their work.
What is tolerance? It is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty and error; let us pardon reciprocally each other's folly. That is the first law of nature.
Voltaire, "Tolerance" (1764)
User avatar
M4C8
Posts: 759
Joined: Thu Nov 10, 2016 10:17 pm
Location: South-East England

Re: Recommended Reading: Share Your Hidden Gems

Post by M4C8 »

Absolutely loved Hercules in his solo books, for me he's one of the most underrated/underused characters in Marvel comics.
'A shared universe, like any fictional construct, hinges on suspension of disbelief. When continuity is tossed away, it tatters the construct. Undermines it'
User avatar
Ares
Site Admin
Posts: 4963
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:40 am

Re: Recommended Reading: Share Your Hidden Gems

Post by Ares »

It honestly kind of pisses me off to read the old Hercules stories and then watch Thor: Ragnarok and see Thor as he was portrayed in Endgame.

I liked Thor as he was portrayed in Thor 1 & 2 and Avengers 1 & 2. His personality change in Ragnarok and especially Endgame annoyed me, and reading the Herc stuff made me realize why:

Ragnarok and Endgame are terrible portrayals of Thor . . . but would make great portrayals of Hercules.

Honestly, given his apparent desire to add more comedy to Thor, I think Chris Hemmsworth might have been miscast as Thor, and would have been better as Hercules.
"My heart is as light as a child's, a feeling I'd nearly forgotten. And by helping those in need, I will be able to keep that feeling alive."
- Captain Marvel SHAZAM! : Power of Hope (2000)

Want to support me and Echoes of the Multiverse? Follow this link to subscribe or donate.
NoOneofConsequence
Posts: 228
Joined: Sun Oct 04, 2020 7:11 pm
Location: Beyond Thunder River

Re: Recommended Reading: Share Your Hidden Gems

Post by NoOneofConsequence »

Yeah, one of the reasons I liked the first Thor film so much was that it played everything fairly straight and, even though it was the typical fish out of water plot, allowed all of the characters to maintain their dignity. Ragnarok and Endgame, not so much.


(Honestly it now occurs to me that a Thor film that involved him putting a crew together - introducing characters like Hercules, Snowbird, Gilgamesh, and the like - to go put a divine beat down on some cosmic threat would've been potentially pretty awesome.)
What is tolerance? It is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty and error; let us pardon reciprocally each other's folly. That is the first law of nature.
Voltaire, "Tolerance" (1764)
Post Reply