Disney’s ‘Hercules’ Adventures In The Comic Book Realm This April

by Erik Amaya

Dynamite’s collaboration with Disney turns to its big-screen heroes.

The company announced on Thursday the imminent arrival of Hercules — a new ongoing series about the legendary Greek warrior as viewed through the prism of his 1997 animated film. Charting his latest adventure will be writer Elliott Kalan and George Kambadais. Set after the events of the film, the gods are still perplexed by Herc’s choice to live a mortal life, but it still suits their purposes as he can act as their agent far below Mt. Olympus. His latest assignment: clean up a mess after Aphrodite grants an artist’s wish to bring his sculpture to life. The statue has enormous strength and it will require a demigod’s intervention. But when he determines empathy is better suited to the task than a feat of strength, he returns to Aphrodite to find her temple empty. Is it possible to godnap an Olympian? And if so, who could possibly pull it off?

“To me, the Disney Hercules embodies the best aspects of classic superheroes,” Kalan said in a statement. “He always tries to do what’s right, never gives up, cares about the people around him, and feels for those who need help. Hercules is the original superhero concept — a super-strong person who keeps people safe by removing monsters from the world. What are the Twelve Labors but the original twelve-issue storyline?!? My hope is that when people read Hercules, they’ll say ‘This could have been a new Hercules movie!'”

Kambadais added, “Hercules is a super important character in pop culture, even more so here in Greece. We have known his name ever since we were children. I remember my mother reading the Twelve Labors of Hercules to me as a bedside story! They were amazing, magical. So was the Disney Animation movie when it came out. We, as Greek children, back then (in the pre- internet days) felt kind of isolated. Living in a small corner of the world seemed far away from anything that felt big and important. When I saw the movie, I felt sort of… validated. It was equal parts exciting and moving. Now being a part, however infinitesimal, of that story feels huge!”

Supporting the premiere issue will be covers from Kambadais, Matteo Lolli, Francesco Tomaselli, and Alessandro Ranaldi.