Sandwiched between the two Hercules stories in Gold Key's The Mighty Hercules #1 (July 1963) is a nifty "Greek Heroes of Mythology" feature, written by Paul S. Newman and drawn by an uncredited artist. The art style, like the Hercules tales, effectively mimics the designs of the Mighty Hercules cartoon on which the comic book is based. It's a fairly safe bet the same artist drew all three stories, but we simply have no idea who he was.
Anyway, this one is about Theseus, the Greek hero who slew the Minotaur. It follows the myth closely. For years, Athens has been obligated to send seven youths and seven maids to King Minos as a tribute. The young people are then tossed in a labyrinth and eaten by the Minotaur.
Theseus, the king's son, volunteers to be one of the current tributes. Once in Crete, Minos' daughter Ariadne falls for him and gives him a sword and a ball of thread, this latter item to be used to mark his passage through the labyrinth so he can find his way out.
Theseus eventually confronts the Minotaur and slays it. Gee whiz, I didn't expect the monster design we see in a Gold Key comic! The Minotaur is given the bull head and a completely naked human body! Of course, we never see anything inappropriate, but for Gold Key, this was a risque image. The panel showing Theseus finishing off the Minotaur is pretty brutal as well.
Of course, in the end, there's nothing here a reasonable parent would object to their children reading. But I can picture a naughty six-year-old penciling in the Minotaur's wee-wee. It's what six-year-olds do.
The story ends with Theseus and Ariadne sailing back to Athens together. It leaves out the part where Theseus forgets to put up the sail that tells his dad he's alive, leading to his dad committing suicide. But, well, THAT would have been too much for Gold Key. In essence, this is a fun and effective retelling of a classic myth.
Next week, we'll finish up this issue with a look at the second Hercules Story.
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