The last story (not counting a 1-page text about olive oil) in The Mighty Hercules #1 (July 1963), also written by Paul S. Newman and drawn by an uncredited artist, shows us that Hercules is a bit of a scaredy-cat.
The nation of Calydon is being invaded. The gates of the city are closed and Helena calls out for Hercules. But Herk's arch-enemy, the wizard Daedalus, offers his services to the invaders in exchange for a share of the loot.
When Hercules arrives, it at first seems that the demi-god will have little trouble dispatching the invaders. But Daedalus casts a spell on him to make him thirsty. Hercules then unwisely takes a drink from the Waters of Illusion. Now everything he seees will appear to be a monster!
The plan works at first and poor Newton the centaur nearly gets strangled by his best friend. Hercules sees Helena and thinks she's a monster as well. And, well, he runs away.
One would think that Hercules would try to fight any monster he finds. I conceed that its a good thing he didn't inadvertently beat up poor Helena, but Hercules should be the last person in mythology to see a monster and say "Gee whiz, I'd better run for it."
Well, he does run. This allows Newton to trip him and dunk him into the Waters of Truth, which cures him of seeing illusions.
He attacks the invaders. Daedalus tries to stop him with a magically-summoned wall of flame, but Hercules uses Super-Breath (did he learn that from Superman, or visa versa, I wonder) to blow the flames back at the bad guys. A few more feats of super-strength and the invaders retreat, taking a stunned Daedalus with them to "fix him later" for failing to stop a demi-god.
It's another short, fun story. Like the cartoon, it sets up the premise quickly and tosses Hercules into action. The artist continues to make it all look great while effectively emulating the look of the cartoon.
But, gee whiz, Herk. You see a monster and run away? That's very un-Hercules like.
Next week, we'll take a break before diving into the second and final issue of this series. Instead, we'll visit with Richie Rich.
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