This book was on the cover of some comic book magazine a few months back; Previews maybe. But I remembered when I saw it I thought to myself: this book must be really special to get the cover. Was someone famous writing or drawing it? What's the deal? Usually the cover to Previews or the old Wizard magazine featured a mainstream superhero. After reading the first issue I totally understand. This book is exhilarating, odd, funny, and totally sadistic. It's wild stuff. The premise is simple and, honestly, stupid, but it works. Remember those old ads in comic books for crazy things like x-ray specs and guidebooks that'll give you super strength in, like, five days? Well what if they were real? A big-time nerd in high school finds out the truth when he orders a "Hercules" book that guarantees muscles and power in no time. He gets more power than he asked for of course. And there's a super-villain that has the same powers but seems to be using them for evil. It sounds like such a dumb premise but writer Justin Jordan has written a terrific story around it. The book is extremely bloody but it's also very funny and very entertaining. The art by Tradd Moore hews towards the cartoon side of things. This works well with the zany premise. All in all it's a great rush of a read. Not perfect of course; nothing usually is. There's the typical dork sidekick/friend, the evil bully, the mother minus father. I had such a fun time reading it that the cliches didn't bother me too much. Looking forward to #2. ***1/2 (out of ****)
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