Hercules: The Twelve Labors [A Greek Myth]

Graphic Myths and Legends

by Paul D. Storrie, Steve Kurth (Illustrator)

Famous for his superhuman strength, Hercules is the most popular hero in Greek mythology. The son of Zeus―king of the gods―and a mortal mother, Hercules faces the wrath of Zeus's wife Hera, who resents her illegitimate stepson and vows to bring him misery. With her magical powers, she tricks Hercules into performing a series of twelve seemingly impossible labors, each one a test of his strength, courage, cunning, and fighting skill. Is Hercules strong enough to foil her scheme? For this exciting retelling of the twelve labors, author Paul Storrie consulted the classic work The Age of Fable (1859), by American Thomas Bulfinch, and Edith Hamilton's Mythology (1942), both of which are considered the best resources about on ancient myths and legends. Artist Steve Kurth also relied on historical research to accurately bring to life the world of ancient Greece.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Mythology, Fantasy, Adventure, Childrens, Fiction, Greek Mythology

48 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Paul D. Storrie was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. He started writing professionally in 1998 with the comic book ROBYN OF SHERWOOD about Robin Hood's daughter.

Since then, he has written comics and graphic novels for Moonstone Books, DC Comics, Marvel Comics, IDW Publishing, Devil's Due Publishing, Bluewater Productions, and Lerner Books' Graphic Universe division. He has also written short stories for the prose anthologies WEREWOLVES: DEAD MOON RISING and THE GREEN HORNET CASEFILES.

He currently lives in the Detroit suburbs.

Reviews

[Ryan Kreft · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute novel but they did Cerberus a bit dirty

[Lauren Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jake, I'm breakin' out Plan B, Graphic Novels.

I liked the illustrations. The author made Hecules have a sense of humor which I just never thought he'd have. I know really badly want to watch Hecules but we have it on VHS and VHS is pretty much extinct. Anyway, I hadn't ever learned all the 12 labors of Hecules. I'd only heard a few and it was very intersting to read.

[♛ Garima ♛ · Rating 3 out of 5]

What's not to like?

[Wenceslado Caal Chub]

it's very good.

[Hannah Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fresh myth to me, one I haven't been exposed to in very little detail. There are bits and pieces I know to this legend when I was reading this. At a steady pace, the plot was slow enough to understanding Hercules beaing feared for his strength. However, the ending felt 'incomplete.' Athena wants Hercules dead. When Hercules finished his Twelve Labors to the king, he just left. There was no indication whether Athena was going to persuade someone else to get rid of Hercules That was the end of the Twelve Labors of Hercules. But that was not the end of his adventures. All his life, Hercules never stopped making dangerous journeys and fighting against fearsome enemies, but those are stories for another time

[F · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice retelling of the 12 Labors of Hercules. The artwork was good, the story basically as I recall it from years ago and nicely adapted to graphic novel form [as one of the first fictional "super heroes" it was practically begging for this treatment]. My one complaint, and it is a minor one, is Hercules was drawn rather old for the scene in which he killed 2 serpents in his crib. C'est la vie.

[Andy Hickman · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Hercules”
“His mother was ALCHENA, a MORTAL, but his father was ZEUS, the king of the GODS.
The GODDESS HERA was jealous that ZEUS, her husband, loved a MORTAL woman. Because f that, she hated MERCULES.”

Very good series giving a generalised overview of the predominant myths and legends that have shaped our worldviews.
- - -

[Al Burke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty good graphic novel to get the young 'uns into Hercules' story. It leaves out the somewhat crucial aspect of him murdering his children ( I guess that makes sense), but it gives a good grounding into the Twelve Labour's, and the artwork is good. If I wanted to be whiny, I'd say it portrays him as a wisecracking 80s hero, but seeing as I grew up on those guys, I'll give it a hall pass.

[Gracie · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading the book and knowing the story of Hercules, my hatred towards Hera has grown dramatically.

This paragraph sums that jealous bij Hera up:
“ THE GODDESS HERA was jealous that Zeus, her husband, loved a mortal woman. Because of that, she hated Hercules.”

Ok. But, hey!!! Without her, we wouldn’t realize how strong and what a hero Hercules is.

[James Biser · Rating 4 out of 5]

This graphic novel is a very good medium for telling the myth of The Twelve Labors of Hercules. I enjoyed it. My only reservation is the fact that when I originally experienced this tale, it was the Greek story, and the hero was named Heracles. Still, it was a great tale.

[Abdul Hakim · Rating 3 out of 5]

dont read it dont nu nu nu

[Lance · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I am not one who reads much mythology or graphic novels, this one was good. Not too detailed, appropriate for young and not-so-young readers alike and very good graphics.

[Marián · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 It was ok.

[Xoán V · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well drawn and written but it needed much more content, easy double.

Shame it's short as that's my only real criticism.

[Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hercules: The Twelve Labors begins with a two page spread that covers how Hercules was born (son of Zeus and a mortal) and a glimpse at his uniqueness even in early childhood. It then fast-forwards to Hercules as a young man consulting the Oracle (with Hera pretending to be the Oracle). Hera encourages him to travel to see his cousin King Eurystheus. What Hercules didn't know was that his cousin was jealous of him, and Hera encouraged the king to give him impossible to tasks to test his strength and possibly kill him. These became the Twelve Labors.

I won't go into detail and list all twelve labors, but there was the Nemean lion whose hide weapons could not penetrate; a nine-headed hydra; steal the Queen of the Amazons girdle, etc. Hercules did not like doing some of these tasks, as many of them involved stealing. However, Hercules showed to be more than just someone dumb with muscles. He was also smart and cunning, and a man who cared about the well being of others. When stealing the cattle of Geryon, he shot Geryon with a poisoned arrow so that the violence of a potential fight wouldn't harm others. At the end of the book is a brief glossary and additional reading suggestions. This is a good introduction to Hercules and would be well-suited for homeschooling or a traditional classroom. I enjoyed it, but I just wish it had been longer.

[Terrence Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hercules was a very strong man,the king was very jealous of his gift of being so strong.He believe an that his hair had powers in his head. Hercules were the son of the Kings and Queen. he kill thinks like a beast, they called it a "Lion". To me the King wanted him to die. Why to he want him to kill all these animals just because he was strong? To me he did not respect him as a man. The King was really abusing his powers he ask him to do things that really didn't need to be done. Many things he ask him to do was just trying to get him hurt and killed.

[Shane Tatman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chris showed a sudden interest in mythology so we read this graphic novel together. It did a good job of capturing the original story, and the art work was pretty good. Chris liked it so much, we went back and bought four more of the series. When he is done with those, he says he wants to read the Lightning Thief.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it! A short, graphic account of Hercules. As a Percy Jackson fan, I found it entertaining. As a reading teacher, I found it accessible. I like how Hercules thinks outside the box, never stopping until he finds a solution for the task at hand. Often, honesty helps him the most. Interesting lesson...

[Elijah Clavery · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book Hercules the twelve Labors tells the story of the superhuman strong son of Zeus, Hercules. He is very string and often does tasks like this this time he is sent to do twelve hard tasks he is sent by a man who tells him to see his cousin Eurytheus. His first task is to go and kill this Lion which will not be easy to kill

[Amy Potts Ostrowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you need a crash course on the twelve Labors of Hercules, this is the graphic novel for you. Needing a visual source for some of my sixth graders, this graphic novel wins out over others I've seen in terms of appropriateness for the age group (i.e. no nudity to giggle about), simplicity in language (not too simple, but the students won't be confused), and length (short and sweet!).

[Nathaniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would vote this more than 5 stars.

This book was very adventurous! I thought it was really cool how Hercules went into the underworld and got cerberus, the three-headed dog, guardian of the underworld, and brought him to the king.

It was just really exciting.

[Hillingdon Libraries]

Find this book at Hillingdon Libraries

[Lachlan Shields · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a good short read when I was bored to keep me entertained for a while.

This book has everything from entertaing story about Hercules daring and cunning adventures while serving the king in Greece while the gods try and stop him on his adventures

[Lauren Crossman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great quick read!

I found out that I had to finish a book by the next day at my school and I was freaking out trying to find a book! This book saved me. It is very interesting and I found it enjoyable! I hope you do too!

[Wilde Sky · Rating 3 out of 5]

A super strong man is put through a series of tests, all of which involve danger, by someone who is jealous of his strength / fame.

I thought this was a reasonable story – the format and artwork were a bit simple, but overall a reasonably effective re-telling of a myth.

[Ham · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Greek mythology, and this book keeps it simple for us low-brows. Don't recommend reading it to your two-year-old, however, lots of scary monsters and revealing togas.

[Tony Keefer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part of a collection of Mythology Graphic Novels I picked up for my classroom. Good for helping to build background knowledge but not necessarily great. Kids will devour these.

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good, colorful illustrations of this greek myth.

[Darcey Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the book was very good and should be read to other students.