Secret History of EL Comics 16
EL expands by going into the same territory any other comics publisher has over the last half-century, at least when they are dealing with tales of adventure and excitement — mythology. For their first effort, EL picks the well-worn figure of Hercules, but immediately starts with a mystery. "And I used to be Hercules," the man tells the boy. The boy demands the man hand over that legacy for undisclosed purposes, though the writer cements Hercules as a law-abiding citizen by having him go register with the police.
Later, Hercules saves a falling space ship, implying a foreknowledge and a purpose for his earlier demand. There is still much for the reader to discover — for instance, who was the former Hercules? Was he actually Hercules, or merely someone who had the power of Hercules? And was he still Hercules, or did he merely possess the ability to pass along the identity to another host? What of the other gods? And what has caused Hercules to become a wandering soul who must pass his identity onto an insistent stranger?
Sadly, EL Comics would never reveal any of the mysteries to us. Though Hercules would continue to appear in other titles, his personal mysteries would remain unsolved and reliant on the reader’s own imagination.
[...] seen in our reprint and discussion of ”Hercules,” the powerful hero of the ancient world, Hercules, returns to team-up with Captain Fantastic in one [...]