Hercules: The Knives of Kush #3

Rating NR Genre action Author Steve Moore Publisher Radical Comics External Links

Steve Moore’s new Hercules series continues with a firm footing. Despite not accomplishing much in the first three issues, this series hasn’t lost momentum. Like Moore’s The Thracian Wars series, The Knives of Kush is wholly original to comics and not based on an existing legend of Hercules. It’s based on a group of characters that were all mythologically contemporary and could have met.

This issue begins in the heat of battle. Hercules and the Pharaoh’s army seem to be pinned, but they are actually holding the Knives of Kush right where they want them. With the odds against them Hercules funnels the enemy army, shoulder to shoulder, right into his trap. One by one they fall until the last remaining of the masses flee. Yet to insure that Hercules can finally get some answers, the group captures a few of the enemy for information. After dangling one of the enemies over a cliff, the frightened soldier spills all he knows. After learning more about whom the Knives of Kush truly are, the crew knows they have to get closer to find out more about Khadis and who could be the spy. Autolycus comes up with the plan to dress like one of the soldiers and walk right into enemy territory with the captured Kush they set free. The plan works like a charm, and they soon find themselves in the belly of the beast. When they think things couldn’t possibly get any worse, they find out a shocking truth about Khadis.

Like before, the comic is still breathtaking. In the third installment of this series the reader gets to see even more action. A lot blood flows in this issue as the cells capture the exact moment in time when the victim is struck. Cris Bolson does a great job by making this violence more art rather than horrific blood splatter. This keeps the comic interesting even during simple dialogue.

The one thing I think this series lacks is dimension with its characters. This is the third issue out of a five part series, and our protagonist hasn’t really changed or developed. Hercules has more character in the swing of his club than he does in anything else he does. The one character with the most personality would have to be the sleazy yet clever Autolycus, but there still isn’t much to that. 

Luckily the lack of complexity of the characters doesn’t change the fact that this series is great. It’s the story around the character and the smooth dialogue that truly make this series worth reading. If that isn’t enough the artwork with the beautiful moments frozen in time are enjoyable to look at. I’m sure this series will have a finish that will leave the reader very satisfied.