Behold, the Bronze Age!

“Within the Pit Below”

Cover: José Luis García-López, Editor: Joe Orlando

Writer: Gerry Conway; Penciler: José Luis García-López; Inker: Wally Wood

While sailing in the channel heading for England, Hercules and his troupe are attacked by a U-Boat filled with … cat people! They are under orders by their leader Hunter Blood: destroy any ship heading for the Sceptered Isle! Herc defeats the cat people and tows their boat to shore.

They are going to England because their friends David Rigg and Simon St. Charles left a note saying they are headed there. Readers from last issue know this is not true! Jennifer also has her suspicions.

After another battle, Hunter Blood captures our heroes and bound Hercules and Kevin to church bells in the tower of his cathedral headquarters.

Hunter, by the way, has the ability to turn anything in his gaze to dust. A sad and ironic power to someone who collected works of art before the war – he can no longer see and admire the collection he loves!

The bells of the cathedral toll and Hercules is given extra power through Kevin to break his bonds and destroy the bell tower!

Hunter believes Hercules and Kevin dead, but Hercules appears in the doorway and calls Hunter to battle in a final-panel cliffhanger!

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The letter column has two letters again praising the first issue and recommending connections with Wonder Woman and Hippolyta while asking NO links to Kamandi. With this issue that might be too late!

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The cat-people brings this comic very close to the world of Kamandi. We will have to see what future issues bring.

And we finally see a glimpse of Hercules’ adaption into the modern world – something the comic has ignored for three issues. Although the nuclear holocaust of World War III gives the creators a way around modern-era issues, our hero is STILL 2,000+ years from his time. The brief encounter with “woman’s lib” has been the only characterization of the Son of Zeus in the magazine! We learn a little more of Kevin’s bizarre mental powers, but nothing else.

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About the author: Michael Curry is the author of the Brave & Bold: From Silent Knight to Dark Knight, The Day John F Kennedy Met the Beatles and the award-winning Abby’s Road, the Long and Winding Road to Adoption and How Facebook, Aquaman and Theodore Roosevelt Helped.  Check his website for more releases! Thanks for reading!