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REVIEW: Disney Villains: Hades #1
3.98/5.0 Stars
Rating if the Book Were a Movie: PG
Creative Team:
Writer: Elliot Kalan
Artist: Alessandro Ranaldi
Colors: Dearbhla Kelly
Letters: Jeff Eckleberry
Cover: Jae Lee
Editor: Nate Cosby
Publisher: Dynamite Comics
Ratings:
Story: 3.8 Stars
Artwork: 3.4 Stars
Cover Artwork: 4.4 Stars
Dialogue: 4.0 Stars
Mechanics: 4.1 Stars
Editing: 4.2 Stars
About the Book:
Hades is the god of the underworld. While the other gods are having parties on Mount Olympus he remains in the underworld, without an invitation. Was he forgotten? Is it as simple as the other gods simply don’t like him? It doesn’t matter.
Hades is furious and wants to make them all suffer. He’s devised a plan to make them all pay. He’s assembling a team that is perfectly suited for what he has in mind. His quest: to obtain the Golden Fleece!
Reader’s Notes:
A lot of Disney villains have something in common. For whatever reason they were shunned by the “good guys” and forced to live as outcasts. We saw this with Ursula in The Little Mermaid, Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty, Scar in The Lion King, as well as Hades in Hercules.
Spending years living like that will build resentment. It’s compounded when you are fully aware of the life your former friends, family, and colleagues are living. Hades doesn’t rate an invitation to a morning brunch while the goddess of sewers does, “And her plus one is a plague rat”.
Hades has every right to be upset. He fought alongside Zeus and Poseidon to take Mount Olympus from Cronus. After their victory he became lord of the underworld via what was essentially a game of chance. After that he became the red headed stepchild.
I enjoyed how this story intertwines with other stories in Greek mythology. Arachne was a lot of fun with her wit and commentary. The fact that Hades is in a race with Jason to obtain the Golden Fleece promises to be quite an interesting competition.
I loved Jae Lee’s work on this cover. Hades is such a great villain that he doesn’t need anything else in the picture to look harrowing. His demeanor says he has a plan and is not above killing anyone that gets in the way of that plan.
The artwork on the interior pages is fun. We get outstanding facial expressions to match the entertaining situations the characters find themselves in. I loved seeing the Fates again.
As a geek on a budget I would strongly recommend Disney Villains: Hades #1. This is a fun story that helps give more insight to the psyche of one of Disney’s most colorful bad guys. Fans of Hercules should love this one.
