First of all, there’s nothing to worry about.
Yes, last issue Walt Simonson sat out for the art, and this issue he’s missing altogether, but that’s because his Thor stories are so dense and vital that they can’t reasonably be expected to stay on a hard-and-fast monthly schedule. And as far as fill-in issues go, this one is a blast: Hercules entertains some kids at a park with stories about how much tougher he is than Thor.
It’s also another example of Hercules lifting Manhattan–the city that appears to be entirely self-contained.. (Note: This is probably not a canon story—it’s just Herc bragging.)
Fun stuff, and honestly a nice break from the rich complexity of the Simonson run. It’s one of my favorite single-issue comics ever. Here’s my list of the 100 best single-issue comics.
Note: The guest creators referenced Walt–and his wife Louise–on the splash page, giving a winking nod to the fact that they were arriving in the middle of an historic run.
