THE MIGHTY HERCULES

I've never been able to verify this, but I always have thought that Jack Miller, who worked on the comic book character "Deadman", for DC COMICS during the 1960's, is the same person as "Jack E. Miller", who worked on this cartoon series from Trans-Lux, during that same decade.
One of the DC COMICS editors of the 1960's, George Kashdan, was definitely involved with the making of these HERCULES cartoons, Kashdan was "story editor" on some of the Filmation AQUAMAN cartoons as well. Kashdan definitely had DC COMICS writers working for him on the Filmation shows, so I believe that we can accept the idea that the man named Jack E. Miller in the HERCULES shorts is the Jack Miller who worked for DC COMICS.
Anyway, to get to the real point of this entry, I loved these cartoons of THE MIGHTY HERCULES when I was a child, and still love them as an adult. The cartoons depict the mythological entity Hercules, who, with the blessings of Zeus (yes, they mixed up the Greek Pantheon of Gods with the Roman one), hurtles down from Mount Olympus to Earth when summoned by a centaur named Newton.
Many comic book style trappings fill these stories, like Newton using a "moonstone" to send a signal to get Hercules to come down to save him, the signal that emanates from Newton's moonstone is much like the Bat-Signal in the BATMAN comic books, and their spin-offs. Newton is very much like the "Jimmy Olsen" character in the SUPERMAN comic books, with the moonstone also being similar to the signal watch that Jimmy uses to contact The Man Of Steel.
There is also the villain, Daedalus, a mythological figure who appears much as "Lex Luthor" appears to be a thorn in SUPERMAN's side, as well as the villainess, "Wilhelmina", and a few other villains too, very similar to the popular super-heroes in scores of comic books from 1938 onward.
The producers of the SUPERMAN animated cartoons from Warner Bros. during the 1990's have noted that their version of SUPERMAN was based on the look of Hercules in these cartoons, which makes me happy and nostalgic, as I like the 1990's SUPERMAN cartoons and these THE MIGHTY HERCULES cartoons in the same child-like manner.
One of the things that makes this cartoon series for me is the great theme song,sung by pop recording artist, Johnny Nash, who sang I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW during the 1960's. Nash had been an actor, but fared much better as a singer, though not as many people know Nash for singing the Hercules theme as know him for "I CAN SEE CLEARLY", they often recognize that the singer of the hit pop song is the singer of the cartoon song if the fact is pointed out to them.
The animation in THE MIGHTY HERCULES is not full animation like the old theatrical cartoons so many people love, but it is certainly competitive with other heroic animated product of the time, and, to me, is very enjoyable.
Trans-Lux had been the syndicator of the earlier television animation product, FELIX THE CAT, and would later import the hit Japanese cartoon SPEED RACER to the United States.
Other characters in THE MIGHTY HERCULES include Herc's girlfriend, Helena, Toot, a small centaur, and Timon, a youngster who would some day become royalty, if memory serves.
It may be pure childhood fondness, but, "I'm glad, I'm glad, to have, a friend, like Hercules, like Hercules".
OLYMPIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
;o)