Review: The Terrifics #1

DC’s most recentÂ attemptÂ to “out Marvel, Marvel” hits the stands the week and it makes a modicum of sense that afterÂ channelling Spider-Man and the Hulk, we move onto the first family in comics, the Fantastic Four.Â The problem with that is of course there is no easy fit in the DC Universe, so it’s through some characters into the mix and see what happens time.

Mr Terrific is a little annoyed.Â It seems that whilst he was out saving the universe in Dark Metals, a series that hasn’t yet ended as this New Age dawns, Simon Stagg was up to his usual scheming; in this instance buying out TerrificTech.Â Now with Rex Mason as his guinea pig again, Stagg is trying to create a doorway into the Dark Multiverse.Â God knows why, hasn’t he been reading the mess that spawned this book in the first place?Â In an effort to stop Stagg, Terrific utilizes the help of Plastic Man resulting in the pair and Metamorpho getting pulled into the void, where a distress signal leads them to team member number four. Fantastic, right?

Jeff Lemire is the writer for this cosmic tale of coincidence and subterfuge, approaches the book with a seemingly level head.Â Sure, there are things that aren’t explained, such as how Plastic Man spent so much time as an egg in the Dark Multiverse if it’s energies upon re-entering awoke him?Â By my count he went in, got turned into an egg; went in a second times and nothing happened; went in again and was himself.Â Surely the idea that entering the damn place to become revitalised means that should’ve happened before?Â Anyways, taking a sideways step around that issue, Lemire does a great job of imperilling the cast, which is the required norm for throwing a team together.Â Stephanie Stagg must be a fantastic girlfriend for Rex Mason to always be so gullible, but that’s the nature of the character so my annoyance at this element cannot really be levelled at Lemire.Â The dialogue works well, part exposition, part moving the story forward and it is really good to see Mr Terrific in a comic again.Â Hopefully all these cosmic shenanigans will help speed Power Girl back from her own inter-dimensional purgatory as seen in the recent Deathstroke annual.

Ivan Reis is no stranger to team books and to the concepts of space and the universe(s), with his work on Infinite Crisis and Green Lantern to name a couple of highlights fromÂ his prolific career.Â Here, Reis gives the book a mature look that I wasn’t expecting.Â Sure, there are the usual superhero poses, but there is a level of detail in the faces of the characters that reminds me of Neal Adams in his heyday.Â All the characters are in top form, artistically, showing a level of commitment that as to be applauded, as Reis doesn’t take a panel off, doesn’t waste one iota of movement whether that be ofÂ character or of story.Â Mr Terrific looks, well, terrific, Plastic Man is his normal flexible self, Metamorpho has a disjointed look which makes a modicum of sense considering his power and finally, Phantom Girl is drawn perfectly.Â Reis is helped out by Joe Prado’s inks, with give the pencils a heavy look.Â Marecelo Maiolo provides the colors, again going for a dark hue to proceedings that kind of mirrors some of the elements we have seen in the Dark Metals series.

For a book that was spawned from a mini-series that I haven’t enjoyed all that much, this book was surprisingly entertaining.Â True, of the New Age of Heroes, The Terrifics was the one I was looking forward to the most, mainly as I have the expectation if anyone can being back the JSA, Mr Terrific can.Â Of the obviousÂ similarities to the FF, Lemire has a slightly harder job as the four characters in this book have no real internal bond to speak of.Â They are not related, they have been thrown to together by happenstance.Â Sure the archetypes may be similar but I think there is just enough of a difference for The Terrifics to outgrow their initial comparisons.

Writing – 4 Stars
Art – 4 Stars
Colors – 4 Stars

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Written by; Jeff Lemire
Art by; Ivan Reis & Joe Prado
Colors by; Marcelo Maiolo
Published by DC Comics

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network