Comic Reviews by Walt

Meet the Terrifics part 1 of 3

Storytellers: Ivan Reis & Jeff Lemire
Inker: Joe Prado
Colorist: Marcelo Maiolo
Letterer: Tom Napolitano
Cover: Ivan Reis with Marcelo Maiolo
Associate Editor: Jessica Chen
Editor: Paul Kaminski
Group Editor: Marie Javins
Published by: DC Comics
Cover Date: April 2018
Cover Price: $2.99

Of the New Age of Heroes line so far, this is the series I’ve been specifically looking forward to, on the idea that if Marvel wasn’t going to publish something like Fantastic Four, at least DC WOULD. And for the line so far, this one feels the most "normal" or "familiar" to me while being something different.

This is another one of those books with the tri-fold cover…but I’ve not been impressed with any of these, outside of the wishful thinking/impotent hope that they’ve meant less variant covers, by providing "alternate cover images" that OTHERWISE would have been presented as their own separate units as variant covers. The single front panel is the actual cover, and nothing overly impressed me of the other images.

Mr. Terrific–Michael Holt–shows up to confront Simon Stagg. While the two have an apparent history–including Stagg’s having maneuvered Holt’s company out from under him–Holt is here to deal with a particular situation involving access to the Dark Multiverse. What he finds is an old ally in Metamorpho, and in dealing with the breach that Stagg has opened (and tried to plug with Metamorpho), also succeeds in reviving Plastic Man. The trio then finds themself on a planetoid that turns out to be a giant body, where they rescue a Linnya Wazzo, from Bgztl; an alien whose entire race can become intangible…though it’s presently a form she’s stuck in. As the group addresses a homing beacon…they’re confronted by the appearance of Tom Strong.

As a first issue goes, this works pretty well. We’re introduced to the "entire group" in the issue–Mr. Terrific, Metamorpho, Plastic Man, and Linnya. We also meet an antagonist in Simon Stagg and have some setup to see that he’s gonna be problematic, as well as the situation that brings everyone together in Stagg’s trying to access the Dark Multiverse. Though we don’t get a LOT of time or motivational reasoning spent on any single character, they all at least do appear in the issue, we have introduction and setup, and a fun cliffhanger: I’m aware of the existence of Tom Strong, and this was rather unexpected, but is a welcome intro/experience that could lead to me seeking out some of the original stuff with the character! The credits/story title of the issue comes on the final page, and I really dig the fact that this is listed as part 1 of 3! Only three issues. Not four, not five, not six-for-the-trade. Three. Which suggests to me that this is written to be enjoyed as single issues as well, and at least on this first issue, it’s done a good job of that to me.

Visually, I also enjoyed this issue. Mr. Terrific, Plastic Man, and Metamorpho all looked quite familiar to me; nothing wonky to their appearances. I’d swear I recognized Stagg’s assistant from somewhere, too! And what little I’ve seen, Tom Strong also looked like he stepped right out of his own series, whenever that had left off. We’ll see how this art team holds up after this first three issue arc…but for this issue at least, I found it quite enjoyable.

It’s been a long time since I last regularly followed any iteration of the Fantastic Four–my two "major stints" with the book being the first couple years of the Heroes Return iteration, and then the Waid/Wieringo run in collected format several years later. While this didn’t feel like any rip-off of the format, I definitely see plenty of room for comparison, with a girl that can go intangible, a guy who stretches, a guy who’s super-smart, a guy that can morph/be an elemental-like figure…not exactly the blood-family and close-friend dynamic, but I see plenty of potential for a family dynamic to come of this…and if these characters as a group wind up out exploring/dealing with the edges of reality, and this Dark Multiverse…then yeah, I can see where it’ll fill a "void" left for readers that like the concept of the Fantastic Four. That I can find a title like this at DC is a welcome thing.

I was pleasantly surprised as well with this issue, to realize it was "only" $2.99. I didn’t pay much attention for its price at the shop–since I was already "sold" on the title and looking forward to it specifically ahead of time, that gave it a one-issue "pass" on price, since I knew it at least did NOT exceed the standard $4.99 of a Marvel #1. coming in at $2.99 as I believe the others have is definitely a strong positive, and makes this well worth supporting on principle alone!

All in all…I recommend checking this book out. It’s a #1, it’s a fresh concept to DC, it’s only $2.99 for the standard cover (with new tri-fold for extra art), and though there’s likely more to "get" or appreciate if you’re "up" on the Metal stuff, it’s an enjoyable issue in itself just knowing THAT Metal has happened and introduced some Dark Multiverse into characters’ knowledge.

Filed under: 2018 posts, 2018 Reviews, DC, DC Universe, The Terrifics | Tagged: comic books, Comic Reviews, comics, Dark Multiverse, Dark Nights, DC, DC Comics, Fair Play, Ivan Reis, Jeff Lemire, Jessica Chen, Joe Prado, Marcelo Maiolo, Marie Javins, Meet the Terrifics, metal, Metamorpho, Michael Holt, Mr. Terrific, New Age of Heroes, Paul Kaminski, Plastic Man, reviews, Rex Mason, The New Age of Heroes, The Terrifics, Tom Napolitano | Leave a comment »