Terrifics #1 (2018)
Terrifics #1 (April, 2018)
“Meet the Terrifics, Part 1 of 3”
Storytellers – Ivan Reis & Jeff Lemire
Inker – Jo Prado
Colorists – Marcelo Maiolo
Letterer – Tom Napolitano
Associate Editor – Jessica Chen
Editor – Paul Kaminski
Group Editor – Marie Javins
Cover Price: $2.99
Today we’re going to discuss one of the very few “current year” books that I’m actually jazzed about. It takes a pretty special “new” book to be lifted toward the top of my never-ending backlog… and we’re about to find out if Terrifics lived up to the hype that I imposed on it!
S’funny… any time I check out a new/newish book, a few things jump out at me. First… what’s with all the editors? Do we really need three? Second, no more cover dates! I’d ask “What’s up wit’ dat?”, before realizing with how many books are being delayed… I guess they’re going the turn-of-the-century Marvel route of “nothing to see here, folks” and hiding them in the indicia. What a pain.
Anyhoo… let’s get down to some Terrificking (that could have been one heckuva typo)!
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We open with Mr. Terrific paying a visit to the Staggs! Ya know, those folks who from Metamorpho’s stories. Even Java makes an appearance! Anyhoo, he’s advised that the Man of the House… er, lab is very busy, and Holt’s only got a few minutes with him. Inside, he finds that Simon Stagg (flanked by his daughter and Rex Mason-squeeze Sapphire) is fiddling with the newly discovered Dark Multiverse… even sending in a metally Metamorpho!
Holt summons the Plastic Man egg as back-up and they head on in to retrieve their fellow hero. Plas transforms into a giant head, and gulps both Terrific and Metamorpho up for safe-keeping… and so they might chat. We get a quick and dirty sorta update on Dark Knights: Metal before setting down on a small planet to answer a distress signal.
Well, maybe not a “planet” exactly.
The Terrific Trio are then attacked by creepy spider-beast things before being introduced to their fourth member, Phantom Girl! I know very little about this young lady other than that she comes from the Legion.
Michael tells her that they were answering her call, and she’s all “nope, not me.”… so they search the giant cadaver for any signs of a signal. When they find it… we learn just who was asking for help… Tom freaking Strong!
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What a fun little book.
When I read books like this, I get the distinct impression that I’ve been reviewing comics for too long… and have trouble allowing myself to have, ya know, fun actually reading them.
This was light, funny and just a pleasure to read. The art is phenomenal, the characterization is breezy, we’ve got high adventure… and the potential for this to be one helluva run.
I have a feeling that no matter how much I might’ve dug it… the rest of the internet might have dug it a little bit more. I’m getting those “current Mister Miracle” vibes from it. I haven’t scoured the web for the “outta 10” scores, because frankly… to do so, would cause me great distress. Then again, I’m not sure how active Lemire and Reis are on Twitter… and that usually plays a sizable role in how close to a “10/10” score a book gets. Integrity, what’s that? Gimme retweets, dammit!
Anyhoo… a great little issue, and I suppose I ought to say “something, something, Fantastic Four, something, something”. I have high hopes for this book… and as mentioned, I see great potential… seems there might be no limits to this one. I mean, we’re twenty-pages in, and we get a Tom Strong appearance! Not what I expected… well, if I didn’t “fold out” the cover, I suppose I wouldn’t have expected it.
I’m hopeful that this book will allow DC to sweep out some of their lesser used corners… maybe breathe new life into some lapsed or stagnant properties. Maybe even check in with some of our forgotten friends from 1st Issue Special or something. Hell, have the Dark Multiverse drop ’em in 1986 Manhattan so they can meet Angel Love. The possibilities are endless… and really, that’s the true strength of a book like this. So here’s hoping for a long and healthy run! Hopefully they won’t announce a Metamorpho feature film in the next couple of months… or else, this is doomed.
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