What a dick.
Creative Staff:
Story: Ivan Reis, Jeff Lemire
Art: Ivan Reis, Joe Prado
Colors: Marcel Maiolo
Letterer: Tom Napolitano
What They Say:
“MEET THE TERRIFICS” part two! Tom Strong has disappeared, and the Terrifics have found his emergency beacon! But to save anyone else, Mr. Terrific, Metamorpho, Phantom Girl and Plastic Man must first save themselves from the Dark Multiverse they’re trapped within—not to mention the gigantic alien monster they’ve been standing on this whole time!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With this series being my most anticipated one of the post-Dark Metal launch works, The Terrifics opened fairly strong for me while also being somewhat cautious regarding it. Reis and Lemire are solid in their storytelling but I’ve had a rough time getting into some of these works with the way they’ve not introduced things well from the event storyline that I didn’t read. Reis and Lemire didn’t have that issue and worked it in a good way to make it accessible. It also didn’t hurt that it plays with some favorite characters, introduces a new one that I’m instantly in love with, and has great artwork throughout. All of which is replicated here as we get the kind of team book that I can get behind as most everyone gets some good attention that lets it move forward.
The time spent in the Dark Multiverse this time around doesn’t address the Tom Strong issue all that much as nobody knows who he is and Linnya obviously couldn’t have activated anything being in phantom form. The idea of bringing the device back makes plenty of easy sense but I like that the book delves into Linnya’s past a bit first, showing how she got there as a young child as her parents tried to save her in the accident only to end up putting her in a worse position. The wonkiness of time has her aging over the years but the feeling that she could have been there decades is certainly interesting. I’m such a huge fan of the LSH Phantom Girl that I hope this character gets explored well and the ties made clearer over time but right now I’m just enjoying a somewhat more innocent but capable character.
Naturally, the attempt to leave the place and head to the portal doesn’t go well as the supposed corpse that they’re on comes alive to kill them and it’s simply fun to watch the team dynamic play out here. Terrific isn’t the most capable of leaders but Plas doesn’t help by calling him out for stating the obvious so regularly. They’re able to fight well enough as a team to escape because three of them are regulars in this kind of existence to know what to do. But it’s Terrific that just comes across poorly on both sides as once back he’s laying into Stagg, taking his equipment back, and storming off to figure out the device – leaving less than a positive impression on anyone. The quirk, however, is a hilarious one in that their time in the Dark Multiverse has now bonded them together and they can’t be separated by much distance. I really, really, hope we get a fun look at living conditions between them while this plays out.
In Summary:
While there are certainly more than enough basic parallels to the Fantastic Four here, it’s something that has been missing in general and is very welcome to have. Reis and Lemire nail the tone of it really well with its crazy science, strange places, and diverse cast of characters with powers and personality to really make it work. Everyone has ways to grow and the use of Linnya has me doubly excited. Combine that with a fantastic looking book and this is one that’s very easily staying on my subscription list unless it somehow goes entirely off the rails in a horrible way. I can’t see that happening with this team so I’m feeling very excited about The Terrifics prospects.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 15+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: March 28th, 2018
MSRP: $2.99
