Terror Inc. Apocalypse Soon #4 – Review

By David Lapham (Writer), Koi Turnbull (Pencils), Scott Hanna w/ Mark Pennington (Inks), Juan Doe (Art on pgs. 11-23), and C. Garcia (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: I really hope Mr. Terror has a future sooner rather than later. David Lapham has done great things with Terror during the Apocalypse Soon mini-series, so it’d be a shame to see all that excellent character work go to waste.

The Story: Zahhak’s got Terror’s head… But maybe that was part of the plan to save the world the whole time.

What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: Thanks to David Lapham’s sharp dialogue and a plot that successfully manages to be heavy, yet fun, the final chapter of Apocalypse Soon brings a very good MAX story to a satisfying conclusion. My only real complaint is that, for the second issue in a row, the artwork is split between two artists. While I’m a fan of both artists, Koi Turnbull and Juan Doe have styles that simply don’t go together all that well. In addition, both artists seem to have rushed their work. The quality from panel to panel varies so much that Terror Inc. #4 is rather frustrating to look at. As a result, the final chapter of Apocalypse Soon gets a grade that’s a bit lower than what the rest of the series has gotten.

Conclusion: More Terror would’ve definitely been a good thing.

Grade: B-

-Kyle Posluszny

Terror Inc. – Apocalypse Soon #2

By David Lapham (Writer), Koi Turnbull (Pencils), Scott Hanna & Mark Pennington (Inks), and Sotocolor’s C. Garcia (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: The character work in the first issue of Terror Inc. impressed me far more than the plots being developed.  I hope things get more exciting and less predictable in the second issue because it’d be a shame if such a fun character was held back by a weak story.

The Story: It turns out that the young kid rescued by Terror last issue is a “typhoid mary” capable of spreading the deadly virus Terror was sent to retrieve.  Now that very kid is back in the hands of the terrorists that planned on using him, it’s up to Terror to find and return the kid so that a cure can be found for those infected by whatever it is that “Kid A” is carrying.  The issue also advances Terror’s story about The Duque he dealt with quite some time ago and it seems that it has some times to the present situation….

What’s Good and  What’s Not So Good: Terror Inc. #2 is a solid step up from Terror Inc. #1 in almost every way.  The artwork is a bit more dynamic, the storylines become more exciting, Terror becomes even more interesting, and lastly, things come together in a more satisfying manner.

I’m particularly fond of the way that David Lapham weaves the story he’s telling into the story that Terror tells. It brings some interesting twists into a plot that initially felt pretty generic.  In addition, credit is due to Koi Turnbull and the rest of the art team for being able to keep up with a fairly wild story that is headlined by an even more wild character.  It calls for some challenging scenes and the art team pulls them off extremely well.  While a few panels are a bit cluttered and some things look a little rough, the book, as a whole, is quite nice looking considering the material.

Conclusion: Terror Inc. continues to impress.  In fact, I would go as far as to say the series is almost as awesome as the covers for the series.

Grade:  A-

-Kyle Posluszny