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

The Joker’s Asylum: Scarecrow

By Joe Harris (writer), Juan Doe (art and cover), Rob Leigh (letters)

Scarecrow is one of those Batman villains who doesn’t seem to get a fair shake. I like him a lot, but he seems to be missing his “epic” story – one that either redefines, or reaffirms his place in the upper echelon of Bat-villains. This certainly isn’t his version of The Killing Joke, but it’s a fun read.

One thing I’ll get off my chest right away is I don’t buy the setup. Not the part about girls being mean in high school – that’s just life – but the fact that this girl Lindsey doesn’t know what Jonathan Crane looks like. She meets him as a patient and unless he’s been wearing a Mission Impossible caliber mask, I just don’t believe she’s never seen a newscast with this guy’s mug-shot. I’m also bummed that there isn’t anything done to hide the true identity of her doctor. We don’t see his face, but it’s clear it’s Scarecrow. Nitpicking aside, I really liked this book. Joe Harris writes some great dialogue and it acts as a mechanism to unfold more than just the story itself. Stereotypes exist for a reason and Harris plays up each high school archetype to its fullest effectiveness.

Artistically, I wasn’t a fan at first glance, but it grew on me – I think it just takes some getting used to. I usually prefer more detail but there’s something about this I really enjoyed. Maybe it’s a throwback to the older cartoons I used to love. Juan Doe does an excellent job of illustrating the points Harris makes about these high school stereotypes.  As Scarecrow’s gas evokes their deepest fears, we get to see them as they truly see themselves. There’s a great panel showing Batman as a monster through The Scarecrow’s eyes and it works very effectively.

Joker’s Asylum continues to prove me wrong each week. Every time I expect the quality to drop with a new creative team. I’m glad the surprises keep coming. Scarecrow’s story is similar to The Joker’s in the sense that it takes some reflection for me to really enjoy it. In that instance, it may not be for everyone, but if you give this series a fighting chance, it may surprise you too. (Grade B-)

– Ben Berger