The Terrifics #4 // Review
The Terrifics once again stands as being one of, if not the, strongest title from DC’s New Age of Heroes imprint and from the company as a whole. Jeff Lemire, continuing the trend of collaborating with one amazing artist after another, is finally joined by Evan “Doc” Shaner, the man behind the initial concept design of the team. As this love letter to The Silver Age of comics carries the narrative forward, it still allows room for an easily accessible jumping on point for interested new readers.
Doc Shaner, well known for his DC Golden and Silver Age collected covers, brings the perfect look for this ode to past. Adding a simple elegance to the pages is par for the course with a Shaner on pencils. While his time on the book may be finite, Shaner has definitely made his mark on the series in more ways than one. Nathan Fairbairn’s work on colors brings a unique palette the series continues to be known for adding to the ensuing fun of the title. As the team sets out into the far reaches of space the vast color work of Fairbairn helps to illuminate the contrast of space as opposed to their time spent on Earth earlier in the series as well as the Dark Multiverse.
Lemire juggles each personality simultaneously in expert fashion, creating a fun enjoyable story rich with levity, but also allowing room for heavier moments such as between Phantom Girl reuniting with her mother. While each character is given their moment to shine, it is Plastic Man who continues to steal the show. The blossoming friendship with Plas and Metamorpho is another monument to this wonderfully wholesome series. Always a welcomed touch when a title is able to create a platform for other readers to jump on without bogging the story down trying to recap previous issues for readers already invested into the series.
While initially seen as a shameless Fantastic Four carbon copy, the series has proven itself time and time again as it has come into its own these past few months. The contrasts and relationships between each of these four characters allows for many tales yet to come. As the narrative continues to unfold, the larger mystery set up at the beginning of the series is still yet to be answered, “Who is Tom Strong?”
