The Terrifics #29 – Gene Luen Yang, Writer; Max Raynor, Artist; Protobunker, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: It’s the penultimate issue of The Terrifics, and the death of Simon Stagg has brought a powerful potential new enemy to the cast. When we last left off, the funeral was crashed by the mysterious Sebastian Stagg, Sapphire’s estranged brother. In a flashback, we learn that Sebastian was blamed for Simon’s poisoning when he was a boy and was banished from the family. This segment is almost enough to make you sympathize with him – except that you can’t help but suspect he was guilty. Despite his supervillain-esque entrance, Sapphire quickly warms to him and the two sort out their family issues with Rex’s help – while the rest of the team are distracted by a mysterious assault on the city. One element of this book I’ve always really liked is the way it uses the heroes’ powers in unique ways, as they work together to stop the city from being destroyed.
Once it’s revealed that the source of the crashing satellite is from Terrifi-tech, it becomes a much more personal mission as the heroes head to space to investigate Michael’s space station. It’s a little odd to see such a calm Mr. Terrific here after reading his more mercurial version in Strange Adventures, but Yang does a really good job of balancing the two personalities. The addition of Lobo as a mercenary villain is a surprise, and I was a little shocked by the betrayal at the end of the issue. But then, the character is so smart that I wouldn’t be surprised at all if it turned out to be another fake-out. Sebastian Stagg is a compelling adversary, but he’s so oily that his actions at the end of the issue didn’t come as much of a surprise. Still, this is a fun old-school comic with great dialogue (except for one gratuitous boomer joke) and as the comic ends next issue, it’s been one of the DCU’s most pleasant surprises.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
