The Terrifics #5

   This book continues to be a heck of a lot of fun.

   The Fantastic... I mean, The Terrifics combines a genius, a woman who's barely there, a stretching marvel and a brutish monster into a team, whether they like it or not.

    Some mysterious force has linked Mr. Terrific, Phantom Girl, Plastic Man and Metamorpho, and it forces them to stay and work together.

   This issue begins with a leisurely "check in" with the characters, what they're doing and how their significant others feel about the fact that they've been gone for a while. 

   Then it launches into a crazy emergency that may (or may not) shed more light on the mysterious origins of Metamorpho.

   It's loaded with great story and art by Doc Shaner and Jeff Lemire, and it manages a great balance between action, humor and character moments.

   You really should be reading this comic (if you're not already).

Grade: A-

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The Terrifics #4

   This series continues to focus on "the fun," as it combines four unlikely heroes - Mr. Terrific, Plastic Man, Phantom Girl and Metamorpho - into an unorthodox "family."

   This issue is all about a visit home for the team's youngest member, as Phantom Girl returns to Bgtzl (which looks like a spellcheck failure, but is actually her home planet), where everyone has the power to become intangible.

   It's a nice mix of action (the trip runs into a few big, scaly, tentacled bumps along the way) and some more tender moments, as we learn a bit more about PG and her life before she became tied to the team.

   Doc Shaner - as always - provides delightful, inventive artwork, and Jeff Lemire crafts a clever story that crackles right along.

   This continues to be one of my favorite DC Comics - a nice balance of upbeat and offbeat.

Grade: A-

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The Terrifics #2

   DC has been touting its "New Age of Heroes," but the only one that's drawn my attention so far is The Terrifics, a team loaded with four favorites.

   The team includes the genius Mr. Terrific, the malleable Metamorpho, the even more malleable Plastic Man, and the intangible Phantom Girl.

   So the irony is that no hero is particularly "new" - two originated in the '40s and the other two in the '60s - but they are all severely neglected and certainly deserve time in the spotlight!

   They're thrown together during a trip to a dark universe, where they find the modern-day Phantom Girl and face a titanic threat.

   And there are more surprises waiting for them on their home turf!

   With outstanding art by Ivan Reis, Jose Luis, Vicente Cifuentes and Jorda Tarragona, and a fast-paced and clever story by Reis and Jeff Lemire, I can only hope that this "New" team sticks around for a good, long run of stories!

Grade: A-

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The Terrifics #1

   Its clever of DC Comics to realize that there's a big gap in the world of comic books - namely, there's no Fantastic Four comic - so they've created one of their own.

   Good on 'em, sez me.

   It's not a perfect analogy. The Terrifics "team" is headed up by the super-intelligent Mr. Terrific (Mr. Fantastic). It includes a big, strong, misshapen, slightly tragic, thinks-with-his-fists kinda hero, Metamorpho (The Thing), it's got an elastic, stretching hero, Plastic Man (Reed Richards again), and a beautiful girl who becomes intangible, Phantom Girl (the Invisible Woman). 

   I'm surprised they didn't bring Legion hero Sun Boy along as a Human Torch substitute. Maybe they didn't want to be too obvious.

   The story starts out at top speed and never slows down, bringing the heroes together to deal with a cosmic problem. It's fast and fun with terrific art and a great surprise appearance on the last page.
   
   The team's not quite a family - it'll be interesting to see why they decide to remain together after this adventure is over - but it's a very entertaining comic, with terrific art by Ivan Reis and Joe Prado, and a strong script by Jeff Lemire.

   It's no FF, but it's a pretty good substitute that helps fill that empty spot in my comic book soul.

Grade: A-

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