The Terrifics, Vol. 2: Tom Strong and the Terrifics

The Terrifics (collected editions) #2

by Jeff Lemire, Dale Eaglesham (Illustrator), José Luís (Artist)

In Millennium City, the Terrifics are horrified as they find Tom Strong’s lab destroyed and his loyal A.I. aide Pneuman shattered into pieces. To make matters worse, a mystical cosmic tree transports the team to the other end of the universe! Collects THE TERRIFICS #7-12 plus stories from THE TERRIFICS ANNUAL #1.

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels, Comic Book, Science Fiction, Superheroes

169 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 18, 2019

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

Jeff Lemire is a New York Times bestselling and award winning author, and creator of the acclaimed graphic novels Sweet Tooth, Essex County, The Underwater Welder, Trillium, Plutona, Black Hammer, Descender, Royal City, and Gideon Falls. His upcoming projects include a host of series and original graphic novels, including the fantasy series Ascender with Dustin Nguyen.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts off with a Tom Strong team-up that I really enjoyed. It made me realize how much I miss that book and wish Jeff Lemire was writing that instead of this Fantastic Four knock-off. Doc Dread is revealed to no one's surprise and assembles a team to rival the Terrifics before it feels like the series comes to a close, but I hear Gene Luen Yang is taking over.

The book has a rotating group of artists which I find strange on these New Age of Heroes books, as they are supposed to be pushing the artist first. Just seems weird you're pushing an artist when they can only keep up for three issues. I'm a big fan of Dale Eaglesham's. I'd watch him paint a fence. Viktor Bogdonovic is a really solid artist in his own right, although it contrasts with Eaglesham's. Joe Bennett is OK but draws way too many shade lines for my liking.

[Bill Riggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now the writing is gelling as the team learns to work together. The addition of new characters helps a great deal. The stories are becoming fun, exciting adventures. Oh, and also, E-Dog - yes! More please.

[Subham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so good omg! I LOVED THIS ONE!

Okay so it starts with the team getting together and being attacked by Dr Dread and then we have them being separated and they meet Tom strong and so like we follow them all on their separate adventures and its fun until we have all of them come together individually and whatever goes on with Tom strange and his family - Dhalua and Tesla and how they team up with the terrifics to knock down the enemy and then them going their spearate ways!

The shole separate thing doesn't last long as we again follow their journey of being separated and all that and then with Plastic Man and Metamorpho and its emotional seeing where they end up and the kind of trouble Mr Terrific gets in again and the coming of the Dreadfuls and the reveal of the identity of Dr Dread, okay that was a good twist and so well done and the coming together again and the epic fine with some fun additions to the team and its awesome and by the end I had a smile on my face reading it! <3

I love the inclusion of Dark Elder (Galactus) here too and it really just shows how inspired its by FF and feels like a big thing that will impact them for sure!

So overall an awesome book and explores all the characters with amazing art and does well to honor what has come before in a really fun way and explore new areas!

[Etienne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nope, even worst then volume one... I feel bad to say that for a Lemire work but it is what it is... Even the art that was so colorful and pretty in the first volume look less shiny here and less attractive. I'm out!

[Wing Kee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yes it’s a Fantastic Four clone and it does not shy from that but that’s not why this book is boring to read.

World: The art is okay, there are two main artists on the book and the issues definitely are better at the tail end of this book. The world building here is okay, it builds upon the last arc and also adds stuff from Metal which was fun. The dimension jumping feels very FF and the villains and the pieces are are FF inspired so if you like this very obvious take on the FF you will find it fun and giggle a bit.

Story: The story feels like a classic FF story, the pacing the situations and the comic book logic is all here and add to that Tom Strong a classic character and you have a serviceable action adventure comic. That being said, it’s 2018 when this book has been released and story and structure and pacing is a bit different then it was back then so the story feels a bit over the top. It’s fine, I really liked Cave Carson when they rebooted it and the tone that series brought. But the story itself here is very cliched and has been done so many times that it’s the same old same old again, you can only go so far with a fun parody of FF but if there is not a lot of meat to chew on the bone the story gets old fast. The end was quite good with the band coming back together and I we did get some quiet moments which was really needed to anchor the characters but yeah, I wish I as more invested in this group but I’m not.

Characters: The story for the most part takes the bulk of the pages here and when we do finally sit down and have quiet moments with the characters I felt a bit exhausted from the book. I like these characters on paper, they are the classic versions of themselves I grew up reading (except Phantom Girl) but I honestly don’t really feel a connection with these characters that much. Their plight and their stories have been done so many times and this is just a rehash with a FF parody added to it.

It was not bad, it just wasn’t very interesting to me at all.

Onward to the next book!

*read individual issues*

[Norman Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is more focused than the first volume. The artwork is also more consistent, with Dale Eaglesham doing issues #7-9 and Viktor Bogdanovic doing issues #10-12. A variety of artists combined for Annual #1. As others have pointed out, much of this book is a pastiche of the Fantastic Four, but that really doesn't cover everything. Lemire is too good a writer for just that. As with a lot of what he writes, he is deconstructing the tropes at the same time as telling good, exciting adventures. This second volume finishes the origin story of the team, and I liked adding the Tom Strong family into the mix. This story takes full advantage of the DC multiverse, including the new Dark Multiverse recently introduced into DC continuity. I don't know where the story will go from here, but so far I am enjoying the action and humor of this team of lesser known superheroes, and expect it will continue.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The call from the Dark Multiverse that united the Terrifics continues to resonate with the team, and brings them right into the path of Tom Strong himself! But when Strong and his family help the Terrifics break the bond that was holding them together and they go their separate ways, who will defend the Multiverse from Doc Dread and the Dreadfuls?

I've got to give it to Jeff Lemire - I thought the Terrifics were going to be a little directionless; they were very reactionary in their previous volume, dealing with things that were thrown at them rather than actively trying to deal with their predicament, but this second volume of the series which wraps up the rest of Lemire's run shows that he's really putting in the character work to build relationships between the four characters.

The initial Tom Strong story is good, although probably lessened by the fact that I know barely anything about Strong himself (although it also has Swamp Thing, so that was good enough for me), but when they're all given exactly what they want and Doc Dread makes his move, the final four issues or so are a great culmination of everything Lemire has laid down so far. It's not revolutionary storytelling, no, and the Fantastic Four parallels are super-prevalent, but that doesn't mean it's not punch-your-fist-in-the-air levels of exciting.

Dale Eaglesham takes the first few issues of the trade, with Viktor Boganovic (or Greg Capullo lite, as I like to call him (don't tell him that though, it's kinda mean)) handling the next few, while Joe Bennett returns to finish things off. Given the fact that all of the New Age of Heroes books have been cancelled or ended at this point bar The Terrifics, you'd think DC might pull their top talent from the book, but they're definitely not. While they all have their own individual styles, the three create a solid and coherent atmosphere for the book easily.

Jeff Lemire closes out his run on The Terrifics in style, with excellent art, great relationship drama and character building, especially for characters that don't get a lot of spotlight.

[Diz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story provides multiversal adventures with the Terrifics and Tom Strong and his family. The integration of the Tom Strong characters is a little weak as they don't seem to have as much personality as the members of the Terrifics. Anyway, I'm a Plastic Man fan, so I appreciate that he is featured prominently in this series. For Plastic Man fans, there is a big development for this character in this volume.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about pulling Tom Strong into the DC Universe, but he's handled reasonably well here. (I miss Tom Strong and his supporting cast enough that I was glad to see them again, even if Alan Moore and Chris Sprouse aren't involved. Hence the mixed feelings...)

This book continues to be a bit of a Fantastic Four homage, with Doc Dread looking a lot like Doctor Doom (at least superficially). But it's a really fun book. The characters and their interactions are starting to grow on me. Things are clicking together more than they were in the first volume.

The art is a bit inconsistent. It's good enough, but I wish Doc Shaner could have stayed on this book as the regular artist. Anyway, I'm enjoying this enough to keep reading future issues.

(EDIT: The description for this volume says that it includes through to issue 12. I read this as single issues, so I don't know if that's accurate. If it is, then it's pretty disappointing, since Jeff Lemire's run on this title ends with issue 14, so it would have a made a lot of sense to include 13 & 14 in this volume. I just read those issues, and they do a good job of ending Lemire's run and setting things up for the next writer.)

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm really enjoying this series. Lots of fun, interesting characters, with just enough at stake to keep me invested, but not so much that I feel like I need a bar of chocolate afterward. DC needs more titles like this--I love their serious stories as much as the next person, but, come one, life is all about balance.

[Ottery Chocolat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here we go again, another jump in to the world of The Terrifics. It's kind of cool, keeping in mind that it's a straight up Fantastic Four homage? Parody? Slavish copy? I don't know. They don't try to hide it here either, with the introduction of the main secret villain who bears no small resemblance to Doctor Doom. Yeah, having Tom Strong come into the story is awesome sauce. Those characters are aces and should be used by Alan Moore more. -sighs- Alas, he's done with superheroes and likely comics forever. No use mourning what we've lost, let's be glad for what he left us.
But back again with The Terrifics. The artwork IS NOT all by Dale Eagelsham as they'd have you know on the cover. Neither does Tom Strong join the team permanently. Dale does two issues, which are awesome, and Viktor Bodganovic whose art style is very similar to Batman artist Greg Capullo does a few too. Then they get Jose Luis and Joe Bennett. Of them all Bennett's work is the weakest in my opinion. There's a few things slightly off about it, but it tries very hard to be like Eagelsham's style and it fits in with the book, it's a few panels here and there that show how weak it is and maybe some of the compositions and all of how Phantom Girl looks. Sorry. So artwise the book doesn't suffer really. All of these artists are competent and they show the story well.
It is however, when we get into the story that we delve into why this was a good, interesting run, and not something more dynamic and great. For one, we deal with the whole Tom Strong thing way too quickly, and easily. The villain is a surprise character, but again he quickly devolves into a parody of Doctor Doom, which takes away all his menace. Then there's the whole, out of nowhere the reason we're stuck together disappears. That was just dropped for no reason, when it could have come in handy as a way to keep them together. Yes, it serves in the story to show that they aren't artificially "BOUND" together but that they can be together if they want but really, this could have waited until later in the run. Then there's the whole Rex Mason is cured, again out of nowhere with no cost and for no reason and here we go. Then having gotten what he wanted Rex realizes it's not what he wants. Seriously? I mean . . . wtf? You didn't have to give up being an adventurer just because you lost your powers? Hell he could have gone on a mad quest to find new powers or just tried to be an action hero with no powers. But no. At the first sign of happiness he runs back to being a freak hero. Annoying, and didn't see that one coming -yawn-.
Jeff Lemire is a good writer, he really is. He could possibly be one of the greater ones, but not with work like this. It just seems phoned in. What possible reason is there for the whole Fantastic Four whatever it is, if isn't to a purpose? Marvel already did it better. Does it better, so why? Thankfully by the end of the book there are new members and this is done with. What with Dreadful being sent away. But here again, more wasted opportunities. Tesla cameos in the last arc, and there's a page of the House of Heroes. If this was going to be such a multiversal book, why not more interaction with the House of Heroes? Strong Bunny and Captain Carrot should have met. There were so many wasted/missed opportunities. Especially in a book not beholden to Batman and the continuity of the general DCU. So either Lemire phoned it in, or editorial were just a bunch of party poopers. The stories are good, but they lack anything we've seen in comics, or any new way of doing the same old things which sadly just makes them good when they might have been great.

[Fintan Geraghty · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this is the first real serialized volume that I've ever read so this will be a bit of a noob review in terms of things about comic books as a medium that really stood out to me.

First of all, I bought volume 2 to start, not realizing that I should consider that when buying a new comic. Looking back It was as valid to start here as it is to start the Superman movie in medias res (I've heard that term way too much recently to not try and use it and no, it didn't make me feel superior). One way that I benefitted from not reading the first volume is that a footnote filling me in on some details really made me laugh.

"THE TERRIFICS CAN'T BE MORE THAN A MILE APART LEST THEY EXPLODE! ---PAUL"

That's a really fun concept, although it's dropped almost immediately. I was picturing them all being dragged into plastic man's domestic dispute or traveling to the phantom girl's planet where they try to decide their collective future together. They ended up at a point of crisis where they're split up which is fine, but a bit predictable.

That's my biggest issue with this story. Phantom girl is a princess escaping her royal duties, plastic man is estranged from his family who don't understand his powers. Perfectly serviceable for what they needed to be, but I wanted something more unique.

The most disappointing for me is the fact that Mr. Terrific's wife Paula died in a car crash. I get it, you want to create an emotional depth for the character and it's also a death that's a banal tragedy unrelated to Mr. Terrific's life thwarting evil. If his superpower is being the third smartest person in the world it's a bit disempowering for him not to have thought about the likely dangers of everyday life and created an alternative mode of transport for his loved ones.

I'm curious to see if Mr. and Mrs. Terrific stay together throughout the rest of the series, and if they do it would be great to see a spinoff series where they take on the force that killed both of them, car reliant infrastructure and the r

[Ronan The Librarian · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was rough. Not sure what happened between Vol. 1 and now (either to the book or to me), but this did not retain the same charm that the first one did to me. As a pulp-just-for-fun story, it worked the first time around. But if you are going to go that route, it has to be over-the-top fun/ridiculous or creative or...something. Or have amazing art, which may have swayed me in the first arc, but Doc Shaner is nowhere to be found here. The art is pretty good, don’t get me wrong, but not good enough to cover up the complete lack of logic almost anywhere (ironic for a book with Mr. Terrific), and if you’re going to try to introduce seriousness, you can’t give it the effort of a two-toed sloth. The two serious plot points that could have been interesting (Holt’s wife and Plas’ son) weren’t respected at all. It was dumb, and from a writer like Lemire, that’s not something I’d expect.

The whole thing felt like it was forced upon Lemire contractually for DC to create a pseudo-Fantastic Four. I actually think that could’ve worked if someone had passion for this project, but as is I’m sad to say it’s a waste of time. The villain was lifeless with a dumb motivation, the dialogue felt forced, and it overall felt like an afterthought or obligation. I don’t want to give it a 1-star because the art was solid, and it wasn’t offensively bad, but I can’t recommend it. I’m gonna give Gene Luen-Yang a chance with the next volume and hope the concept inspired something in him.

[Will Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5 What this story REALLY needed was time to breathe. The Terrifics multiverse-spanning team-up was loads of fun, though I find the Doctor Dread reveal incredibly underwhelming.

Java's motivation is framed entirely around unrequited love. It's a frustratingly simple and boring origin for a character who's supposed to be the Doctor Doom stand-in for this series, even more so since Java has plenty of other reasons to start a revolt thanks to Simon Stagg's abuse.

The individual members of The Terrifics are rushed through their individual journeys and I wish Lemiere had the time to fully explore them. Plastic Man reaching out to his estranged son is a great idea, Metamorpho losing his powers and struggling to figure out what he wants to do with his life is a great idea. Heck, even the plot about Phantom Girl deciding she doesn't want to live on her home planet is a great idea. Unfortunately all of them are rushed to the finish line. While I want to blame the upcoming change in writer for the hurried pace, I do think some of the issues in volume 1 could have been used to seed these plot threads earlier. I didn't expect any of the books published during the "New Age of Heroes" banner to last long, but it is disappointing to see a solid premise not live up to its potential. The Terrifics under Lemiere almost grew into something remarkable. Let's see what Gene Luen Yang can do with them.

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 4 out of 5]

So here we are - the main reason I decided to take a chance on this book. The Terrifics (team name not yet officially) finally link up with science hero Tom Strong in an effort to save him from this unusual adversary and to eventually help him rescue the rest of the Strong family. It's a crazy multiversal romp that definitely had the feel of some of the Tom Strong books while still viewed through the lens of the Terrifics and how they try to learn to work together.

The last part of the book covered the inevitable strain of them not being too solid a team and they end parting ways. But I doubt anyone reading the book truly believed that the team was truly done for - things just made more sense having them together.

The big reveal of the identity of their primary antagonist actually did make sense in an almost campy, pulp hero sort of way - and this totally worked with the likes of Tom Strong tied into this volume. I just wish they'd play a more regular role - apparently this was just a limited crossover event of sorts to help kickstart the team.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm kind of torn on this title. It's somewhat of an stylistic outlier in Lemire's body of work--though I believe this is a larger creative team than some of the other comics he's written for.

The echoes of the Fantastic Four are even clearer in this volume. It's a fact that always hangs over the story, never quite letting it distinguish itself. The art has some great moments alongside some odd pieces--but the visuals ultimately flow together well enough for my liking.

The characters are fun, and there are some really good moments in this volume. Lemire's talent for conflicted characters definitely comes through, adding some strength to the story of a misfit team trying to define their place in the world.

It's not perfect, but there's enough here that works to keep me invested in what happens next.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I rate comics like this, I base a lot of my rating on whether or not I enjoyed reading it. This continues the charming, absurd fun I enjoyed when I re-read the first volume; the primary storyline, crossing over with the Tom Strong mythos (which I'm unfamiliar with) feels like one of those entertaining cross-over TV shows of the 80s or 90s, and overall this story gets over taking the DC multiverse too seriously.

That said... there's also a lot of flaws here. Cartoonish villainy (including one LITERAL cartoon villain, making it even more self-aware), flat background characters, and this weird sense that there's both great danger AND low stakes at the same time. It's starting to feel much more like the Doom Patrol than the Fantastic Four, but it's still missing some unique spark of its own.

[Rach · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a perfectly fun way to kill some time. With the wacky group that is the Terrifics.

“I might actually start to not hate you soon.”

“See? I knew you were just a big softie under all that gross element stuff.”

“Don’t push it.”

I still live for the dynamic between Rex and Eel, they get on each other’s nerves so much and I love it. Almost like brothers! But Eel’s sense of humor is just great and one of my favorite parts of this series.

I did enjoy the plot of this volume a little better than the last, because we had these characters much more set up and ready to fly into action. The ending felt really sweet which I didn’t expect! I always am fascinated by comics that dive into multiverses and this one really plays with the concept.

[Nerdmaling · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Terrifics är inte dåligt men inte heller "Terrific". Det är i grunden en ganska gullig historia om vänskap. Det är hyfsad superhjälteaction men den är också lite ofokuserad och håller lite för många bollar i luften för att ska vara riktigt bra.

Jag tror att min största kritik egentligen är att karaktärsgalleriet faller lite platt. Dr Dread är lite fånig (inte på ett bra sätt, för det behöver inte automatiskt vara negativt). Illustrationerna varierar ganska mycket. Joe Bennets stil passar inte riktigt den här typen av serier.

Men som mer lättsam actionserie fungerar den bra. Jag är underhållen på samma sätt som när man ser en actionfilm, man får helt enkelt försöka att inte tänka allt för mycket när man läser den utan ta det lite som det är.

[Javen Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kinda funky plot since the villain does a whole lotta bad shit just for the attention of someone else's girlfriend. Wasn't there another way to show her affection? Fun multidimensional settings, especially Funnyland and Ducktor Dread. I don't really believe Java would be able to kill Mr Terrifics in other worlds when he can't even kill the one he has issue with, but it is funny when his armor weak points are analyzed and Terrific just ends up punching him in the face. Terrific is also drawn very buff in the first arc collected in this volume, which is funny to see. The more personal issues with Rex, Plastic's son and Terrific's loneliness (esp when he sees Tom with his family then him finding his wife Paula later) was what I enjoyed most about this collection

[Jesús · Rating 2 out of 5]

The second volume of Jeff Lemire’s homage to the Silver Age-era Fantastic Four stalls out after what had been a strong opening arc in the first volume. This volume also gets stuck in a narrative morass for two issues after the team disbands and goes back to their civilian lives. There’s just not all that much beneath the surface of these characters that’s worth digging this deeply into.

I know that Lemire has recently passed writing duties over to Gene Luen Yang, which means that it’s possible that the next big story arc will regain the book’s prior vitality. I really enjoyed the opening arc to this book, so I’m hoping it can find its footing again.

[Georgie Zakka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tom strong and the terrifics was a good end to Lemires run, the book was pretty good and I’m sad to see Lenore go but gene luen yang is probably gonna he really good.

I’m half and half on the story, I didn’t like the first half of the book which revolves around Tom strong but the second half was really good. The premise is basically Java getting jealous of them and becomes evil so and so.

The art is beautiful, dale eaglesham is so good at drawing them, especially Tom strong. The colours were vibrant and complimented the art a lot. A great looking book.

Overall pretty good book.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Terrifics isn't groundbreaking superhero storytelling, but it is character-based fun superhero storytelling. Acting roughly like a deliberate Fantastic Four clone, Mr. Terrific, Metamorpho, Plastic Man, and Phantom Girl are forced to work together...at least at first. But there's a baddie named Doctor Dread out to get them, and that means a trip into the multiverse to help and get help from Tom Strong and family, as well as expanding the team beyond the original four member team.

So, is it saying anything new? Not really. But it's still fun.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars may be a bit generous, but in a world of many crappy comics, I actually enjoyed this one despite the silliness. And it didn’t hurt that some of the Fantastic Four references / rip-offs were left out of this book. I think the main reason I liked it more was the inclusion of Tom Strong. I find him to be a much more interesting character than any of the Terrifics, There was an opportunity here to use this book to really explore the DC multiverse. Now I just have to see what happens in the final two books.

[Sean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another edition of what and why? Jeff Lemire, one of comic's best writers, is writing this odd current yet retro team book that defies logic. The team isn't appealing nor is their reasons to be together. I think it would have been better served to just let him write the Tom Strong book he clearly wants to write. The art was good. This book just doesn't add up.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I almost did not finish this one. This is a F TIER knock off of the FF4 complete with the evil dude wearing a metal armor suit with a cape looking very much like DOOM. Plastic man is the saving grace for this series. But even he is ruined by brining in his lame son … codenamed offsrping?! Please DC think of better names.

[monte taft · Rating 5 out of 5]

Go terrifics go!!

I really loved this series and despite the obvious references to the fantastic other team, this unlikely foursomes would capture the same effect as the Marvel team.
I really loved Tom strong and his family, wants to see more of them.

Really looking forward to more stories, even though I know it was a short run, on to volume 2!

[Siddharth Yadav · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than Vol. 1

Improves upon the first volume. Is essentially a feel-good multiversal adventure story. Nothing new but the story just flows.

Got it into this series coz I have always liked Metamorpho. But stated for Plastic Man. I need more plastic man stories. Too much untapped potential there.

[Daniel Butcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was worried early on this was an attempt at bringing the success of Black Hammer to DC. In the end, it was different enough with Tom Strong being in the genre of Black Hammer without duplicating.

Fairly fun.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an excellent graphic novel! It is filled with vivid characters and is action-packed! Although it was more action-driven than character-driven (unlike some of Lemire's other works), this was definitely a great read. I highly recommend it.