Writer: Zack Whedon
Artist: Andy MacDonald
Colorist: Dan Jackson
Cover Artist: Massimo CarnevaleKyle Reese nears the completion of his mission in the past when he locates Sarah Connor in 1984 Los Angeles. However, protecting her from the Terminator sent to kill her proves more difficult than he realized. In 2029 Kyle had backup, advanced weaponry, and obvious targets–now he’s on his own against killer machines that look just like people. Fortunately, Ben is making progress in his own mission-protecting Kyle–as he finally catches up with his friend.
* Zack Whedon is known for his work on Dr. Horrible, Serenity: The Shepherd’s Tale, and the TV shows Fringe and Rubicon.
“This is another superb entry to the Dark Horse Terminator collection, and something Zack Whedon and Andy MacDonald can really hang their hat on.” –Multiversity Comics
After the initial surprise of seeing our site quoted on the Dark Horse profile, what did I think of the second issue of the second installment of Whedon and MacDonald’s Terminator story? Check behind the cut for my thoughts!
God, it feels good to get excited about Terminator again! I believe I stated something to a similar effect when we made Terminator 1984 #1 our book of the week, but it stands repeating with every issue of this book – Whedon just gets Terminator, and I can’t be more grateful for it.
With the second issue, we take ourselves out of the constraints of the first Terminator movie and begin elaborating on what happened in between the first two. With Kyle still alive, a rescue attempt is made to reunite him with Sarah while a brand new Terminator stalks it’s prey. It’s all very connected and time-travely, so be sure to put on your sci-fi reading glasses before grabbing a copy of the book, and a healthy memory of the second movie would sure help as well.
For me, what makes this book work so well is that while there are certainly many different avenues you can go to get your various Terminator fan-fiction, this one really feels like it is the official continuation of the stories. While it does get a tad bit of a groan in the, “Oh, Kyle was alive the whole time?” section (which somewhat takes away the impact of his death), Whedon deftly maneuvers through the constraints of time-travel and established canon to bring a plausible scenario for events that take place in Terminator 2 (with a very specific nod put in the book) to create a book that deserves to sit next to the DVDs on the shelf. This is Terminator. This isn’t Mostow or McG’s Terminator, this is the next best thing to Cameron coming in and writing a sequel/prequel himself, and – as I said – it really pays to be a Terminator fan right now.
With MacDonald, we’re getting some fantastic and kinetic art from the book. Matching in styles to that of Sean Murphy (Joe the Barbarian) or Kev Walker (Thunderbolts), MacDonald brings Terminator to life with his own unique set of pencils and inks and Dan Jackson’s colors to bring it all to life. Visually the book is matched pitch perfect to the writing, as the synergy between MacDonald and Whedon is very apparent. It’s not uncommon to see the work of two creators and just understand that the two were made for each other when it comes to producing comic books, and I feel like MacDonald has that here with Whedon.
To put it bluntly, if you’re a Terminator fan you can’t afford to miss this comic book. It captures the feel of the Cameron era of Terminator while making the McG era seem a bit more worthwhile. While the first miniseries mapped the desolate wastelands of the future, this book brings back to life the dark vision of the industrial 80’s which the first film brought to us. While normally you have a right to fear licensed properties, Dark Horse has proved once again that they’ve got the goods in the creative department to bring you a licensed book that is worth your time.
Final Verdict: 8.7 – Buy
