TERMINAL HERO #1 Review


Will Dynamite continue to impress with their Creators Unleashed chain? Read on to find out.

The official description from Dynamite:

With Shade: The Changing Man, X-Statix, Doop and of course Hellblazer under his belt, Peter Milligan is now taking on Terminal Hero! Rory Fletcher is a good man. The problem is, he’s dying of an inoperable brain tumor. And then his best friend introduces him to the mysterious Treatment Q. This strange and forbidden therapy might just save Rory’s life. But its nightmarish side effects could make him question just how good he really is, and just how much he really does want to live.

TerminalHero0101_col_fTerminal Hero is the latest in Dynamite’s Creators Unleashed line, and following the rather impressive start The Devilers had, I was hoping for the same from this. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case, as though far from terrible, there’s a fair amount of factors that unsettled me about this opening issue. The main thing that perplexes me however is our main character Rory, as despite seeming friendly and pleasant, he is far from a hero. Though the conclusion does leave the possibility for this to change.

Former Hellblazer writer Peter Milligan is the scribe behind this series, and though this opening issue has failed to amaze, the premise of the series does intrigue. Any series that focuses on terminally ill characters are always going to draw attention, and in doing so set a higher expectation. The main thing that let down Milligan’s script for this issue however had to be the amount of information, with it being quite a lot to take in for a single issue. Nevertheless this may turn out to be a worthy setback if future issues prove more invigorating.

Piotr Kowalski, the artist behind hit Image series Sex handles the art for Terminal Hero. Having not read anything featuring his work this is my first experience, and I have to say I’m not won over. Though he shows talent throughout, I personally find Kowalski’s work on this issue to be rather jarring and inconsistent. Despite this he does manage to captivate with stunning scenery, and explosive action. Join this with Kelly Fitzpatrick bold colours, and Jae Lee‘s covers and not everything about the art is dreadful.

Terminal Hero may have an intriguing concept, showing promise, but from this one issue alone I can’t say I’m won over. Due to this I can’t at the moment recommend this series.

OUR RATING
6
  • + An intriguing concept.
  • + Peter Milligan gives us an emotionally driven story.
  • - Piotr Kowalski’s art felt very jarring and inconsistent.
  • - Too much information for one issue.

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