Advance Review: Terror, Inc #2

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Review

Terror, Inc # 2

Writer: David Lapham

Artist: Patrick Zircher

Marvel Comics

Terror, Inc is a weird book. It’s about a decomposing man from 15-and-a-half centuries ago who is a hitman and constantly replaces his limbs. He’s accidentally killed a government official who he thought was a terrorist and is now on the run. This is graphic and, yes, the set up is insane, but since it’s only two issues in, it’s worth a gander to see what it has to offer.

Well, weird is what you pay for in this book I suppose. The lead, Mr. Terror, is melted in acid and flushed down a toilet. He’s immortal so he ends up in a frog, then in the frog taking over the cat, and so on. Of course he ends up human, and is hunted again immediately, while decaying.

The characterization of Mr. Terror is suitably strange, but with the book’s tone and the fact that he’s a cursed, decaying hitman mean a strange perspective is acceptable. The rest of the characters aren’t suitably surprised or disgusted or, really reacting in any way to the fact that Mr. Terror is so strange. That gives the book a really weird feel. No one else has enough character yet, nor is there enough of a “this is a weird world” feel to pull this off. The other characters seem hopelessly dense and even stranger than Mr. Terror for failing to react properly to him.

If he isn’t supposed to be shocking in text, all you have is the meta-textual reader horror, which would only work were there more shades of gray in the actual plot, not a straight good guy is duped and goes after who framed him story. There’s always the “monster in appearance hunts people who behave as monsters” theme, but really… nothing is being done with that here. There might be more than some amusingly gruesome art and weirdness for weirdness sake here, but if there is, I’m struggling to find it.

Glazer is a former senior editor at Pulse Wrestling and editor and reviewer at The Comics Nexus.