About Heroes

Author: David Lapham
Artist: Patrick Zircher
Colors: June Chung

From the cover I really thought this was going to be a revamp of Deathlok, but to my surprise it's a revamp of another 90s third-string character. The original Terror Inc. series was about a corrupted hitman who had some interesting powers. To sum it up he could rip someone's limbs off and attach them to his own body, thereby gaining the skills associated with that appendage that the person has. Anywhere, from a runners legs to a marksman's eye. The guy went up against Luke Cage, The Punisher, and even Wolverine and Jubilee had a team up with him. The story got a bit confusing after they try to make him travel through different earths and making the readers believe he is someone named Shreck from the Shadowline series.

I really think this first issue was a great read, not only for people that used to read Terror back in the 90's but new potential readers. And the fact that they made it a Max title makes it all the better. There aren't enough Marvel Max titles out there and I really think they should work on that. But enough about adult oriented books. This issue was a fun read Lapham goes back to the beginning to retell the origin of Terror. Terror Inc. We go back to the days of the Roman Empire, when he was married and he was a part of the Vandals. After confronting a huge monster, Terror is stricken with a curse that causes his body to rot away even as his consciousness persists in immortality. The years pass and he maintains his decaying body by stealing flesh from other beasts and humans. Hell, Lapham even kept the lover's arm that Terror has incased in his metallic left arm. When we come to the present Terror is talking to Alexis Primo and back to running his organization known as Terror Inc, which specializes in being hired assassins.

If you think about it a Max series is the only way to go with a character that can his limbs off people. Lapham has so much more room to play with now. Ripping a guy's head off and putting it on his own body is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. I have been a fan of Zircher since his days on New Warriors and then of course Cable and Deadpool. His art style for this series is dark with some heavy inks and it really flatters the story with some gratuitous gore and we even get a tit or two down the road. It's a great start and I'm glad they are limiting to five issues just so we can see if this idea can work for more than this miniseries' lifetime. A fun read overall, with the exception of the $4.00 price tag. Hell, since they are both Max titles I would love to see him go up against the Punisher for rematch. B+