Black Terror Volume 1, Published by Dynamite Entertainment

The Black Terror is one of a number of public domain 1940s superheroes who have been revived by various publishers in recent years, often simultaneously. AC Comics' Femforce and related series have featured the Black Terror as a recurring cast member for many years. Alan Moore used the Black Terror for the "Terra Obscura" story arc in Tom Strong. Erik Larsen had the Black Terror make a cameo appearance alongside numerous other Golden Age characters in Savage Dragonissue #141. And now Dynamite Entertainment has begun publishing new adventures of the Black Terror and various other 1940s heroes, beginning in Project Superpowers. The Black Terror series is one of several titles that have been spun off from the initial Project Superpowers miniseries. The trade paperback reprints the first four issues of the Black Terror's solo title from Dynamite.

The first Black Terror story arc follows on immediately from the events of Project Superpowers. It would have been very helpful if there had been some sort of text page summarizing the events of that miniseries, which I haven't read. I was left to fill in the blanks by the snatches of backstory mentioned or alluded to in this Black Terror book.

Back in the 1950s, the majority of the world's superheroes were imprisoned within a black void contained in a mystical urn. Having only just escaped in the present day, the heroes perceive that the world has become a much more corrupt place, one where the ideals of freedom & justice they fought to preserve in World War II have been severely compromised. The majority of the heroes publicly state their intention to be "a balance to the corruption of the world's powers, a check for when a nation steps out of line."

The entire story hinges upon perceptions. Black Terror and his allies believe themselves as heroes, freedom fighters; the governments of the world see them as terrorists. Both the Black Terror's associates and the politicians they oppose see things in black & white. Krueger writes of Black Terror, "What he feels now is nothing. Nothing. An apathy for his enemy. A complete lack of even tolerance for any viewpoint that isn't right. And in this, he realizes, he has been cursed to be so similar to his enemy that he cannot stand even himself."

Black Terror comes to believe his sidekick Tim, aka Kid Terror, is a prisoner in the White House, held captive along with other captured heroes by President West. To free Tim, Black Terror launches a one-man assault on the White House. This is juxtaposed with a flashback to 1950, when Black Terror was protecting President Truman from assassins. Now the roles are reversed, with Black Terror fighting those who have sworn to protect the President with their lives.

Black Terror also comes into conflict with several former superhuman allies, who are now protecting President West, a man they see as a force for good. Even then, things are not so black & white. One of the heroes defending West, the Liberator, tries to reason with Black Terror, and later even saves his life. And on the other hand, one of the imprisoned heroes is very disturbed by the possibility of Black Terror assassinating West. "I don't care who they are, or what they've done to me. You cannot kill the President."

(I wish I could identify the character who says this. He's a red, white & blue costumed individual who Black Terror refers to as Jones. But his code name is never stated, a somewhat annoying lapse on scripter Jim Krueger's part.)

President West is himself somewhat of an enigma. The tone of Krueger's script seems to cast West as a Dick Cheney-esque figure. He sends squads of super-powered zombies called the Crusaders to attack Black Terror's allies. However, later on West informs Black Terror "I was like you once. Unwilling to compromise. And the world paid the price." So, while he is ruthless and ready to kill all the superhumans opposing him, West acknowledges the world is a complicated place.

Krueger and co-plotter Alex Ross seem to be commenting on how power can corrupt even the most noble individuals. Just as Black Terror's allies have set themselves up as a "check and balance" to the governments of the world, so too another group, the Inheritors, express that they will be watching the superhumans to make sure they don't cross the line.

Black Terror himself is a ruthless figure, in certain ways a fanatic. But on the other hand he tries to avoid killing any of the American forces protecting West, stating that they are just doing their job. Even the idea of killing West is secondary to the goal of locating Kid Terror, who Black Terror regards almost as a son.

The primary reason I got this trade paperback was for Mike Lilly's art. I've been following his work for several years. He started out good, and over time has gotten better and better. Black Terror features some of his best art yet.

Even early on in his career, Lilly was drawing dramatic and inventive layouts. On Black Terror, he really does work with tremendous impact. Lilly draws a number of two page spreads featuring multiple panels of action laid out in a dynamic, yet well thought out, manner. Black Terror's attack on the White House is an amazing action set. The fight with the superhumans defending West is just brutal. And Lilly's rendition of the zombie-like army of Crusaders is quite ghoulish and chilling.

The only time I found the art confusing was in the scenes featuring a dozen or more characters. That's really not Lilly's fault, though. As I said before, a significant number of characters are in red, white and blue outfits. No matter who is drawing them, unless you are intimately familiar with the large cast, you are going to have trouble telling apart all those patriotic-themed heroes.

But that aside, Lilly's work is simply amazing.

I'm of two minds regarding Vinicius Andrade's coloring. His work on the characters is very good and vibrant. Yet a lot of his backgrounds are murky. The opening scene in NYC, for instance, I cannot tell if the city has been severely damaged, or just overrun with greenery.

Regarding Alex Ross role on the series, he illustrates the primary covers for each issue, co-plotted with Krueger, and re-designed the Golden Age characters. In Black Terror's case, that seems to involve revising his mask and headgear. Oh, yes, Ross is also credited with "art direction," whatever that means.

I guess Dynamite brought Ross on board because he is a well-know, popular artist. Having him involved does give the books a certain publicity and prestige.

My feelings on Ross run hot and cold. Yes, he is a great artist. My problem is that sometimes he draws superheroes much too realistically. In real life, people wearing spandex usually look silly. Fortunately, here Ross seems to have been less concerned with photorealism. His covers, and the character designs published in the back of the book, retain a feel for the fantastic that is a crucial component when drawing superheroes.

Actually, my favorite section of the book was the bonus material at the back. In addition to Ross' character designs and cover thumbnail sketches, all of the series' variant covers are printed. One of these was drawn by legendary artist George Tuska. This was probably one of Tuska's last pieces, as he passed away in October at the age of 93. It's great that Dynamite was able to have Tuska contribute a cover, as he actually drew some of the original Black Terror stories back in the 1940s.

There's also a selection of sketches and cover pencils by Lilly. His work looks really good in black & white. I liked his thoughts on the Black Terror design in the sketches. Regarding the skull & crossbones logo on Black Terror's costume, Lilly writes "make skull seem like a relief sculpture on Terror's chest." This detail gives the character a more sinister feel. I also like how, within the story, the coloring by Andrade imbues the skull & crossbones with an unearthly, eerie glow.

In conclusion, while I did like the writing on Black Terror, there really needed to be more background information. Dynamite should not assume that everyone reading his book has already read Project Superpowers. I felt that Ross and Krueger's plot was perhaps overly ambitious, with a large sprawling cast, and a number of deep philosophical ideas touched upon. But better to have reached, and not quite succeed one hundred percent, than phone in a mediocre story.

Really, for me, it was Lilly's art that made this book. But my interest is piqued enough that I'll probably check out some of the other Project Superpowers books.