A Life Well Lived — Reviewing ‘Mr. Terrific: Year One’ #2

Heroes come in all shapes, sizes, and capabilities. Some fight world threatening villains, others work closer to home, speaking for those whose voices go unheard, bringing fair play to the people and the streets.

One of those heroes has their moment of birth as Mr. Terrific: Year One #2 continues the intense, relatable, and powerful origin of the title hero. A grand emotional tale comes from Al Letson, Valentine De Landro, Marissa Louise, Edwin Galmon, and Lucas Gattoni.

There are quite a number of comics finding their way onto my favorites of the year. This one is easily sliding onto the list. Just so well-crafted, relevant, and intriguing on every level.

Not a single bit of this feels like Letson is relatively new to writing comic books. There are comics on the shelves regularly that don’t have even a fraction of the character development and dense storytelling that this series has shown in just two issues. That’s not a swipe at them or the creators in a negative way, it just speaks to the skill that Letson is showcasing here.

Michael Holt is a character who deserves this depth of a look. He’s such a great character, with a really compelling backstory that should be known by more people, especially when so many are about to be introduced to this character on the big screen.

Street-level heroes actually dealing with relevant situations (even if they have fantastical backgrounds) is refreshing. Yet, this one also has a huge supernatural element since the Spectre has shown up. You know that former hero that is also known as God’s Wrath and all.

The back and forth here was golden. Swirling more backstory origin beats with the Spectre trying to convince Holt to live is a nice touch. Flashbacks are good, but finding ways to up their engagement and freshness always helps. This keeps the reader more focused as the lore begins to drop, in drips and drabs.

A touch of roughness is always there because of the subject matter. It’s also there, in a very prominent way, because of De Landro’s artwork. This gives the space and the characters an extra sense of depth and liveliness at all times. Weight and power that seeps through every moment with just enough exaggeration and blur to really sell the grittier feeling.

Even with that touch of exaggeration and blur, there is so much detail and depth. It allows the characters and spaces to feel authentically alive.

It pairs well with Galmon’s smoother and more fanciful style, which frames the story from the present day. They really work well to depict two different time periods, and a rougher time of life compared to a “grander” one.

Flashier and colorful describes the way that Galmon’s artwork feels. That is different from what the past portion of the work presents. De Landro’s work pairs well with the color palette choices from Louise. It is more saturated and toned down in many respects, befitting the more real feeling of the overall story setting.

It shifts a bit more this time because of the Spectre and other fantastical elements. This is where the flashes of heavier darker colors come into play, letting the vibrancy soak into the overall colors, keeping it at the same overall tonal level while letting it do its own thing within the palette sphere.

A number of different deliveries happen when it comes to dialogue and thoughts. Gattoni gives it all the right little push and flash, dipping into all the emotional and tonal spaces where they need to go. This gives it all the right amount of authority, letting the fonts and bubbles or boxes shift to showcase those tones and emotions, as well as the right volume levels.

Mr. Terrific: Year One #2 is now available from DC Comics.