Advance Review: ‘Terminal’ #3 Is Less Than The Sum Of Its Talented Parts
by Tom Smithyman
Sometimes a proven team of industry legends comes together and wows readers with an amazing story, witty dialogue, and eye-popping illustrations.
Then there is Terminal.
This young series boosts a true team of comic book immortals, particularly writers Robert Kirkman and Joe Casey alongside artist Andy Kubert. Despite this embarrassment of riches in the talent department, Terminal continues to disappoint.
It’s not a question of sky-high expectations, though that would be fair given the creators’ pedigrees. No, Terminal is needlessly confusing, with a high death toll among its allegedly major characters — making it so readers can’t become invested in anyone or anything.
Kirkman and Casey start this latest issue with a flashback, the purpose of which is nebulous, at best. The rest of this chapter deals with a significant battle (Is it really significant though? Who knows?) while also jumping around to other characters we don’t know enough about.
To make matters worse, even Kubert’s illustrations — the lone redeeming point in the last issue — seem off here. To be sure, Kubert on his off days is better than many other artists at the top of their games. But when you’re hanging your hat on great illustrations to make up for a subpar story, the renderings better be great. Here, they are just okay.
So what’s the solution? The writers need to stop teasing us and be more direct with the story. They don’t need to spill all the beans at once. But this slow burn — particularly when we’re not invested in these characters — is simply not going to work for long.
The creators’ reputations for excellence have brought us to this point. It seems doubtful that many readers will want to continue the journey unless something drastic changes.
Terminal #6 — written by Robert Kirkman and Joe Casey, illustrated by Andy Kubert, colored by Dave McCaig, and lettered by Rus Wooton — will be available Wednesday in comic book stores and on digital platforms from Image Comics.
Overview
Confusing plots, questionable flashbacks, characters we don’t care about, and only OK illustrations are dooming this series that has so much potential. With creators like these, it’s a real shame they aren’t delivering something better to readers.