The heroic pantheon of Los Angeles adds a new member to its ranks in Mister Terrific. Mr. Terrific is the hero who holds more degrees than the faculties of Harvard and Yale combined, has won Olympic gold and runs a billion dollar corporation. So what does the world’s third smartest man do next? He fights the good fight as the hero who is all about fair play in Los Angeles. From the DC Comics New 52 comes the first comic book series starring Mr. Terrific. Issue #1 of Mister Terrific is available now by writer Eric Wallace and artist Gianluca Gugliotta.
Michael Holt is the world’s third smartest man. Holt has accomplished so much in his life and has so much more to give, but when tragedy strikes he loses all faith and contemplates giving up. When a vision from the future visits Michael he pulls himself out of the gutter and focuses his life towards helping people. Now armed with his amazing T-Spheres, Mr. Terrific is using his genius and athletic prowess to battle crime not only in his home of Los Angeles but all over the world. Mr. Terrific’s first case is to determine how individuals of limited intelligence are getting boosted intellectually into Nobel laureates who happen to be homicidal.
From the T-Santuary, his headquarters, in the ninth dimension to perfecting infinite fractal mechanics, writer Eric Wallace firmly establishes Mr. Terrific as a man of science. All of Mr. Terrific’s cases can be solved simply by following the science behind the mystery. The dialogue is quick and sharp befitting the world’s third smartest man. The story is balanced well with an opening action sequence that has Mr. Terrific zooming over the streets of London battling an armored villain and with quiet scenes in Michael Holt’s home in Los Angeles and a fundraiser in Santa Barbara.
Gianluca Gugliotta provides the stunning artwork of the first issue. To see Mr. Terrific in action is something to get excited about and Gugliotta makes Mr. Terrific’s aerial tactics jump off the page almost as if our hero is speed skating in the sky. The rendering of the science based T-Sanctuary is also done very well with Gugliotta keeping a cold feel to the headquarters in character for Mr. Terrific.
The decision: Wallace packs a lot of big ideas into the first issue and you will have no trouble understanding who Mr. Terrific is by the end of the book. Gugliotta’s art keeps up with the fast pace set by Wallace. It is a strong debut issue for a character who up to this point has been a strong character in a crowded Justice Society of America. It is good to see such a great hero get the room to breathe in his own comic book series. It is also good to see DC Comics put their heroes in new locales like Los Angeles.
Writer Eric Wallace will be appearing at three different Southern California comic shops in September promoting Mister Terrific. This is a great chance to come out and meet the writer. September 21st at Beach Ball Comics in Anaheim, September 25th at Emerald Knights in Burbank and September 28that Collector’s Paradise in Canoga Park. Check Eric Wallace’s website for more details about his upcoming appearances by clicking here.
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To read the digital version of Mister Terrific #1 visit Comixology.com
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