It’s no secret that I enjoy Declan Shalvey’s current version of The Terminator. Shalvey not only breathed life into a series I was burnt out on, but he finally cracked the code that most filmmakers have avoided. I mean, why would Skynet send a Terminator after just one person? If you had a time machine, the places you could go (and therefore the storytelling possibilities) could theoretically be endless.
Shalvey has taken full advantage of these storytelling possibilities by teaming up with a rotating team of talented artists. In Terminator #4, he and Lorenzo Re travel to the early days of the Cold War, specifically on a Whiskey-class submarine called S-353 (hence the comic’s title “Whiskey Dark”) . Captain Masha Alekseev and his crew are tasked with transporting a man with a mysterious cargo to Russia.
Little did Alexeev and his crew know that there was someone on board the ship who was not who they claimed to be. But it’s not a spy. This being is a murder machine wrapped in flesh sent from the future. And if the mission is successful, the Cold War will soar hundreds of degrees.
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Shalvey does a great job of writing a story built on tension while once again reminding us of the original Terminator and its horror roots. There’s a mysterious character who at first looks like the Terminator…but turns out to be something else entirely. Shalvey is also great at setting the action on a submarine. The tension is high in such a small space, and fear is just around the corner.
Re captures the feeling of claustrophobia through art. Most panels either feature close-ups of characters’ faces or highlight the cramped interior of S-353. This leads to a brief but brutal scuffle as the Terminator fights Alexeev’s crew. At times, the action unfolds outside the submarine, rendered in cool blue and black by Colin Cracker. It’s a stark contrast to the submarine’s blood-red interior, and at the same time a reminder of how majestic and frightening the ocean can be.
Terminator #4 also includes the latest installment of “Buried Alive” by Sal Crivelli and Craker. The book is a fairly quiet double-page spread, punctuated only by Jeff Eckleberry’s sound effects (the sound of bullets firing and metal-on-metal clanging as the Terminators fight), depicting a Western scene in which two machines try to kill each other. It has the feel of a dramatic gunfight. I don’t know where this story is going, but it’s definitely going in a good direction thanks to Craker.
Terminator #4 slowly builds suspense, waiting for the right moment when all hell breaks loose. Shalvey has managed to put a unique spin on the Terminator series. If you ask me, this is a much needed piece of work.
“Terminator” #4 is a pressure cooker of stories
Terminator #4
Terminator #4 slowly builds suspense, waiting for the right moment when all hell breaks loose. Shalvey has managed to put a unique spin on the Terminator series. If you ask me, this is a much needed piece of work.
Shalvey does a great job of building suspense, especially regarding the Terminator reveal.
Lorenzo Re creates an atmosphere as claustrophobic as the submarine in which the story takes place.
Sal Crivelli and Cracker do a great job with quiet storytelling.
I’m still a little confused by the backup story.
