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Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: February 19, 2014
The Story:
Messing around in classic territory can be a dangerous thing. While there have been many successful adaptations of popular films into the comic genre, there are also bin-shaped graveyards full of horrible, horrible creations that should've been put to death before they had the chance to be committed to paper. For myself, the 1984 film THE TERMINATOR holds a special place in my memory; at 9 years old, it was the first R-rated film I had the pleasure of seeing on the semi-new format of home video. And while the last 30 years have seen the legacy of James Cameron's masterpiece buggered in the form of some horrific sequels, the integrity of the original keeps it close to the hearts of its many fans the world over. Which is why, 30 years after Kyle Reese told Sarah Connor to , "Come with me if you want to live.", the notion of a comic book adaptation sets the nostrils twitching in an uncomfortable way.
Fortunately, the folks at Dark Horse, specifically writer Dan Jolley, have chosen to ignore (for now) the story and characters from the film and travel a different path. Set not in 1984, but actually in 1985...no, really, it's more different than taking place a year later....Enemy of my Enemy introduces us to former CIA agent Farrow Greene, who has come out of hiding to visit her brother's grave. Highly sought after for reasons that are not explained, Farrow sends a decoy in ahead of her to reveal a nasty ambush, which she skillfully defuses.
Across the country in Gooseneck, New York, a good ol' boy gun store owner comes across a well-built naked man in his store. Effortlessly taking bullets from the shopkeep's large-bore insurance policy, this naked hunk o' burnin' man stocks up on weapons and carries on into the night.
Meanwhile, a little more of former Agent Greene's occupation is revealed in the next pages as she accepts an assignment from a mysterious caller, who offers her 1.5 million dollars to track down scientist Dr. Elise Fong, who gives away her location with a badly placed call to her family. Arriving at Elise's hotel, Greene's job seems all but done, until the arrival of the big man from the gun shop, who seems to have little problem taking a slug point-blank in the face.
Not much more is revealed in the 20-odd pages included in this first issue, which works for and against this new series. While there's definitely an inclination to read more in the series, Jolley doesn't really provide the hooks to draw the reader in fully. There are a number of unanswered questions, to be sure, but not much of an establishment of the questions themselves; after reading through the book a couple of times, I wasn't particularly convinced that not knowing the answers was going to cause any sleepless nights.
The art itself is decent throughout most of the book, but unfortunately where Igle fails is the Terminator himself. Lacking any real menace, the character reminded me of the caveman from the old Scooby-Doo cartoons, and the showdown between him and Greene (which should've been pivotal and baited the hook for issue #2) comes across as rather bland.
Everything else aside, I'll reserve judgement of the series after reading future episodes, but the silver lining is that the legacy of the film hasn't been shat on....not yet, anyway.
