Terrarists (1993) #1-4
by Pat Mills, Tony Skinner and John Erasmus
Here’s another oddball “Heavy Hitters” book — the first from the second wave of books, I think?
I suspect that everybody involved here are British? It does have that British feel to the storytelling, at least. The artwork by Erasmus is quite American, though; in particular, it’s quite Richard Corben.
Anyway, the book is about a group of four super-heroes who’ve been given powers by the Earth to fix the environmental problems we’re having.
You’ll no doubt be shocked to learn that the world’s richest and most powerful are conspiring to kill off all life on Earth!
Or… not very surprised? That’s also possible.
I’m fascinated by how old-fashioned this book must have been, even in 1993. It’s told totally straightforwardly — there’s nary a twist or surprise, and the good guys are good guys and the bad guys are bad guys. It’s refreshing. But that said, there really isn’t much here… it’s a very snappy read, and not much of interest happens. We also get to experience the origin story of all the four heroes, and … after each one, I was just wondering “well, why?” Nothing of interest happens in the origin stories…
Man! That’s a Corben face. Although the mouth is a bit more angular.
I like Erasmus’ artwork — it’s got an insane, slick, sick look to it. But sometimes the muscles do really add things, like in the panel to the right there.
I guess some parts reminded me a bit of Miracleman?
Anyway, it’s an interesting series in some ways.
The series has never been reprinted or collected, and I’m somewhat surprised by that. You’d think somebody like Titan could do something with it…
I’m only able to find a single mention of this book on the interwebs:
Terrarists (four issues) by Pat Mills, Tony Skinner, and John Erasmus: More Mills/Skinner superhero commentary, this time with an environmentalist slant. Would have probably found more traction with readers given its themes, but Erasmus’s hyper-stylized art probably turned off fans of more conventional-looking superhero comics.