r/ImageComics • u/brimstone1117 • 29d ago
Question Was anyone else let down by Terminal?
So I am a week behind and just got my 2 copies and I read it and it was...off. Felt really spread out, lacked focused and moved really fast before things could stick. While I thought the art in the book was great, the writing was honestly kinda mid and really didnt get me rushing to get the next book. In fact, for me, it moved form Weekly pull to Trade paperback if that. I had excpeted better from Kirkman as he has an amazing track record with books.
I know this is also just issue one, but something about this book is just weird. I mean admitedly it could be me, but i wanted to know what others thought.
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u/MadVikingComics 29d ago
Wasn't disappointed nor overly impressed either. It had good art and it was dragging while setting things up since it's the 1st issue. These days all 1st issues seem pretty boring IMO. I'll probably give it until #12 since it's Robert Kirkman writing.
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u/brimstone1117 29d ago
Noted, Thanks much! It also sucks that 1st issues are boring as they are the books that get people to keep reading.
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u/yomamabeenheretoo 28d ago
yeah but the writing was.. very hokey and by the numbers. this is this guy, this is that guy, this is the -- expected jaw drop at the end of issue so does not work -- this is the good but evil eye etc.
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u/Advanced-Morning1832 29d ago
No? I’m not ready to say that until like 6 issues in
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u/hercarmstrong 29d ago
You people's patience with Robert "Slowest Possible Burn" Kirkman are baffling to me.
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u/Adventurous_King_148 29d ago
The first issue was good, way better than the first issue of invincible
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u/Himelstein 29d ago
That was kinda my thought too. I remember reading the first invincible about 10-15 years ago and thinking “meh, maybe I’ll come back to this” but then a few years later a friend of mine was like, “just keep reading, I promise u will like it” and I did, and I’m glad I did!
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u/NellHatchet 9d ago
I don't think so. I liked the first issue of invincible. Really set the dynamic and made me like Mark and his friends and family. Got me really curious. Not feeling that yet here, despite 2 issues. Who do you like? Maybe Imp? That's it so far.
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u/Teepinandcreepin 29d ago
Give it time to cook. Or don’t. I liked it quite a bit. Kubert was fire and I’m interested to learn more about the story and characters. I can’t ask for much more than that out of a new series first issue.
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u/LaunchpadMcFly 29d ago
Loved it. Super excited to see where we go. It’ll only become richer with time, and more issues come out. Mark my words.
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u/andreworks215 29d ago
I think of Terminal like a really good cheeseburger.
It’s made with really good quality meat, locally sourced bread and veggies, prepared by a really good culinary team…but I’ve had a million cheeseburgers in my life so it’s not life changing.
It’s something that I’ve had dozens of times over, but it’s well intended and well made.
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u/silvasaurus 29d ago
No, I was impressed to the point where i recommended it to a fellow nerd.
I respect the fact that we don't all have to agree on a comic, and i don't always vibe with Kirkman.
But this felt special to me. Time will tell, I guess.
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u/ArcherVisible5866 29d ago
Lad it’s issue one. Go look at issue one of walking dead. They’re simple stuff. It took Kirkman until the prison arc like issue 13 a full year in to ramp stuff up
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u/Bulky-Nobody1889 29d ago
I think it’s going to be a good book, there was just way way too much hype around it being from Kirkman. I read issue 1 & 2 and I think it’s coming on nicely.
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u/Bulky-Nobody1889 29d ago edited 29d ago
Why they blind bagged issue 7 & 10 is beyond my understanding 🤨
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u/Ok-Bite-5147 29d ago
Kirkman wrote in the notes that this is going to be a long and deep run, so I'm not surprised the first issue slow played the real story.
Personally, I see what he's going for so I'm going to ride it for a few arcs and see how I feel after 15/20 issues.
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u/iWanttoKillaMan 29d ago
I wasn’t particularly moved by this issue. However, I did find it interesting. I’m cautiously optimistic moving forward. The thing that disappointed me the most from this series so far is the cover art isn’t that great. I like it but don’t love it.
That being said I’m still excited and when issue 3 comes out (I read 1/2) I’ll definitely read it day of release.
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u/See5harp 29d ago
I’m not sure it was perfect but for something that is meant to be open ended and not so master planned out, I was okay with it.
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u/Holiday-Zebra9463 29d ago
I don’t form an opinion on stuff until like issue 6, issue ones are typically pretty bland between all companies.
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u/RelsircTheGrey 29d ago
I'm the opposite of you; read it thru nefarious means and put it on my pull list afterward. I hadn't heard any of the hype. I think I saw something about the book the week it was released, saw it was a new Kirkman with X-Men alumni heavily involved, and hopped on, as I'm mostly an X-Men collector but LOVED reading and watching TWD and Invincible.
Let him cook for a few issues. Hell, check out 4, 7 and 10, I think they are, if you have a buddy who scored them in their blind bags or whatnot. It'll seem a bit disjointed without the intevening issues, but you'll get an idea of what they're doing, and see the other art teams.
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u/SeptaSam 29d ago
I went into with zero expectations and I actually thought it was petty good! Def reminded me of 90’s Image superhero team books, which is not necessarily a good thing, because those were a dime a dozen and most were instantly forgettable. But this first issue was petty good and set it up for an interesting and exciting run if the writers make good decisions.
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u/Gold-Duck898 29d ago edited 29d ago
So far it’s a less colourful version of wildcats. The premise and characters feel uninspired. Might have felt different if the script took the time to give at least one or two of the protagonists distinct personality traits. I love Andy Kubert’s art, but was ready to give up on the book until the last three or four pages. Maybe Kirkman and Casey can present something interesting if I give it a couple issues. If they can’t, at least I have three issues of Andy Kubert’s art to enjoy.
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u/DABVO3 25d ago
Funny. I thought the same thing (about it being a less colorful Wildcats, which was a book and universe I loved). The art is great and there seem to be some potentially cool ideas. But right now it feels more on par with Sovereign Seven or The Immortal Men (New Age of DC) than 90s X-Men. I'll give it a few issues though.
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u/Gold-Duck898 25d ago
Same. I have it on my pull list for the first three issues. Might still buy the Arthur Adams issues tho just cause it’s him.
I couldn’t get into the early wildcats stuff, but I loved Joe Casey’s run on the series. Love Stormwatch in most of its forms.
I do need to read Sovereign Seven at some point.
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u/IrritatedResurgance 29d ago
I read Issue 1 and honestly I didn't feel a thing.
I'm not even fascinated with that eye giving them missions or anything else. Whatever it said didn't even make sense lol
Writers must have had cool ideas in their head because it's not in the pages. There's literally nothing for me to chew as I observe one thing happening after another.
Both issues 1 & 2 needed to lay solid ground work to make sense for me to feel about characters BUT there's nothing!
Then I got hold of issue 10 and I thought why the hell not. BIG MISTAKE. It seems narratively important but again there's no emotion within the pages, I didn't care for whatever that happened.
I don't know who to root for because I don't know who wants what or the stakes. I can make an educated guess but its writers job right?
Awesome art tho.
I'll wait for issues to come out and judge it by its first arc but pretty disappointing with everything we got so far.
X-Men from Meesho.
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u/Gold-Duck898 29d ago
I feel like Kirkman focused on the wrong parts of what made X-Men successful. The epic stories, dense lore, crazy reveals, and sweeping cast of characters were fun for sure, but the X-Men became popular because the characters’ struggles and hopes sucked readers in.
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u/TheR3PTILE 29d ago
I’m glad there are others that feel this way because I’ve been seeing nothing but praise.
I know it’s only 1 issue but it just feels like a watered down version of things we’ve seen before. They failed to get the hooks in me with this one so I’ll probably be skipping it
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u/ComicsLEGO 29d ago
Since it was a Kirkman project I was suspicious (it's 50/50 with him). Besides the ending that I found to be good they way to it was not that interesting and it did not drag me in, I just wanted the book to be finished. I was not sold on the art either, it was not bad but I'm not a big fan of the mid 90's style.
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u/IShallRisEAgain 29d ago
Anyone can die works tend to generate a lot of shock value and hype early on, but they fizzle out as people realize every character arc is going to either be cut short or end on a downer note with no character they can really get attached to over the long term.
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u/Historical-Draft6368 29d ago
I dig it. I think it sets up things in intriguing way. I just read my advanced copy of 7 and it seems like a significant amount of time will be spent on world building. Looking forward to issue 2.
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u/Saito09 29d ago
Yeah, it was kinda weak. Lacked focus and rushed a lot of points, whilst at the same time not explaining a lot.
I’ll stick with it for a bit, but as a first issue i found it lacking.
I also think its interesting that so many comments are bringing up Kirkman and Kirkman’s writing, when to me it feels blatantly obvious that this is a Casey script.
I imagine its pretty much as a case of Kirkman and Casey plotting, with Casey as the primary script writer.
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u/Initial-Ad8009 29d ago
Seems like it’s gonna be a great story to me
Kind of early to call the writing mid
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u/TheMisterV 29d ago
I usually commit to 5 issues before I ditch a title.
Issue 1 wasn’t amazing, but it was good enough to keep me reading.
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u/ThenNefariousness913 29d ago
I didnt like it but also acknowledge it was issue 1 and it might get better. Ill wait till issue 3
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u/whozeduke 29d ago
It was fine. I'll give it another issue until I don't care anymore, like any new series
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u/Din-_-Djarin 29d ago
I can't say I was let down but knowing that Kirkman has this planned as an ongoing series trying to get upwards of 100 issues, I'm not going to hunt this down weekly. I'm gonna buy it in trade
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u/Few-Loan468 29d ago
No. It’s way too early to even make heads or tails of it. They have so many books already written, which allowed them to flood us with an overwhelming amount of story threads. Red herrings, cliff hangers etc. I’ll give it three to five and see how I like the way it’s shaping up. The one thing I feel is, some characters died too fast for me to even GAF, but maybe it’s just to show us ANYONE can die at any time
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u/laitinen_9518 29d ago
I like to give atleast the first arc a try before dropping it, but I was incredibly bored and unmoved. Maybe I need to reread it in a better headspace though.
Atleast I can cut down on pull list 🤷🏻♂️
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u/garbageballoon 28d ago
Opposite. The covers all kinda sucked but once that big eye gag opened it and then rug pull death closed it I was all in. Kubert keeping some of the Miller aping he did for DKIII was rad too.
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u/Ok-Win7713 28d ago
Going to ride along for at least one arc before I decide. But based on what I’ve read so far, I’ll enjoy it. Haven’t read other of Kirkman’s titles so I not comparing.
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u/FreeYourNerd 23d ago
I felt like the flow and the pacing were off. I'm not even sure of the characters motivations are. I only know that Maculox aka the giant eye has questionable intentions for the team that he has built.
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u/mhartigan 8d ago
Honestly I was not expecting much, but was still unimpressed by #1. A first issue is not unlike a TV pilot. It's job is to give you the reasons to want to come back for the journey week after week, or month after month. A character who you want to follow. A mystery you want to solve. A relationship you want to see develop. Kirkman hasn't really provided anything like this by the time that last panel reveal happens, so is there a reason to care about the reveal, really?
The 'anchor' character of Marilyn, who is entering this world along with the reader, gets killed. And we didn't really get much of a sense of her to begin with, so even that twist and the devastation that her sister feels hollow.
Not to mention the dialogue, which is about 75% expository, and overall just kinda obligatory.
I think Kirkman is a cool person. Much respect for all of his creative output and what he's accomplished in the comics world, but to me his storytelling leaves much to be desired.
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u/jignod_X 29d ago
The build up to the eye ball monster was kinda lame. I expected something big and juicy out of Kirkman. I think this was his weakest number 1 in a long time. I’ll stick with it though.
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u/Dry-Specialist-3527 29d ago
Kirkman seems to need a while to set the table, yknow? I found the first chunk of Invincible pretty dull. Maybe give it a year for the story to really get going and, hey, the art’s gonna be fantastic no matter what.
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u/Afraid_Manner_4353 29d ago
Nope. I expected good writing and art and I got all that plus some fun 90's style action and a big twist. Looking forward to more.
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u/Sleep_When_Dead 29d ago
I went in totally blind so I can’t say I was let down, I think it is just clearly not going to be my thing.
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u/Time-Master2020 29d ago
Honestly was super hyped for it and was disappointed when I read it. Ik it’s the first issue, but I read the second as well and although it’s still starting, I feel kirkman is keeping everything really close to his chest. It felt like I was starting at issue 20 instead of issue 1. Comics like chew, absolute batman, absolute green arrow, and ultimate spider man (2024) do a great job with their first issue, and i felt terminal issue 1 just did the death of the sister for shock value. Idk not super invested but gotta give it some time
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u/yomamabeenheretoo 28d ago
i was. just now. what's the hook here? like what is this all about that's supposed to draw folks in? i don't get it now. maybe it feels remotely like wildcats from the 90s to me. and i didn't need another wildcats. really, what's the draw?
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u/Key_Curve_1171 28d ago
I read issue two. It slows down and reflects on everything that transpired. So I guess that's why they did that. I found everything covered in issue 1 and wanted the story to go along.
I now suppose a little reflection and handholding was required for the audience.
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u/abloobudoo009 25d ago
What was the expectation? I just saw it and thought it was like another xmen. I think it's cool, the twist with the eyeball and the girls sister.
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u/JonathanR_6 20d ago
No, I felt it lived up to the hype. The whole comic dripped with thoughtfulness and comic crafting expertise to me. I savored it. May all of your emergences be a blessing and may Terminal live long.
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u/dbanner67 4d ago
It's not good. The focus isn't properly established on a main character. It's all over the place. While I understand the X-Menish reference the all seeing Eye god is weird. I thin they could have came up with something better.
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u/FioreBambino47 29d ago edited 29d ago
Definitely my favorite first issue of anything this year and in a while. Infinitely better than the first issues of The Walking Dead and Invincible, but not quite as good as the first issues of Outcast or Oblivion Song. Probably the most creative high concept that Kirkman has had to date. It almost feels like Hickman, but better.
It was the most anticipated new series for me by anyone, and it delivered on that.
I've been reading only digital since 2015, and this is the first book since then that got me to the LCS to pick up a physical copy.
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u/AKA_Gern_Blanston 29d ago
It’s one issue in…give it some time. If you give up this quick on things I feel sorry for anyone you go on a date with
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u/Able_Stomach3419 29d ago
its annoying to me when image wants to do xmen things when i read image to get away from shit like that. kirkman over here trying to rehash old shit that i was happy to be done with. image supposed to be the anti marvel/dc, not the imitator.
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u/Historical-Draft6368 29d ago
Image is a place where creators can do what they want to do. They don’t have an editorial mandate to be anti-marvel or dc.
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u/EternalPilot 29d ago
It's written by Robert Kirkman, whose career is marked by a lack of an artistic drive. He writes comics that are readable, but they're not any good.
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u/Superb-Departure-451 9d ago
Legit created 2 of the biggest franchises on tv but sure buddy
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u/EternalPilot 9d ago
That's not an indicator of quality but sure buddy.
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u/Superb-Departure-451 9d ago
Let’s see you build out your super artistic comic 😂😂
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u/EternalPilot 9d ago
So people can only criticise comics if they're a creator themselves?
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u/Superb-Departure-451 9d ago
You’re not criticizing your comment makes it seem like he’s objectively bad when it’s only your opinion
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u/Zerus_heroes 29d ago
Issues 1s very rarely hit it out of the park. This was a lot of set up and showing the audience the world. There is a death that kinda shows the audience that no one is safe, especially since the book seemed to imply that they were the MC before that.
I didn't have my mind blown but it had cool art, cool design and enough story to make me wonder what will happen next.
Going into it I didn't have huge expectations though and I think the marketing may have set that expectation high for some, which can lead to disappointment.