For one reason or another, there is much life in “The Terminator” (the killer robot movie starring our governor that came out in 1984-you know the one) franchise. It might have stopped at a couple of movies-but it didn’t. As of late, the franchise has given us a third movie to round out the cinematic series to trilogy status, a television show on Fox dubbed “The Sarah Connor Chronicles” and over two decades worth of fandom and merchandise.
So when I tell you that you can also find the intrigue of “The Terminator” universe in a collection of graphic novels, there should be no surprise. What will surprise you however is the quality of the work you’ll find in “The Terminator Omnibus: Volume 2.”
Let’s face it, you may have loved “The Terminator” movies and might have been moderately entertained by the television series-but if you want to successfully adapt something into a graphic novel, the quality of the writing has to be higher than your typical action movie fluff. “The Terminator Omnibus,” more or less, delivers on that front.
That should probably be less of a surprise than you think. Dark Horse Comics has a penchant for taking film blockbusters and transforming them into graphic fiction. I’ve been lucky enough to read more than one of their collections, and I can say now from my experience that they don’t usually pick up a project unless it’s worth a read.
What we have isn’t just the random adventures of Sarah and John Connor in-between movies in comic form. “The Terminator Omnibus: Volume 2” takes us throughout the extended universe of the “The Terminator” timeline. From the present, to long past Judgment Day (the name of the apocalyptic day when the machines nuked the world)-side characters and Terminators that have visages other than that of Arnold Schwarzenegger are introduced and well fleshed out (no pun intended for the killer robots with the outer layer of real human flesh).
If you combine this commitment to storytelling with passable art, then you’ve got something worth taking a look at. Yes, unfortunately there is nothing overly spectacular (visually) about “Terminator Omnibus.” It’s notthat there is anything within the 300 full color pages that is an eyesore-it’s only that sometimes the art looks just plain outdated. It’s hard to explain other than calling it really ’90s.
Luckily, different artists lend their skills to different segments of the Omnibus, so it’s convenient in the sense that it’ll switch up the pace if you don’t like a particular style. At the same time, you aren’t constantly accompanied by your favorite style within “The Terminator Omnibus” for the same reason. It’s not a major deterrence from the overall experience-variety is the spice of life.
And speaking of variety, there is some bonus material included in Volume 2. Some of the comics can be found individually, sold as stand alone stories. However, there are also some works included that haven’t been released outside of the Omnibus.
It’s not much of a pull on its own, but if you’re already a part of “The Terminator” fan base, then you’ll enjoy these never before seen comics. Chances are if you’re like most people and only a casual comic reader at best, then you haven’t seen any of what Volume 2 has to offer-so you won’t be able to tell what’s exclusive to the Omnibus and what isn’t.
Still, for $25 you’re looking at a decent deal. It’s a high quality graphic novel over all, and whether you’re a fan of “The Terminator” or not-if you give Volume 2 a chance you’ll be back for Volume 3.
