He Took The Entire Batch: Black Terror #4 Reviewed
by Josh Davison
Mild Spoilers Ahead
Black Terror squares off against Bad Groove, a one-handed drug-dealer with a bad attitude. Bad Groove takes an entire sheet of acid and the two begin their brutal grudge match. The fight is long and bitter, but it ends with Black Terror the victor. However, Groove refuses to go back to prison, so he slits his own throat while both he and the Terror are in a pool. This causes the Terror to ingest some of the Groove’s blood and he goes on a trip through Bad Groove’s time in the military and the abuse he faced both during boot camp and in Vietnam.
Black Terror #4 is an especially strange installment of the Dynamite superhero series with the Terror experiencing a dead man’s life through the drugs in their systems.
The fight between Black Terror and Bad Groove is fairly long and enjoyably brutal. The two beat one another through the halls of an apartment complex and through the parking lot before ending in the pool.
What we learn about Bad Groove’s life does make him fairly sympathetic. He had a rough time in the military, like many, but he was targeted by his sergeant, Gary Greeley. The height of it comes after he and his unit were ambushed and slaughtered in Vietnam. Needless to say, it’s a bizarre yet emotional journey about a character with a goofy gimmick and a tormented past.
Ruairí Coleman brings it all to life in a dynamic and flowing manner. The fight between Terror and Groove is viscerally enjoyable and the trippy visuals range between the comical and the genuinely unnerving. Brittany Pezzillo gives the book an explosive color palette that suits the psychedelic tones of the narrative.
Black Terror #4 is a strange and tragic trip through the life of another man. We learn the story of Bad Groove and the horror that made him into the drug-fueled superhero he becomes. That odd story and the brilliant artwork collectively earn this comic a recommendation. Check it out.
Black Terror #4 comes to us from writer Max Bemis, artist Ruairí Coleman, color artist Brittany Pezzillo, letterer Taylor Esposito, cover artist Rahzzah, and variant cover artists Jorge Fornés and Brian Level.
Final Score: 8,5/10