Curse of The Black Terror Review

Curse of The Black Terror

writer- Curtis Lawson

artists- various

There's something about Golden Age comic book characters that makes them so appealing to today's readers. The shiny perfect era from where they originated is now a dream in the shadow of the Atomic Age, Space travel, and a generation of young people that uses texting and Facebook as a main form of communication. We now know that the Golden Age wasn't as perfect as we were led to believe, and the fact that the “good old days” were just as dangerous as today gives heroes from that era a darker more mysterious feel. Characters like the original Daredevil, Blue Beetle, and Black Terror knew about drug addiction, spousal abuse, and rape. They just didn't talk about it. Dirty little secrets swept under the rug, and holding on to those secrets makes the most valiant of superheroes something more sinister.

Writer Curtis Lawson, dredges up the past in The Curse of The Black Terror. This exciting comic web series isn't a retelling of the original Black Terror, it's a re-imagining of the same universe set in modern day, with someone new donning the costume. You might say it's Black Terror The Next Generation. Lawson has really tackled the DIY scene of comic book publishing. He releases the saga one chapter at a time with alternating artists every chapter. Each chapter consists of five pages and comes out once a week.  All of it on his web site theblackterror.com

It's easy to see all the hard work Lawson and friends put into this series. The writing is dark and nostalgic of that old school Golden Age flair.  At the same time you can see the blemishes and tarnish left behind by years of buried secrets. Lawson keeps the heroic era alive but brings in sex, profanity, and utter, brutal, bloody violence. Most of it needed, none of it gratuitous, and all of it unapologetic. With Black Terror cutting a vengeful swath through the dark underworld, as long as Lawson stays with him, we're on the verge of a powerful and wide spread upsurge of many once popular superheroes.

The artists on this title change from chapter to chapter. All of them have their own unique style and they each lend to the eerie quality that give The Black Terror his name.

If you're into revenge, murder, organized crime, Golden Age heroes, or just some really wicked web comics, you need to read Curse of The Black Terror.

To see what else Curtis Lawson has been up to, check out his own publishing company Broken Soul Press.