Alex Ross: Talking About the Black Terror
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Ross & Krueger on The Black Terror CREDIT: |
He was a popular comic book character throughout the bulk of the 1940s, and if Alex Ross, Jim Krueger and Mike Lily have their way, the Black Terror will be again.
As we’ve reported, Dynamite’s Project Superpowers universe will grow beginning in October as the Black Terror spins out of the main story into his own series, plotted by Alex Ross and Jim Krueger with pencils by Mike Lily , and covers and art direction by Ross. As readers of Project Superpowers know, the Black Terror has been quite active…well, quite active since bring released from the magical urn that the Fighting Yank was tricked into trapping his allies in decades ago. Since his release, Terror has been shown to be more powerful than he ever was, and…edgy. He’s angry and confused both at what happened and the modern world he’s found himself in, and also, is desperate to find any hint of his sidekick Tim.Well, hold on to your answer, as Krueger gave us a hint when we spoke with him earlier, saying "The search for Tim is a catalyst to the story involved, but there's far more to it than Tim. Black Terror discovers that one of the former sidekicks (who could or could not be Tim) is being incarcerated by the president of the United States. This leads him to take off for Washington. We've been dealing with what new abilities each of the characters have assumed since their incarceration in the urn. When it comes to the Black Terror, diplomacy isn't one of his new strengths. It's going to get bad."
So, that said, what does a darkened Superman do?The answer is simple, Ross says, twisting the classic Spider-Man catchphrase of gret responsibility coming with great power. “With great power comes great corruption,” he says. “And by ‘corruption,’ we’re talking about things along the lines of ‘You know what? I can change the world to fit my ideal of what it should be.’ If you’re looking at inadequacies in the government and culture around you; and you’re bristling with power, then you’re looking to head that on directly. That’s what’s occurring in the Black Terror series. He’s taking on a government that he sees as being corrupted from within, and taking the fight right to them. I mean, doesn’t my cover kind of say that?
“I heard a comment of the book from someone after they saw that cover saying that ‘Alex has gone too far now –this new cover he did with the Black Terror dive-bombing the White House. He can’t do that!’ To confront power and speak the truth to it – this is very much an issue for our time, and you should be able to do it at any time. It’s a story point, and something that’s very fitting for the world we live in. If we’re not taking the metaphorical charge that he’s taking in this comic book, if we’re not ready to do that, then we’re all a bunch of pussies.” Black Terror #1 ships in October from Dynamite Entertainment.