Set Description:
Dark Horse Comics: Aug 1990-Oct 1992
When deciding to create a set description for my Terminator books I realized that the back stories for each individual mini series was extremely intertwined. So because of that I felt it was best to combine them all in one narrative. For one it was easier for me, secondly I think it is more aesthetically pleasing and lastly I wanted a Reese themed set description paying homage to the savior of humanity and 50% creator of the legendary John Conner. Below you will see that each mini series or one-shot is discussed individually. Underneath in italics I explain how I obtained the set, separating my thoughts versus the search for said books.
The start of this series pre dated the release of T2. As great as T2 was I feel it pails in comparison to this story line. In my mind this series is the real “T2” that began with the 1990 release of the first four issues found down below. These stories carried the gritty and dark feel of the movie unlike the initial NOW Comics run with the exception of “Terminator: The Burning Earth”. The Terminators weren’t “good guys” nor were they comedic. They were well, TERMINATORS!!! The ideas and lore that was established within the pages of these books was far better than anything James Cameron or anyone else in the film franchise has come up with since 1984. If I’ve said this once I’ve said this a thousand times when discussing classic 80’s movies and their modern sequels, “If they just would have read the damn comics.”
1990 Aug 1990 - Nov 1990
I got into this series at issue #3. I was familiar with the NOW comics “interesting” premise so I kind of hesitated when I first picked up the book. As I was scanning through I really liked what I saw. I was a bit confused about why the Terminators were dressed in police uniforms and had a futuristic pistol. Regardless, I decided to give the book a chance based on the fact that Dark Horse had already been publishing Aliens and Predator stories and I was I die hard fan of those. Also, Chris Warner was the artist so…..why not. I picked up issues #1 and #2 within a couple weeks in a back issue bin at another store and I had picked up issue #4 off the rack the following month. After finally getting the whole story I was more than excited to see what the writers had for us readers next.
*This set wasn’t too difficult to find in 9.8. I purchased issue #1 in the summer of 2016 and decided to take my time in locating the rest of the issues in high grade. It only took me a little over 3 years to complete this set. For a long time issue #3 only had one 9.8 copy on the census so I figured that would have been the hardest to find but Issue #4 was the last one of the four to be tracked down via ebay. Four Color Comics had submitted a ton of books in 2018 and a lot of my books came from that submission (Thank you Rob).
Terminator One-Shot July 1991
The Terminator One-Shot was released next. The book was toted on Key Collector as the first appearance of Sarah Conner. It’s the first appearance of a Sarah Conner just not the mother of John Conner. It was a decent story and I liked the idea of the resistance sending a Soldier back in time before 1984 and attempting to intercept a Terminator that they know is coming. The art work was pretty good but I was a little disappointed to be quite honest.
*This was the last book in the entire set that I acquired in 9.8. It’s very hard to find in high grade due to the dark cover and it is in trade paperback form so creasing the front and rear cover while reading is extremely easy. I will just be honest here and say that its not a very popular book.
Secondary Objectives July 1991 - Oct 1991
Dark Horse did not disappoint with the release of Secondary Objectives. You immediately dropped into a fire fight between the police and the last surviving Terminator from the first mini series. This series was action packed throughout all four issues. I wasn’t a huge fan of the art but the story telling completely made up for it.
*I basically bought this whole set in 9.8 in one day. A copy of issue #1 came up on eBay at a pretty high price, more than I would normally pay for this type of book. I sent a best offer to the seller but my anxiety level was rising and I decided that the extra $75 didn’t matter. Once I purchased that copy I sent Rob from Four Color Comics and email and made an offer on issues #2-#4. He obviously excepted the offer and I was happy that another mini series was in the bag. As of right now there is only one copy of issue #3 in 9.8 so your looking at the first complete set to exist.
The Enemy Within Nov 1991 - Feb 1992
The third installment was The Enemy Within. The main character Mary and her half human half Terminator ally Dudley are still on the run. These four issues did not disappoint. The artwork was great and I liked the struggle Dudley was facing fighting back the programming from Skynet while trying to maintain his humanity. This series ended with a cliff hanger letting the reader know that the war with machines is not over and there will be more to come. So I have a pretty unpopular opinion about the cover art on these books. The illustrations were done by Simon Bisley, I am NOT a fan. These are some of the ugliest covers I’ve ever seen on a comic book. When I hear comic readers talk smack about Rob Liefeld but praise Simon Bisley it just blows my mind.
I picked up issue #1 in 9.8 off eBay a year prior to getting the rest of this run. It was the fifth book added to this set. Issues #2-#4 were also purchased from Four Color Comics at the same time as Secondary Objectives.
Hunters and Killers Mar 1992 - May 1992
Next came Hunters and Killers, a stand alone story that takes place in Russia. I did enjoy the change of pace and location. Showing how another group of resistance fighters on another continent was attempting to survive and defeat Skynet was a pretty cool concept. Plus, the covers for each issue are gorgeous, especially issue #1. I can’t say the same for the interior art though.
Issue #1 was acquired off ebay just after Secondary Objectives issue #1. The rest of the set was part of the group buy that I have mentioned above.
Endgame Sep 1992 - Oct 1992
We are finally at the End Game (how fitting). These three issues wrap up the story line of Terminator 1990, Secondary Objectives and The Enemy Within. The story starts off immediately were The Enemy Within left off and concludes with Sarah giving birth to the further leader of the human resistance. This was a good series for the most part. The artwork was decent and the ending was interesting. I wasn’t the least bit upset. Issue #3 of this series is the first cover appearance of Sarah Conner and her first cameo appearance in Dark Horse continuity.
This set was completed in 9.8 in less than a week. Issue #3 was bought off eBay and the rest came from the large lot of books I purchased from Four Color Comics. All three issues of this series were the first books to be graded in 9.8.
Reese evading fire from HK’s
(Terminator 1984) |