The DC All In initiative has put Mr. Terrific front-and-center as a key player in the Justice League Unlimited. Now DC is set to revisit the character’s origin with a new six-issue miniseries. Mr. Terrific: Year One comes from the creative team of writer Al Letson, artist Valentine De Landro, with additional art on present-day sequences by Edwin Galmon, colorist Marissa Louise, and letterer Lucas Gattoni. The series is set to launch in May.
Here’s how DC describes Mr. Terrific: Year One:
A genius-level inventor and Olympic champion, Michael Holt’s life was destined for greatness. But that life came to a screeching halt when his wife, Paula, and unborn son were killed in a car accident. The Holts once shared ambitious dreams of using their technology to help others, but after the tragedy, Michael retreats from society, selling Holt Industries to mysterious and craven tech billionaire Athena Prescott. Surrendering his dream sets off an explosive chain of events, taking the exceptionally intelligent Holt from the depths of despair to the heights of heroism as Mr. Terrific.
Created by John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake, Michael Holt made his first appearance in the pages of 1997’s The Spectre #54. Since assuming the identity of Mr. Terrific, Holt has been a regular member of the Justice Society, as well as leading The Terrifics, a team that really needs to make a comeback at some point. Terrific is currently running field operations for the Justice League Unlimited, which has made him a central figure in the League’s adventures, and something of an antagonist in the pages of the excellent Challengers of the Unknown series.
Mr. Terrific: Year One is the first full-length DC work from poet and playwright Al Letson, a graduate of DC’s Writers Workshop. It’s the latest DC project from Valentine De Landro, whose previous work includes art chores on Black Manta and Cyborg, which also featured work by artist Edwin Galmon.
In a statement announcing the series, Letson and De Landro expressed their enthusiasm at working together to bring Mr. Terrific’s early days to a new audience:
“Valentine and I are diving deep and telling the origin story of who Mr. Terrific is as a man, and as a super hero,” said Letson. “I’ve loved Valentine’s work for years, and working on this series has been a dream. I can’t wait for fans to see what we’re cooking up.”
“Working with Al, Marissa, Edwin, and Lucas, as well as the DC editorial team, has been an absolute blast,” added artist Valentine De Landro. “I’m excited to contribute to Mr. Terrific’s story, a character I’ve enjoyed reading throughout the years.”
Check out variant covers for the first issue of the series by Mitch Gerads, Evan “Doc” Shaner, and Denys Cowan & Ho Che Anderson below. Mr. Terrific: Year One #1 (of 6) is set to arrive in stores and digitally on Wednesday, May 28th.
