Though Dark Horse’s Terminator comics, along with their Aliens and Predator output, tended to be of decent, if a little variable, quality, one thing they were guilty of was sticking too closely with a formula that often included Sarah Connor. Of course, the movies have done something similar, going back to the same characters far too many times.

It’s a relief, then, that Dynamite’s new Terminator series does no such thing. The first story in this issue is the first chapter of a series following US GI Duggan, who’s on his way out of ‘Nam at the end of the war. There’s just one problem: Skynet has sent a Terminator to Vietnam, and Duggan’s fate may be intertwined with the deadly cyborg from the future.

It’s a great start to the story, with some excellent characterisation and a couple of brutal action scenes involving the Terminator itself.

The second story is another confusing few pages of a story called Buried Alive. Despite beginning in the last issue, I couldn’t work out what was going on then, and after these few pages, I’m still none the wiser. It’s not given enough time to breathe at all, and even this early on, it feels like a waste of a few pages. Especially as, in the first two issues of this new series, the lead story is so strong.

So yes, despite the disappointment of the backup story, The Terminator #2 is well worth checking out; as the lead story is a new one starting here, it doesn’t even rely on you having read the first issue either. Excellent stuff.