Terminator - The Burning Earth

Terminator – The Burning Earth (1990), written by Ron Fortier and explosively illustrated by a then-unknown Alex Ross, is the comic equivalent of a Judgement Day mixtape—loud, gritty, and so metal it practically growls. Set in a future where Skynet decides to go full pyromaniac and roast the Earth like a post-apocalyptic barbecue, the story follows John Connor and his Resistance squad as they wage a final, desperate assault against a machine army that somehow got even moodier and more extra than before. Fortier’s writing is classic war-time pulp with just enough dramatic gravitas to make you believe a mohawked rebel can save the world with a rocket launcher and a thousand-yard stare.

And let’s talk Alex Ross. This was before he went full “Kingdom Come” demigod mode, but you can already see the seeds of his legendary style—his art here feels like Terminator fan fiction painted on the side of a van by Zeus himself. Every panel is packed with molten reds, metallic greys, and more smoke than a Slayer concert. Skynet appears as a massive, angry chrome head in the sky, because why wouldn’t an evil AI develop a flair for giant floating theater? “The Burning Earth” doesn’t just give you Terminators; it gives you Terminators on fire, with angst. It’s not just a comic, it’s a power ballad written by an endoskeleton with feelings.