Though mileage may vary based on your taste for the very specific styles of its writer and artist, it’s hard to argue that Dan Slott writing Silver Surfer-as-Doctor Who with Mike Allred drawing it isn’t playing to their strengths. But how does it all shake out in the end? Find out in the review below.
Written by Dan Slott
Illustrated by Mike Allred
Colors by Laura Allred
Lettered by Clayton CowlesThe universe is big. Bigger than you could ever imagine. And the SILVER SURFER, the lone sentinel of the skyways, is about to discover that the best way to see it…is with someone else. Meet the Earth Girl who’s challenged the Surfer to go beyond the boundaries of the known Marvel U – into the strange, the new, and the utterly fantastic! Anywhere and Everywhere…Hang On!
Dan Slott is a huge Doctor Who fan. He gushes about it all the time on Twitter. In some ways, we’re all inspired by work we admire and bring some of it with us into what we do. With Slott’s “Silver Surfer” #1, he’s not even trying to hide it. And what’s wrong with that, if the end result is a solid comic that plays within the fabric of the Marvel universe as we know it? If the premise that Norrin Radd is an intergalactic do-gooder that gets serendipitously paired with a capable, albeit unworldly “companion” immediately puts you off, then you can’t be sold on this comic.
For everyone else, this is a lighthearted, clever story of two beings coming from diametrically opposed lifestyles coming together for a reason to be revealed in a future installment. Dawn wants nothing more out of life than to help her father run a bed and breakfast in the beautiful coastal town of Anchor Bay. Even as her sister flaunts the wonders of the world to her, she’s unwavering in her stance that home is the only place for her. Meanwhile, Slott’s got the Silver Surfer spanning the galaxy saving billions of microscopic creatures as he goes along. He thinks there’s nothing extraordinary about what he’s doing (and maybe a little sheepish about accepting too much gratitude given that he was once the herald of Galactus), which sets up a really great contrast between the surfer and the simple life of his skeptical companion.
Apart from that nice contrast, which sets the book up to hopefully pay off through comical misunderstandings and maybe even a dash of feels, there’s plenty of other “first issue set-up” sorts of elements that Dan Slott loves to rope readers in with. Evidence taken from his work on the Spidey books tells us that Slott is constantly planting seeds. Part of the entertainment that comes from his books lies in trying to spot those hints. On top of that, there’s a surprising amount of references to Marvel past – particularly Marvel Cosmic – including some clever nods to Jack Kirby visuals and vintage Stan Lee dialogue.
Keeping the potential of all these little threads in mind, usually there are about 3 ways that a “1st issue” goes: either the plot rockets off right from the opening panels, it doesn’t feel like a first issue opting to instead let the story unfold over many issues in an arc-like fashion, or the first issue punctuates its ending by arriving at the premise that the rest of the book will be founded on. “Silver Surfer” is essentially the latter of the three, setting up these two characters before smashing them together. On that note, nothing in this issue is so earth-shattering, but it’s a good primer for what the comic will be.
The Mike Allred art is Mike Allred art. Do he and Laura Allred (on colors) ever look rushed or off-their-game? The man’s style is so deceptively simple and elegant, but its versatility definitely shows itself. While it was enormously fun to watch him re-design the extended cast of the “Fantastic Four” during his stint on Matt Fraction’s “FF”, “Silver Surfer” #1 is already giving him more room to be weird and experimental. Actually, in some ways, “Silver Surfer” #1 feels like a logical extension of his creator-owned Madman character – and not just because Norrin Radd looks a bit like Frank Einstein.
Continued belowToward the end of his most recent “Madman” work (Image Comics, circa late-2000s), Allred began to experiment with the form, art style, and layouts of his comics. What we’ve come to know as a signature, consistent style got molded into something else at times: whether it was through intentional homages of dozens of past creators or full issues that would take place as one long sequence played out entirely as full page spreads. “Silver Surfer” is obviously confined by Marvel Comics oversight, but Allred gets to stretch those muscles in a couple sequences here. One impressively intricate double-pager depicts the “impossible palace” of the Impericon – a massive planet-shaped city normally guarded from the heralds of Galactus. Later, a pair of corresponding 4 panel spreads contrasts Radd’s latest adventure with the simplicity of Dawn’s quaint life. Allred cleverly matches Slott’s scripting in this sequence to make for both a smart verbal and visual contrast between their two lives.
There’s a definitely “the best is yet to come” aura being given off by this first issue, but rest assured that the premise is delivered on. Dan Slott is at his Slottiest, and Allred is as Allred as Allred gets. The biggest compliment I can pay to “Silver Surfer” #1 is that both of these creators are doing work that is so inherently “them” and their doing it in a way that clearly feeds off of one another’s talents. Nobody is trying to be something they’re not and yet they’re still giving us a big, bold, funny comic book. That’s a relatively rare thing in work-for-hire comics, yet lately over at Marvel Comics it seems to be happening with a delightfully surprising frequency.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – Buy
