Thinking himself temporarily safe after the reading of Thanos’s last will and testament, Norrin Radd, aka, the Silver Surfer ends up on a planet billions of years in the past after passing through the black hole’s abyss. Minor Spoilers Ahead!
Written by Donny Cates & Tradd MooreCover by Tradd Moore
Illustrated by Tradd Moore
Colored by Dave Stewart
Lettered by VC’s Clayton CowlesAfter battling three soldiers on this lost, decaying planet, the Surfer comes face to face with the God of the Symbiotes, Knull. He recalls his first encounter with the Symbiote planet and their God in another time and how it ties to this moment. A paradox in the making, he realizes that the reason the Symbiotes always feared him, is because he met them and injured their God in the past (present?). Upon realizing the situation he’s in, he fights back.
Having created a star to shine some light on this desolate world, Silver Surfer has lost the Powers Cosmic from his left hand. Now as black as if he was taken over by a Symbiote, he is slightly weakened, but knows he must put that aside and fight Knull with all of his remaining strength. Without a moment to collect his thoughts, the Surfer calls his board to him and does his best to battle Knull.
He knows there is no reasoning with or escaping Knull without a fight. Cates does something interesting with how he writes each character. Silver Surfer does not say a single word to Knull until the very end of their fight. His thoughts are his own, sporadic and emotionally choppy. Even as the reader we only get a few real beats from him that aren’t part of the introductory flashback. He does not try to reason with or appease Knull. He doesn’t even try to come across as anything other than an enemy. The antithesis to this, is that we get to know everything Knull is thinking because they say it out loud. They speak in poetic prose, some of which conveys meaning through emotion, with the rest being more clear and direct to the events at hand. Because we know Knull is a true villain this battle without a two sided conversation makes perfect sense. Even though the Surfer does not speak at all, focusing on the fight and Knull is just waxing poetic, Surfer still loses the battle and only survives because of outside assistance from an unlikely ally.
Cates is writing a classic good vs. evil tale and he does not attempt to hide basic tropes or simplistic ideas like heroes standing in the light, villains in the dark. He fully embraces these plot devices with no cynicism and luckily he does not turn and wink at us by leaning on making the story and action campy. These characters are open books. For good or evil they are earnest in their actions and goals. It is refreshing to read something that is equal parts emotionally engaging and fun to read.
There are few artists that could be more perfect for this mind-bending story than Tradd Moore. His melted ice cream psychedelia is exactly what this book needed. With the titular character having liquid-like super powers, space and time being thrown into a spin-art machine, the use of Symbiotes and their planet, and the final reveal of [REDACTED], his lines wash into each other on every page in dream-like insanity. His take on Silver Surfer is wonderful. He captures how all-powerful he is, while keeping his humanity well intact. The way his face is drawn gives him an undeniable innocence and we empathize with him. We can see his true intentions in his wide white eyes. Every page, every panel pulls you in as an even great extension of the storytelling. This is a mostly interesting tale, but with anything less something as powerful as Moore and Stewart coming together on this artwork, the book would simply be not as good.
Dave Stewart does beautiful work (as if there was ever any doubt) on this book. Everything he does is an interesting change of pace from his typical style. His eye for implementing the perfect palette to match each illustrator he works with is unparalleled. No two pages are colored the same. The most traditional Stewart pages we get are the opening flashback and certain scenes on the Symbiote home-world, which feel akin to his work on “Black Hammer” or “BPRD.” The flashback is filled with oranges, reds, and blacks. As soon as the story moves back to the Symbiotes and Knull, the entire palette becomes fully opaque. No light or reflection is seen. This darkness envelopes the environment the way the Symbiote God intends to envelope Norrin Radd.
Continued belowStewart brings this version of the Surfer to full life. It is possibly one of the best versions ever put to page. His powers flow through him and the different colors of space and his surroundings reflect and roll across his skin like a pool of liquid metal and ink. It is all so gorgeous. AFter the battle with Knull and their army, the look of the entire book changes again. Bright primary colors mixed with an intense psychedelic rainbow fills these pages. The last few pages look like they’d be at home on any jam band concert poster. It’s all tied into the final reveal that will lead into the next chapter. Their work on the Surfer for this issue is so beautiful, it is near tear-inducing.
If there is anything that knocks this book down a notch from the first issue, it would be the inclusion of the over-used Symbiotes. This is more of a nitpick on my part as the story works incredibly well with these characters facing off. Not only is this a great good vs. evil plot, it is an excellent cosmic tale that would make Jack Kirby proud. There is so much to praise in this superhero head-trip that any weak spots can be easily overlooked. Cates continues to be one of the best guys working in the stranger titles at Marvel. He does a great job of catching readers up on exactly who these characters are and what makes them tick. Even for newcomers who may have never held a “Silver Surfer” title before will understand the character well enough to feel for him and join him on this journey. “Silver Surfer: Black” is a must read for anyone looking to revisit the character or pick up their first Surfer comic.
Final Verdict: 8.0, A beautiful and wild cosmic adventure that perfectly balances the opposite traits of the two lead characters.
