Silver Surfer Ghost Light #1 featured Reviews 

“Silver Surfer: Ghost Light” #1

By | February 3rd, 2023
Posted in Reviews | % Comments

It seems likely that if you’re a comics fan, you’ve had the fantasy of being whisked away to an adventure. The hope that someone will show up with a magic letter or disturb your uneventful life to save the world. The thing is, you have to spend some time with the characters in the quote-unquote “normal world” before being taken to the stars. But is that enough to maintain a whole issue? While “Silver Surfer: Ghost Light” #1 might not be the most exciting premier issue, the charming characters and excellent artwork help it stand out amongst other mystery premiers by giving you a reason to care about these characters.

Cover by Taurin Clarke
Written by John Jennings
Illustrated by Valentine De Landro
Colored by Matt Milla
Lettered by VC’s Joe Sabino

Toni Brooks and her family have moved into the quiet town of Sweetwater. But nothing is quite what it seems in their new home. What mystery did Toni and her family unravel that would call upon the Sentinel of the Spaceways – the Silver Surfer?! And just who, or what, is GHOST LIGHT? Eisner Award winner JOHN JENNINGS and artist VALENTINE DE LANDRO (Bitch Planet) introduce a new Marvel super hero over 50 years in the making!

On paper, “Silver Surfer: Ghost Light” #1 features a slew of tropes plaguing the modern comics industry. It’s slow-paced, features a whole batch of new characters, there’s no discernable threat, and Norrin Radd is barely even in the story! It’s something that has become more popular over the past couple of years of comics, issues that are more deliberately paced like books, building a mystery over multiple chapters, creating a slow burn before you get to the real adventure. The problem with this, of course, is that when you put a mystery into the pages of the novel, you have the luxury of keeping the reader invested. You should want to entice the reader to come back, stay awake for half an hour, or keep plowing until you finish. With comics, you often have to wait a month between chapters, so if you’re not delivering something notable or memorable, it’s challenging to keep those readers returning. However, John Jennings found a way to make it work by creating engaging, likable characters you want to follow. Toni and Josh are the kind of precocious kids that wouldn’t feel out of place in something like Coraline or The Chronicles of Narnia they’re clever without being annoying and have a curiosity that becomes infectious.

Toni works as our POV character because she’s a fish out of water, desperately trying to find her place in the world and appear more mature to her family. The thing that Jennings captures is that, despite her best efforts, Toni is a kid. There’s something relatable to how she’s drawn and written, those little moments of teen angst undercut by her family’s love and affection. Joe Sabino’s letting also helps bring Toni to life in “Silver Surfer: Ghost Light” #1, with perfectly executed *, sighs* or word bubbles dripping with the sarcasm of being a teen. But similarly, he’s able to capture her vulnerability or those moments where the facade of being the older sibling slides away, revealing the person who loves her family.

Jennings’ characterization of Josh feels genuine, a bright, curious kid who is just a little stinker. Combined with their awesome grandma and loving parents, you have a fun family dynamic. ”Silver Surfer: Ghost Light” #1 works because spending time with these characters is nice. Their excitement grows as they explore the house, finding new weird things and their uncle’s secret.

This is where Valentine De Landro’s art helps elevate “Silver Surfer: Ghost Light” #1 to the next level, his ability to combine the mundane with the supernatural. Again, the moments where the kids are exploring the house feels like something that would not feel out of place in a Neil Gaiman novel, but the page layout is a masterful moment of visual storytelling. First, by splitting up the kids, the colors, and the panels, you get a feel for the massive scope of the house. Then, by immediately cutting to them bored in the living room, you get the feeling that the hunt didn’t go on for long despite their best child detective antics. Finally, the shift to the nondescript cabin becoming a hidden layer is thrilling because you can see the excitement on the kids’ faces. It’s also in these moments that Matt Milla’s coloring helps tell the story.

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De Landro’s house is large, but it feels warmed and lived in, largely thanks to Milla’s use of blues and purples. It’s mundane, but it’s effective. When you compare that to the harsh greens of the radioactive man, Dr. Solomon’s lab, or the vibrant reds and yellows of the secret cabin laboratory, the tone changes completely. It gives “Silver Surfer: Ghost Light” #1 a strong sense of how the story changes. While there might not be a literal portal to another world, the vibrancy of the colors indicates that we’re in for an adventure. Then, when we go to the depths of space, De Landro and Milla work in tandem, capturing the vibrancy and loneliness of space.

If there’s one downside to “Silver Surfer: Ghost Light” #1, it’s the fact that it’s hard to tell what kind of story Jennings and De Landro are trying to convey. While the characters are well-written and fun to spend some time with, you wish the stakes were a bit clearer. We’re going to be going on a cosmic adventure, one that explores their uncle’s mysterious past, but we’ll see if people come back. The characters and art are strong, but will it keep people returning for more? We’ll see.

Final Verdict: 6.5 – “Silver Surfer: Ghost Light” #1 is a solid execution of the slow-burn premier issue, featuring solid characters and art, but it takes too long to set the hook for future issues.


Joe Skonce

Joe Skonce was born, raised, and currently resides in Ohio, but has been exploring fantastical and imaginary worlds for as long as he can remember. He loves big guys and barbarians, pirates and puppets, and is always down to find nerdy new things. Come say hi to him on twitter @tunabellgrande.

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