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Review: Silver Surfer #11

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ss011The cosmic mind-bending of this series reaches its zenith here, in what is a kind of end issue before Secret Wars.  With Secret Wars ready to put a halt to the stories of most Marvel series, the approach for this particular issue is to wrap up the ongoing story before heading into the crossover event.  True to the spirit of this series though, the approach is far from conventional.  Readers will be impressed almost immediately by what is a format change from the usual for comics.  The underlying principle behind this issue is something akin to a temporal loop, and the presentation of the issue follows perfectly alongside this story.

Following along with the events of the previous issue, the Silver Surfer is now responsible for the fates of those for whom he has decided to be a herald.  Billions of aliens fled from the consumption of Glactus only for the destroyer to find them again, refugees on another planet.  They managed to escape, but with the Surfer as their guide they were required to find another planet to inhabit.  The stresses of the interstellar travel take their toll on all involved and the Surfer is required to bend time and space to find a solution to their desperate situation.  What results is a sequence of similar events presented through the uncommon approach to the design for an issue.

While this does have a good sci-fi feel, it also comes off as a bit too repetitive.  There is some need to establish exactly what is going on, but it seems as though the reader if forced through the temporal loop one or two times too many after they have figured it out.  This different approach allows the reader to suffer a little bit with the refugees, which is probably the point, but it could also be a bit aggravating to some.  Nonetheless, this issue does what needs to be done, and wraps up a plot in a pretty efficient manner, even while giving something new to think about.  Such a story might be considered great in a different setting (perhaps a Star Trek episode), but the creative team does as best as it can with the space that it has in this medium.  While not a standout issues, this fits well with the others in the series thus far and it is an interesting read for those that love the more esoteric aspect of scieince fiction.

Story: Dan Slott and Michael Allred  Art: Laura Allred  
Story: 8.5 Art:  8.5 Overall: 8.5  Recommendation:  Buy

Review: Silver Surfer #10

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ss010Space is vast, too large to really even comprehend by the scale that people living on Earth can comprehend.  As one of the most common settings for science fiction, this vastness is often addressed, but in light of that vastness, it can be interesting how something very simplistic can be so effective.  This has in a sense always been where the stories for the Silver Surfer have been the deepest and where the true complexities of the character reside.  Despite him being a large scale cosmic hero, it is in the small scale where he truly shines.

In this issue he joins a group of aliens residing on a planet in Galactus’ path.  After the previous issue which supposedly left him for dead, he is instead given a chance at redemption, at least in a way, for being the herald of Galactus as he consumed so many planets.  What is interesting about this issue is that it is not his small actions which define the simplistic quality of this story but rather those of his supporting cast, whether it be Dawn making a sacrifice of her own, or of a group of strangers coming together under a common bond.  As a science fiction story this fails a couple of times, notably by the ease in which six billion people can act, but just as a story in itself it succeeds.

With a renewed focus on the cosmic at Marvel, this issue acts as a lesson to those taking on these ambitious outer space projects.  Instead of always thinking in terms of planetary wars or of space battles, there can be simpler moments.  Granted, involving Galactus in anything puts the story on a bigger scale, but it is the human moments here which define this particular issue, and which let it succeed.

Story: Dan Slott and Michael Allred  Art: Laura Allred  
Story: 8.5 Art:  8.5 Overall: 8.5  Recommendation:  Buy