COMIC REVIEW: FTN reviews Silver Surfer #4

Written by Dan Slott

Art by Mike Allred

Colors by Laura Allred

Published by Marvel Comics

After a quick first arc the Silver Surfer and his lovely companion Dawn Greenwood are on their way back to Earth to take Dawn home. There’s one problem though, someone is standing in their way…the Guardians of the Galaxy! After a brief, hilarious back and forth with the GotG, we’re finally back on Earth where not all is as it seems. The Hulk and Dr. Stephen Strange are determined to get to the bottom of it though, with the Surfer and Dawn’s help of course!

Dan Slott has done something insanely special with his handling of the Silver Surfer. This is literally the only book I can crack open and smile through an entire issue even though there’s actually some pretty heavy stuff going on. Whether it be Norrin dryly explaining his grasp on Earth’s popular culture or him making reference to it in a quip with Dawn’s family, this book has a layer of charm to it that can’t be topped. As I said before, there’s definitely some pretty heavy stuff going on, but much in the vein of Fraction & Allred’s FF, Silver Surfer is less about focusing on the dark, heavy implications and more about the fun sense of adventure that drew most of us into comics in the first place.

There are reasons Mike Allred is on numerous lists for all-time favorite comic book artists. For one, he has a style that is totally unique to anything that we can see in comics today. It has a classic feel, all while being unique in the sense that no one can quite replicate it, even though people have tried. (I’m looking at you She-Hulk!) He also always has his wife, Laura, at his side to add her wonderful color palette to accentuate his fun-loving style so it literally jumps off the page. It also helps that the Allreds continue to work with writers who match their artistic skills blow for blow. This partnership with Slott is a match made in heaven though. As great as this book would be with one or the other, the powerhouse of a creative team has quietly made this one of the absolute best books in comics.

I love this series and you should definitely be reading it. This issue is somewhat of a jumping on point if you missed the first arc (the first arc is referenced but not in a way that would confuse new readers) and it might be one of the funniest issues of any comic that’s been released this year. Slott and the Allreds have already hit their stride just four issues in and the work they’re doing absolutely demands your attention.

5 out of 5 nerds