The Silver Surfer’s life just got even more complicated.
And given that he’s a former herald of Galactus who just tried to rebuild the universe from scratch while traveling throughout the galaxy on a surfboard with a young woman from New England who found out he was a herald of Galactus the hard way and may not have completely forgiven him for it yet? That’s saying something… Your Major Spoilers review of Silver Surfer #2 awaits!
SILVER SURFER #2
Storytellers: Dan Slot & Michael Allred
Colorist: Laura Allred
Letterer: VC’s Joe Sabino
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Previously in Silver Surfer: “Together, The Silver Surfer and Dawn conquered cosmic villainy and Dawn chose to accompany the Surfer on his space adventures. they returned to visit Dawns’ family on Earth at last, but there was more adventure to be found there than expected. A group of aliens the Hordax attack Earth and attempted to steal Earth’s art and stories using a strange and powerful device. The Hordax were foiled by Dawn and the Surfer, but their leader left them with an ominous warning: They were only trying to protect human culture from something much worse. And elsewhere in the universe, Ben Grimm AKA The Thing, fell under the thrall of a mysterious force that he caught in the act of reconfiguring a planet…”
THE BLESSING OF ZENN-LA
We open this issue with more of the charming character work that Slott and Allred excel at, as Dawn enjoys the warm cocoon that is her home and family, and Norrin “Totally” Radd slowly feels the urge to explore building up inside him. It’s a subtle conflict which is completely blown up by the arrival of a menace from alien space, one that the Surfer recognizes immediately. Indeed, last issue’s battle with The Hordax used the same technology, a reality-warping power that came from only one place…
…The Surfer’s lost world of Zenn-La. He engages the fleet in battle, realizing that ‘The Blessing Of Zenn-La’ was designed to alter Earth, destroying all of it’s uniqueness by transforming it into a new version of lost Zenn-La. The Keeper, leader of the alien forces, sends in her new warrior, a cosmic-powered Thing to take him down, only to have him fall before the Surfer’s determination. And then, The Keeper removes her helmet…
I WONDERED WHEN SHE’D SHOW UP
This issue is full of wonderful bits and pieces that make a truly inviting whole: When he realizes the threat Earth faces, The Surfer tries to find the Fantastic Four (The Baxter Building is now owned by Spider-Man) and The Avengers (Avengers Mansion has become a tourist-trap hotel) with no success, remarking that the new universe might have been “put back together in the wrong way.” (Post-Secret Wars commentary. Very meta.) He also visits Alicia Masters, his former dearest human companion, prompting Dawn to compare their situations, and realize that she’s not Norrin’s first companion after all. Still, the best part of the issue takes place on Yancy Street, where a possessed Thing forces The Silver Surfer to eschew cosmic frap-rays in favor of a technique he learned from Ben Grimm himself: A haymaker to the jaw, with a cry of “It’s Clobberin’ Time!” Allred’s art is lovely throughout this issue, and the sequence at the end where the Keeper unmasks is incredibly cinematic, building the tension for several panels before revealing the face of…
THE BOTTOM LINE: STILL AMAZING
…someone I don’t want to spoil. But suffice to say, it’s a great moment, and one that parallels the Alicia situation in ways both large and small. This book is one of the most consistently excellent things Marvel has put out in recent years, and the fact that Slott & Allred have recast last issue’s battle as helpful aliens trying to SAVE the Earth, turning literally everything we know on its head (something that continues this issue.) Silver Surfer #2 is a truly entertaining comic book, with excellent art and story working in concert to deliver a reading experience that is steeped in the right kind of continuity, fast, fun and still layered, earning 4.5 out of 5 stars overall. If the final page reveal is as bad as I think it is, Norrin is in for a rough couple of days at the metaphorical office…
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