It’s quite fitting that ‘Silver Surfer’ #1 came out this week. In fact, it couldn’t have been more perfect. On March 26th, Whovians around the world celebrated the anniversary of the first appearance of the Ninth Doctor, portrayed by ‘Thor: The Dark World’ star Christopher Eccleston. But what does the Doctor have to do with Norrin Radd? Well, as I said in my review of ‘All-New Marvel NOW Point One’, this brand new series is basically the ‘Doctor Who’ of the Marvel Universe.
After appearing in many events and mini-series through the years, the former Herald of Galactus stars in his first ongoing book since 1998 thanks to Dan Slott, Mike Allred, and Laura Allred. While the character has been traditionally used to depict philosophical topics like the loneliness of space and the infiniteness of the universe, the ‘Superior Spider-Man’ writer injects the Surfer into an intergalactic romp across the solar systems.
The issue opens on Earth, where we meet a young girl named Dawn from a picturesque New England town that wishes upon a shooting star. However, that star ends up being the Silver Surfer scouting the planet for consumption by the Eater of Worlds. Twelve years later, our hero is off saving planets and restoring suns when he is summoned to be a champion for a previously unknown planet called The Impericon. But despite the Surfer’s willingness to help, the people in charge decide to acquire some leverage to hold over their new champion. And that’s when Dawn and Norrin Radd’s paths cross again.
Now, just like ‘Doctor Who’, the Silver Surfer has a long and storied history that I didn’t really get into when I was younger. However, with this new chapter in his tale, I found myself very interested in the premise since it was first announced at last year’s New York Comic Con. I rather like the idea of the cosmic loner showing an Earthling the wonders of the universe, and judging by how popular the last Time Lord has become over the past few years, many others probably do too. Marvel made a smart move by greenlighting this one.
The House of Ideas also put the right people on this project. Slott is clearly a ‘Doctor Who’ fan. If it wasn’t evidence enough when you hear the premise of the series, some of the language and the humor are fairly derivative of the Doctor. As soon as I read the phrase “…In all of time and space!”, I felt like the TARDIS would pop up at any moment.
But despite the similarities with the long-running BBC show, this is a distinctly Marvel book mostly due to the artwork. Mike and Laura Allred were incredibly awesome choices to provide the art for this book. Mike’s style is very vintage and perfect for science fiction characters and settings. Then, Laura’s bright colors liven up the old school style to create some awesome panels reminiscent of colorful pop art pieces.
Overall, the book is just a lot of fun. Since it’s just the first issue, we haven’t really gotten into the meat of the premise involving the Surfer traveling with his new companion yet, but I thought that it was a great introduction that ended with an awesome gag on the last page. Just based on what I’ve seen in ‘Silver Surfer’ #1, Slott and the Allreds seem to be having a great time putting this tale together and I’m having a great time reading it. It definitely feels like one of the lightest books (in both color and tone) on my pull list, but that’s totally not a bad thing. This comic was a blast to read and I can’t wait to read the next one.
Final Score:
SILVER SURFER #1
Written by Dan Slott
Art by Mike Allred & Laura Allred
