Best of this Week: Silver Surfer: Black #1 – Donny Cates, Tradd Moore, Dave Stewart and Clayton Cowles
After a series of starts and stops with a random annual and appearances in a short Defenders mini-series, The Silver Surfer may have finally found his stride.
The Silver Surfer Annual of 2018 saw the Surfer facing an existential crisis about his role in the destruction of planets after being newly to his position as Herald of Galactus following the events of Infinity Countdown. There was a bit of hope as to what their relationship would be like after the Surfer gets angry about his lot in life and Galactus wipes his memory. Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to stick as he appears to fully remember everything when helping out his former Defenders allies. He hasn’t really been seen since until Guardians of the Galaxy where he was thrust into a black hole by the Black Order.
Silver Surfer: Black opens with the Surfer reflecting on the distress that comes with being the harbinger of death for the Eater of Worlds, how he never forgets the cries of those that are sacrificed to sate Galactus’ hunger. It then cuts to the Surfer doing what he can to save a few of his allies, using Beta Ray Bill’s Stormbreaker to catapult the warrior and several others out of the vortex. He then uses his Power Cosmic to find the weak spots in the tear to free the rest in a glorious display of power.
These two scenes are absolute trips to read. Tradd Moore’s art style is perfect for capturing the effects of a black hole ripping bodies apart and stretching limbs as characters appear very long and wobbly. Backgrounds are wavy and can actually appear to be very disorienting and that’s actually good for how immersive this part of the story is, especially after the Surfer expends his energy to save everyone and slowly drifts into darkness.
The exhaustion on his face is very palpable and I have to take a yawn as he curls into a ball and begins to shrink into a small silver ball of nothing. His atoms tremble as he heals his body after falling for what he believes to be years and he spots a bit of light. He summons his board and seeks help only to be met by three guardians of some sort of gate who attack him soon after.
Even weakened, The Surfer is no slouch and holds his own against these powerful foes. The shots of this fight are very floaty, in that, while hits have some impact, it’s negated by how much the art just flows. Everything is pulled back to show the grand scale that the fight happens in as the Surfer appears tiny in relation to these enemies. After a brutal fight that nearly sees the Surfer defeated, he unleashes a surge of energy, creating a sun above the planet and turning his left hand black. The gate opens and the Surfer is set upon by a VERY UNEXPECTED, but very interesting enemy.
This book was amazing from start to finish. Cates scripts an excellent opening that’s taken to another level with Moore’s beautiful art. I forgot to mention Dave Stewart’s coloring which absolutely crushes everything. It’s amazingly smooth and gives the book the kind of shine that’s appropriate for the Surfer and a trippy vibe to set the tone for what’s in store for the book. Even in it’s later pages where things are awash in brown, the Surfer stands out with his Silver visage and looks very cool. I’m excited for the future of this book and definitely give this one a high recommend as a return to form for a cool character that’s in desperate need of revitalization.
Ty Talks Comics 