Far Out Cosmic Fun –or– A Surfboard is way cooler than a Police Call Box

Fun.

Pure, undiluted, make-you-smile fun. How’s that for a review on Dan Slott and Mike Allred’s Silver Surfer: New Dawn graphic novel?

The Surfer has always been a personal favorite. Be it Stan “The Man” Lee and Big John Buscema’s angst-ridden late sixties run, or the Jim Starlin-Ron Marz-Ron Lim galaxy-crushing saga from the eighties/nineties. But many times, the Surfer’s stories can be heavy, both emotionally and thematically, with deep ties to back-story and cosmic ramifications involving the greater Marvel Universe. Not so here. Seen through the wide-and-accepting eyes of Dawn Greenwood, Slott’s clever scripting has the reader jump into the action with catch-up-as-you-go dialogue as Allred’s visuals hearken back to a Kirby-infused style yet retain his trademark pop-culture feel. The result is a lighthearted, fast-and-fun romp that ends much too soon.

Although Slott unabashedly steals the concept and motif for these stories from Doctor Who, the format works. The Silver Surfer, as a former herald of the world-devourer Galactus and now wielder of the power cosmic, makes for a great master with Dawn as a completely-likable and understanding companion. Yeah, his surfboard is not bigger on the inside, but it does respond to vocal commands. And Dawn? She actually makes the Surfer laugh. Which then makes me laugh.

So yeah, fun. Cosmic style.

As Always,

theJOE 

Spectacular Uncanny Invincible

How else would one expect Stan (the Man) Lee to craft his own memoir than through a bombastic graphic novel, where he speaks to you like a friend about his MARVELous life - and he does this in the mighty manner that only Stan knows how. With fan-favorites Peter David and Colleen Doran along for the ride, the graphic novel explodes with four-color stories and secret origins a go-go. 

Unfortunately, the story doesn’t go any deeper than that.

Granted, AMAZING FANTASTIC INCREDIBLE is Stan Lee’s story, but so much about Stan is synonymous with Marvel Comics and aside from his tales on creating some of pop culture’s most known and loved characters, as well as a few of Marvel’s business owners’ problems, the memoir doesn’t dive deep into the bullpen. Instead, Stan crafts the tale he wants to tell – and tells it entertainingly well. 

For that deep dive, I highly recommend Sean Howe’s MARVEL COMICS THE UNTOLD STORY. In that novel, Howe prints a tale related by Jack “King” Kirby where Jack, who had since switched to working for DC, was being interviewed on a New York radio program. Before he could get into his relationship – and subsequent falling out – with Stan, Lee calls into the program, shanghais the interview with a barrage of superlatives, and promptly leaves. Afterwards, Kirby just sighed and said that conversation summed up his working relationship. AMAZING FANTASTIC INCREDIBLE left me feeling the same way. Explosions and exclamation points. Fun memories but nothing too deep. However, I think I was smiling a helluva lot more than Jack.

As always.
theJOE