365 Days of Books of Interest: Day #209: Silver Surfer vol #1 (Marvel Now)

I'm surprised that I haven't heard much about this series. I like the Silver Surfer, he's an interesting character. From the description, this seems different from some of the Surfer comics I've read. I really would like to read this and it doesn't hurt that Michael Allred is the artist for this. I love his artwork, it seems to go with a lot of these slightly kooky and different books like iZombie. 

Book: Silver Surfer volume #1: New Dawn (issues #1-5) by Dan Slott with illustrations by Michael Allred

Description:

The universe is big. Bigger than you could ever imagine. And the Silver Surfer, lone sentinel of the skyways, is about to discover that the best way to see it...is with someone else. Meet Dawn Greenwood, the Earth girl who's challenged the Surfer to go beyond the boundaries of the known universe - into the strange, the new, and the utterly fantastic! Who is the Never Queen? How is the universe's future tied into her very existence? And why is she trying to destroy the Surfer? And when the Surfer tries to return Dawn home, he gets swept into a strange battle against Shuma-Gorath alongside Dr. Strange, the Hulk and more! The problem is, to stop Shuma-Gorath, Dawn will have to pay the price...with her life.

Book Review: The New Fantastic Four

Book: The New Fantastic Four (issues #544-550) by Dwayne McDuffie with illustrations by Paul Pelletier and color by Paul Mounts

Source: Library

Rating: 4 1/2 stars

Review:

This was a fun adventure that had Ororo (Storm) and T'Challa (Black Panther) joining Johnny (Human Torch) and Ben (The Thing) while Reed (Mr. Fantastic) and Sue (Invisible Woman) take some time to rekindle their romance with a second honeymoon.

Following Sue and Reed's departure, the new Fantastic Four were soon on a space adventure with the former Deathlok, Michael Collins. They were trying to find out who had taken the body of a young hero called Gravity from the cemetery. They followed a signature that they traced which had them dealing with not only Epoch but the Silver Surfer and Galactus.

Meanwhile, Sue and Reed were on one of the moons of Saturn but after a space finding captivates Dr. Reed, Sue gives him some time to work on it and heads back to the moon. However, before she could make it back to their honeymoon resident, she was attacked by the Frightful Four.

They all joined up to fight the Frightful Four and to rescue Sue but I think the villians should have been more afraid of Sue.

These group of well written stories were filled with plenty of action but also showed how they are not just superheroes they're a family which now includes Storm and T'Challa. They all work well together. Besides the action these stories had humor and heart. They also showed that Sue Storm is not someone you should disregard, she's tougher than you think.

This was great. The late Dwayne McDuffie was a very good author, he knew how to write characters with a full range of human emotion as well as stories that were good and interesting.

Lastly, I really liked the artwork it was bold and colorful and fit perfectly with the stories.

Currently Reading: The New Fantastic Four

I always liked the Fantastic Four, they never set out to be superheroes but ended up becoming some of the best there is.


Book: The New Fantastic Four (issues #544-550) by Dwayne McDuffie with illustrations by Paul Pelletier and color by Paul Mounts

Source: Library

Description:

The Old Order Changeth!

In the absence of Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman (who are away on a second honeymoon), Black Panther and Storm take up the challenge as the newest members of the Fantastic Four. But there is no time to ease into the job, as the Four are flung into a space epic that will see them battle the cosmic-powered Eoch; the Silver Surfer and Stardust; and the FF's most powerful foe, the planet-eater Galactus! Back on Earth, the Wizard plots revenge on Mr. Fantastic -- and he isn't about to let millions of miles of airless vacuum get in the way, following his enemy to the moon Titan with a new expanded Frightful Four! Can the new FF defeat Galactus and return in time to save the team's absent founders?

Book Review: The Silver Surfer #10

Book: The Silver Surfer #10 by Stan Lee and John Buscema

Rating: 4 stars

Review:

This begins with Shalla Bal on a ship traveling to Earth. She is being taken by Yarro Gort, so he can prove to her that The Silver Surfer is dead or if he's alive he has since found another love. If it turns that it's one of those two options, then Yarro hopes Shalla will finally let go of Norrin and then choose to fall in love with him. While that's taking place, The Surfer after saving a police officer and a potential suicidal jumper decides to go undercover as a human to see what makes people of Earth so hostile to people or being that are different. Because no matter how much The Surfer tries to help, he's still feared and hated.

On his journey, The Surfer goes to a small town in South America where he is stopped by two tyrannical guards. Before he could defend himself, The Surfer gets some from a young lady, Donna Maria Perez who is tired of her people being treated unfairly by those guards.

After The Surfer knocks out those guys, Donna and her mother aid The Surfer by letting him hide out in their attic. Looking for revenge, the guards capture Donna after she wouldn't tell them where the stranger (The Surfer) was. Not willing to let Donna suffer for helping him, The Surfer goes to rescue her. They get away and to thank him Donna gives him a kiss but that is exactly when Shalla Bal and Yarro Gort show up in the vicinity to view the kiss.

You have to find out in the next issue to see if Shalla will trust in her heart or believe in what she's seeing. I love reading these old Silver Surfer comics because it's such a philosophical book. This was a very good story. I can't wait to read the next issue.

Book Review: The Silver Surfer #9 and The Amazing Spider-Man #9

I just love reading these classic comics you don't find stories like these anymore.

Book: The Silver Surfer issue #9 - To Steal The Surfer's Soul! by Stan Lee and John Buscema

Rating: 4 stars

Review:

This story is a continuation from the last issue. The action started pretty quick in this with The Flying Dutchman battling The Silver Surfer to try to get The Surfer's soul for Mephisto. This fast paced story had the two fighting throughout the city, even though The Surfer tried to take the fight away from the area.

I loved how The Surfer figured out a way to end the fight and not only save himself but also help The Flying Dutchman.

This was a good issue.

Book: The Amazing Spider-Man #9 - The Man Called Electro! by Stan Lee

Rating: 4 stars

Review:

Spider-Man had his work cut out for him when he had to go up against Electro but that wasn't the toughest thing he had to deal with. Peter had to deal with his Aunt May needing surgery and trying to find the money to pay for it. Peter came up with a rather questionable way of getting the money but he redeemed himself later on for it.

This was another really good issue. It had a good story and good action. Spider-Man continues to use his brain over brawn to figure out a way to stop Electro. It's interesting the fans always mention Gwen Stacey as being Peter's first love but it seems like Betty Grant was his first love. J. Johan Jameson continues to be a jerk this time thinking Electro is none other than Spider-Man. Only Jameson would think that.

Book Review: The Silver Surfer #8

Book: The Silver Surfer #8 by Stan Lee and John Buscema

Rating: 3 stars

Review:

This was a rather short story and it will continue in the next issue.

In this issue, Mephisto returns with a new plan to get The Surfer's soul (he was last seen in issue #3). The last time he tried to tempt The Surfer with lust and greed but this time he plans to have one of his minions, a ghost pirate trapped in limbo to fight The Surfer. To turn the ghost into the ultimate opponent, Mephisto transformed him and gave him a flying ship. To encourage the ghost, Mephisto told him that he will finally let his spirit rest if he fights The Silver Surfer, so Mephisto can collect The Silver Surfer's soul.

I thought the scenes with the ship flying over Manhattan were very funny. Because most of people on the street thought it was some sort of publicity stunt an advertising company had cooked up while only a few of the people actually seemed scared.

Also, in this issue, The Surfer and his girlfriend Shalla Bal have some how been able to communicate with each other. Although they both believed what they experienced to be either a dream or vision. Maybe this will be explained in the next issue.

Despite being really short, this issue gives you a nice set up for the next issue.

Book Review: The Silver Surfer #7

Book: The Silver Surfer issue #7 by Stan Lee and John Buscema

Rating: 4 stars

Review:

In this issue The Silver Surfer had a bit of a hard time fighting a clone of himself which was created by a descendent of Frankenstein.

Although initially The Surfer was a wary of the mad scientist, he still ended up being tricked and was used in one of Frankenstein's experiments. The experiment was to create a clone of The Surfer that the scientist could control. Frankenstein set the clone against the townspeople who had attacked his castle earlier in the story when they were trying to drive him out of the small town.

I like this story it was entertaining and well written. I was proud of The Surfer for not truly trusting Frankenstein because he has been betrayed by so many in the past. He still ended up being tricked but I think that's because he's still holding out hope that humans can still be trusted.

Book Review: The Silver Surfer #6

Book: The Silver Surfer #6 by Stan Lee and John Buscema

Rating: 3 stars

Review:

This issue had The Silver Surfer attempting to breakout of his invisible confinement by trying to travel past the speed of light. This worked but he ended up in the past which he found to be very bleak with every planet being devoid of life including his home world and Earth.

By chance The Surfer lucked up on planet that contained life but those who lived there were the downtrodden lackeys of The Overlord. Once The Surfer was taken to The Overlord he stood before the universe's worst enemy. All the life in the universe had been destroyed by him.

Faced with trying to stop an unstoppable enemy, The Surfer with additional information from one of the unfortunate guards was able to stop The Overlord by going back in the past to prevent an accident that inadvertently created the villain.

This was a pretty good issue because it made you think about if the things you do now may some how create something bad in the future. The poor surfer, he has to be one of the most saddest characters around.

Book Review: The Silver Surfer #4

Book: The Silver Surfer #4 by Stan Lee and John Buscema

Rating: 1 star

Review:

This issue wasn't that great. The story was slow and focused too much on Loki and Thor. This should have been a Thor comic book featuring The Silver Surfer because there was just not enough of the surfer in this.

I was disappointed with this story because it was so boring and the writing wasn't as good as with the previous issues I read. Hopefully the next issues will be much better.

Book Review: The Silver Surfer #3 and The Amazing Spider-Man #4

Book: The Silver Surfer issue #3 by Stan Lee

Rating: 4 stars

My Review:

I have really enjoyed reading these issues of The Silver Surfer and issue #3 was even better than the last.

Finally fed up with people of Earth treating him unjustly The Silver Surfer takes his revenge by darkening the Earth. Norrin is such a good person that even his revenge wasn't too severe. He had cut off all the power and released a dense fog to cover the cities. He hoped that the people of Earth would learn to change after perhaps a little suffering. However, unbeknownst to The Surfer, an evil being on another planet called Mephisto senses the disturbance regarding the Earth. Mephisto has a vested interest in the evils of mankind and doesn't want The Surfer interfering with man's progress (or lack of).

Concerned with the unwavering goodness found within The Silver Surfer, Mephisto sets out to destroy him. But first Mephisto needed to acquire one thing for his plan, The Surfer's girlfriend Shalla Bal whom he placed on a space ship heading towards Earth. He knew The Surfer would regret his revenge and as soon as The Surfer was restoring the power and lifting the fog, the space ship showed up. Fearing the planet was under attack, militaries launched missiles at the ship. Not knowing who was in the ship only that it was from his home planet The Surfer went about trying to save it.

Once the ship crashed, The Surfer was finally reunited with his girlfriend but it was short lived because Mephisto appeared but quickly disappeared along with Shalla Bal. After locating Mephisto's planet, The Surfer was soon tested by Mephisto. Not succumbing to the likes of greed and lust, The Surfer fought with the evil alien to free Shalla Bal. This ended with The Surfer tricking Mephisto into freeing Shalla Bal. I'm glad they didn't get kill her off (which is something they do way to often now in comics) but she did get sent back home, which left The Surfer alone in the our hostile world without the love of his life again.

I really did like this, it was very entertaining to read. Reading these old issues of The Silver Surfer makes me miss how simple yet interesting comics used to be. Can't wait to read the next issue.

Book: The Amazing Spider-Man issue #4 by Stan Lee

Rating: 5 stars

My Review:

Now this was a good issue, Peter had a real challenge trying to stop the Sandman. So far, I think the Sandman has been Spider-Man's toughest villain because how can you stop someone who is truly hard to capture.

Spider-Man first went up against the Sandman as the villain was on his way to rob a bank. The fight didn't go too well for Spidey who inadvertently tore his mask and had to escape before the Sandman could see who he was.

I love the scene that takes place after that because while the Sandman was busy robbing the bank, Peter was at home trying to sew up his mask that is until his doting Aunt May entered his room. Peter had to quickly grab his robe (he still had his costume on) and pretend he was sick to keep his Aunt from becoming suspicious of him. This whole scene was really funny, but it also showed how much his Aunt cared for him.

The next day wasn't going too well for Peter, first he took a chance and went to get an advance payment from Mr. Jameson (he should have known that wouldn't have gone well), then at school he had to cancel a date with Liz, who was not too happy about it (aww, poor guy, he thought he would be too busy trying to capture the Sandman to go on his date but he couldn't tell her that of course). Not to mention he also had to deal with a bunch of jerks including Flash Thompson teasing and bullying him. And, lastly he had to stop the Sandman who wound up at the school after trying to escape the police.

Well at least Peter got a second chance to stop the Sandman, he had to use his brain to figure out a quick solution because his strength wasn't working since the Sandman could counter that. Peter might not have resolved his issue with Liz but at least his got his money from Mr. Jameson (minus a developing fee, that Jameson is such a jerk but not as much of a jerk as Flash was in this issue).

As I said this was such a good issue. It was a fun read and had Peter working hard trying to stop the Sandman. It also showed how crappy his school and work life can be sometimes.

Book Review: The Silver Surfer #2

Book: The Silver Surfer issue #2 written by Stan Lee

Rating: 3 1/2 stars

My Review:

This was good but it can feel a little depressing reading about the continuous mistreatment of The Silver Surfer. All he wants to do is help the people of Earth and yet he is seen as a threat.

In this issue The Silver Surfer was trying stop an invading group of aliens called the Brotherhood of Badoon. The sent a scout ship to observe, the planet before the rest of their fleet arrived. This issue may have started off slowly but once the story got going, it was quite good. I enjoyed seeing The Surfer outsmart the aliens.

I like this issue because not only was the plot interesting it was full of action. The reader got to see The Surfer fight the aliens even if it made it seem like The Surfer was the one causing trouble (the aliens were cloaked so the humans couldn't see them).

I do hope the next issue will have some happy moments for The Silver Surfer because it's so sad seeing him being treated so poorly all the time.

Book Review: The Silver Surfer #1 and The Amazing Spider-Man #2

Book: The Silver Surfer issue #1 written by Stan Lee

Rating: 4 stars

My Review:

I found this to be very deep and a bit sad. Everywhere the Silver Surfer traveled around the Earth, he was met with anger, fear, and hostility.

I used...more I found this to be very deep and a bit sad. Everywhere The Silver Surfer traveled around the Earth, he was met with anger, fear, and hostility.

The story opened up with The Silver Surfer hovering above the Earth until he spots an out of control space capsule speeding down towards the planet. The craft carrying Coronel Jameson (I wonder if that was J. Jonah's son) crashed landed into the sea. The Surfer didn't hesitate to save the pilot and delivered the man safely to a US military ship. However, instead of being seen as a hero, they send fighter planes after him.

As The Silver Surfer sped away from them, he reflected on his troubling experience with the people of Earth. No matter where he went, he was seen as a threat even when he was trying to help.

He also reflected on his life before he became The Surfer. His name was Norrin Radd and he once lived on a planet called ZENN-LA. He had been frustrated living in a highly advanced society and yearned for something more. His chance came when a threating space craft showed up. The people of his planet didn't know what to do, they had to consult a computer for help and it instructed them to fire a very powerful weapon (one of the only ones they have) at that approaching craft. The results were devastating, destroying almost everything that is except the space craft.

With everything nearly destroyed the people were all for giving up that is except Norrin.  He convinced a scientist to build him a space ship so he could confront the inhabitants of the approaching ship. Once aboard the other craft, he found the greatest threat to the galaxy, Galactus who was there to destroy ZENN-LA. To save his planet, Norrin sacrificed his life to become The Surfer, who would travel the universe finding other planets for Galactus to feed upon.

Once The Surfer started his travels wherever he went he found planets that were full of life and just couldn't see them being destroyed. That is until he found Earth but after some time exploring he also couldn't see it being destroyed so assisting The Fantastic Four, he helped stop Galactus. But not before having his space traveling powers removed leaving his confined to Earth with no way to return to his home.

I used to think Spider-Man had it bad but hands down the Silver Surfer's life is much worse. At least Peter can go back to his life once he's no longer Spider-Man unlike Norrin Radd he will forever be The Silver Surfer.

It makes me wonder if given the chance would Norrin trade his new life to get his old boring one back? At least with the boring life, he wouldn't have to worry about being hated wherever he goes.