Comic Review: Silver Surfer: Black #1

Silver Surfer: Black #1

Marvel Comics

Writer: Donny Cates

Artist: Tradd Moore

Spinning out of Donny Cates’ excellent Guardians of the Galaxy book, we’re given the gift of Silver Surfer: Black. Expectations tend to get out of control when you pair one of the best writers currently working with an artist of similar caliber. With expectations like that, disappointment can be an unpleasant possibility. However, Silver Surfer: Black is far from a disappointment. It’s one of the best single issues I’ve read this year.

There’s no point in beating around the bush. Silver Surfer Black is one of the most visually stunning comic books I’ve ever read. Tradd Moore channels all the artists you would expect for Silver Surfer, Kirby and Allred most obviously. Even with that in mind, his work is distinctly Tradd Moore. There’s not another book on the stands that even closely resembles his style. The pencils are chaotic, but not at all confusing. The dense pages beautifully represent the weird and wildness of space and the unknown.  At one point, Moore and Dave Stewart ditch the traditional black or white color of the gutters and replace them with psychedelic imagery. That is, until the Surfer’s story takes him to a place where he’s alone and drifting. The pencils and the colors reflect this change of pace and become calm and dark.

Moore’s depiction of Galactus is haunting. Those pages are so expressive that the removal of the many caption boxes wouldn’t hurt the story at all. In fact, Moore’s storytelling is so strong that you can easily follow the story without any of the captions.  Which is not to say the captions are poorly written, but not every one of them is entirely necessary.

Cates doesn’t focus on many characters other than Norrin Radd himself, and so most of the issue takes place in his thoughts. It’s easy for a book as introspective as this one to become a chore to read due to all the caption boxes. Luckily, that’s not an issue, as Cates’ inner voice for the Surfer is on point and allows the Surfer’s thoughts to read naturally. It’s appropriately guilt-ridden and self-deprecating.

The story, in some ways, only just begins at the end of the issue. Because of this, it’s tough to say that the story is on the same level as the art. Based on the quality of this issue it should certainly end up that way. Admittedly though, the cliffhanger is the one bit of this book that has me less than enthused and, as a result, has me questioning the future of this story. However, the rest of the issue has such remarkably high craftsmanship that I’m in for the ride even if it never hits this high again. At the end of the day, this is a book about a man looking for atonement. As long as it sticks to that idea, nothing else matters.

Silver Surfer Black #1 is the best first issue I’ve read in quite some time. Donny Cates’ writing and Tradd Moore’s artwork is off-the-charts. This is an example of two creators that are perfectly in sync, so much so that trying to separate their contributions to the book is nigh impossible. If you’re interested in the craft of comics, there’s not many better places to look for an example of the collaborative effort involved. Alternatively, if you’re just interested in some wild space adventures; this book is appropriately wild.