A Cosmic Book Worth Reading
With Marvel's cosmic franchise circling the drain, Greg Pak shows with the Silver Surfer that there is still a wealth of good stories and characters to be found. By stripping Norrin Radd of the Power Cosmic, Pak presents us with a very unique Silver Surfer story that really puts the character in a new perspective.
Without the Power Cosmic, Norrin Radd is forced to confront all of the flesh and blood sensations he gave up long ago to become Galactus' herald. This is really the selling point of the limited series, because we get to see the passionate hero who saved his homeworld from Galactus and how different he is from the dispassionate Silver Surfer we are more accustomed to. This is something other stories have told us about, but Pak is showing it to us here. It works extremely well, making the tragedy of Norrin's personal sacrifice in becoming the Silver Surfer feel very tangible.
The story's conflict with the High Evolutionary plays heavily into this as well. With the High Evolutionary using the Power Cosmic to create rather than destroy, Norrin is put into the position of feeling in his heart that the High Evolutionary is doing the right thing but knowing in his mind that it is wrong. This would not have been a conflict when he was the Silver Surfer, but now that his humanity is back to full strength, decisions like these are difficult for him.
Cybermancer may be in this story to provide Norrin with a quick romantic interest, but she has been effectively used and does mesh well with him since she is also a scientifically-minded adventurer herself. Rather than being a new Shalla Bal for him, she actually has much more in common with who Norrin was before becoming the Silver Surfer, which serves the story really well.
The biggest problem this series has so far is the art. Now, the art is not bad, but this is the third issue and it introduces a third artist. The first issue's artist, Stephen Segovia, has now been completely phased out of the book after splitting the art chores in the second issue with Harvey Tolibao. Now, Tolibao is splitting the pages of this issue with Iban Coello. Again, these are not bad artists. It is a matter of consistency, and this artist shuffling has been noticeable, especially since the art by the original artist was the most appealing. It is really disappointing when a limited series fails to have consistent art.
This is honestly one of the stronger Silver Surfer stories I have ever read. It paints a clearer picture of the character than most stories do and reads like a story worth telling rather than just some random filler tale. Pak shows that he really appreciates this character. Hopefully, this limited series will not be his last cosmic story.
