Silver Surfer #11

By Dan Slott, Michael Allred, Laura Allred

“Thank you , Norrin! We grokk you now. Y’know, back on Newhaven, I offered myself up as herald to save us!”

“We all did, Korbo! How many times must you say that?”

The Fliptastic Voyage! That’s what this issue should be called… because it involves a lot of flipping, essentially making you turn the comic upside now with every turn of the page. Traveling through time and space can get tricky sometimes…

There are creators who take the easy route, maybe just fling you through the cosmos like it’s no big deal… but not Dan Slott… he figured the trip would have to be a memorable one… and in Silver Surfer #11 it definitely is!

Dan Slott has been able to flaunt his creativity in this series and this issue keeps those creative juices flowing with another element (no, not more mazes… though that was a fun maze) of craziness. As mentioned above this issue involves a lot of rotating the comic itself, but it serves a purpose. As Surfer tries to find a new home for the inhabitants of the former Newhaven he comes into some troubles, and these troubles happen to repeat themselves, over and over… and over (much as you’ll find yourself repeating the process of rotating the comic). Towards the end you’ll be wondering… will Surfer really be able to find everyone a new home? Or are they going to be trapped in space forever?

The artists on this series are Michael and Laura Allred. Michael’s artistic style has become an iconic one, he even gets a shout-out from director James Gunn on the cover of this issue, “A blast of a cosmic series – can Allred finally get his due as one of the best comic artists of our time?” — yeah, that pretty much sums up how great Michael’s art is, and the colors applied by Laura are a perfect fit. A great page in this issue comes from a two-page spread where Surfer is leading all of Newhaven (everyone in spaceships) through another tunnel he’s created. Surfer is huge as he takes up most of the right page as he shouts out to everyone “We shall be free!” (creators of Man Vs. Rock pointed out this is a Garth Brooks song… coincidence? Or is Norrin secretly Garth? Hmmmm…). The colors in this image are vibrant as the deep blue space serves to make all the multi-colored ships stand out, but most of all Surfer himself stands out from the page as he’s exerting all his power. His body and board lighting up as if he’s about to go Super Saiyan for the first time.

The storytellers on this comic are having a great time creating a comic you can’t find anywhere else. Silver Surfer is completely out there where anything is possible — perhaps even more mazes?