The Good
The future of Dawn Greenwood’s space adventures had become murky and unclear over the last few issues, but as of the last one: it looks like she’s back to cosmic surfing and we’re along for the ride. After a hilarious introduction, Dan Slott takes us to Planet Prime, where everyone is perfect at everything they do. However, they’re also the ONLY ones (besides their own backup) who do that one thing. Of course, such perfection comes at a cost, but it’s one of the strangest, yet intriguing, I’ve yet seen in a story like this one. Instead of showing us the planet’s “dark side” or the horrible price it pays to keep this perfection, the answer is much more mundane and practical. And, ironically, that makes it all the more creative and interesting. Beyond that, this issue is filled with an array of delightful jokes, both visual and written, and the entire concept of Planet Prime is a delightful one, ripe for humor. It’s also endlessly entertaining to see Silver Surfer at his most human, and I don’t mean in terms of his nobility in sparing worlds or fighting to the last, but in terms of getting annoyed at little things and then realizing how limited his own cosmic perception is. Dawn is truly an amazing foil for him, and not just because she brings him back down to "earth," so to speak, but because she isn't jaded by the wonders that she and Surfer see. She's just also not impressed by all his bluster, and that is an amazing dynamic.
Michael Allred, sharing a storytelling credit with Slott, brings his usual amazing, trippy visuals and they are the perfect compliment of this story. No two characters look the same, no two locations do either and the facial expressions and emotional depth of every single one is a sight to behold. It’s easy, even, to tell what background characters are feeling from one panel to the next and that’s always been a huge strength of Allred’s art: a true uniqueness of character and setting. This book is bound to cover many of both, and with Laura Allred providing the colors, I doubt Tour Guide 1 (everyone is named for their job) would do a better job (read the issue, that reference is HILARIOUS). Allred’s colors are deep and bright, making even the hard vacuum of space look beautiful and even luminous. Her work on the characters compliments the unique visual stylings, infusing every page and panel with a sense of unique wonder.
The Bad
The only problem I see in this one issue is that Surfer’s actual grievance that requires the summoning of Warrior 1 is never actually addressed, which is symptomatic of another issue: while we get great character moments between Radd and Greenwood, the overall story seems incidental to transporting them from one place to the next.
The Verdict
Whether this becomes a series of mini-arcs in the form of various adventures or not, and whether or not that’s a good thing, has yet to be seen. What I do know for sure is that this issue in particular hits a real emotional core that bookends some visually amazing whackiness. It’s interesting seeing the idea of the Surfer’s humanity represented as something other than learning compassion or nobility, but to see him return to emotions that we have rarely, if ever, see the master of the power cosmic display. And while this is most definitely HIS title, Dawn Greenwood is fast becoming an amazing star (pun intended) in her own right, showing Surfer that there’s more to life than...well “surfing.”