Silver Surfer # 8

It’s no secret that I love this Silver Surfer series. I bought multiple copies of the first trade as Christmas presents for several people including a couple of children. Both my niece and my bf’s niece stared at the cover of the book once the wrapper was torn away. They both really enjoy superhero comic,s but only knew who the Silver Surfer was through crossovers on cartoon,s etc.

The response from seeing the cover was immediately ignoring everything else that was going on in the room and reading the book. I’d say that’s quite a success and how could they do anything different! A silver man in space on the cover with a girl in charming polka dots being chased by ladybugs? Needless to say, I had to explain that it would be a little wait for the next part of the story.

I can’t help but wonder what they’ll think of Galactus! He’s going to make an appearance very shortly. Allred & Slott give us a glimpse of his back at the end of the issue looking over the cosmos. We knew this day would come, we just didn’t know how far off it was.

There are some truly adorable moments in issue 8. There is a particularly great exchange between the Surfer and Dawn where the reference to dating and romantic events are replaced with ice cream. Which in its innocence made me giggle, but also said some important thing to me: that Slott is very conscious of his audience, and while appealing to adults through witty pokes like this, he also manages to keep children engaged with the story without bringing in outright-adult context. I giggled quite a bit because 1) Dawn is very serious about ice cream, and 2) in any other story they wouldn’t have been talking about ice cream in the situation.

Man, she’s got great shoes.

I feel that the artwork does a lot to draw children in with this book. Mike Allred is  long known for his pop art style and strong lines, and Laura Allred, known for her bold coloring, make for a winning combo to draw in the eye. We really got to see Mike flex his fingers in this series quite a bit, but there is a particularly lovely panel in this issue where the Surfer and Dawn share opposite sides of the board.

I feel like I’m always recommending this to people regardless of what they’re into. I can’t wrap it around my head that anyone would be less than completely happy with Slott & Allred’s Silver Surfer. I mean, I can’t think of a negative thing to say… and believe me, I am really trying! Nope… nada.