Silver Surfer By Slott & Allred Omnibus

My primary reason for buying this book was the artwork of Mike Allred, of which I've been an admirer for many years. Allred's style doesn't appeal to everyone. It harks back to a time before the hyperrealism of the 00s, the hyperinflated muscles of the Image Comics 90s, the dour darkness of the 80s, and the bland mediocrity of the 1970s to the heyday of the 1960s Marvel Age, specifically to the Kirby style of 1960 to 66. Allred doesn't copy that style, but is clearly influenced by it. For me, having grown up on that stuff, this is a good thing. Others may see it differently. Art is always subjective. In my eyes, Mike Allred is one of the top 5 artists working in comic books today.As a book, it's pretty well produced. Better than many other Marvel hardback collections. There is the perennial problem that bits of the art and occasionally the script tend to disappear into the tight binding at the centre of pages, but other than that, it's a good-looking book and the paper quality suits the art quite well (not always the case with Marvel reprint volumes).The main reason I put off buying this book for a long time is that so many of the Marvel comics I've read in recent years have been poorly written re-hashes of stories I'd read in the 60s, and then again in the 70s, 80s, etc.. In this case, I needn't have worried. Employing the old-school 'Marvel method,' the stories here are co-authored by Allred and Dan Slott, with Slott providing the finished scripts. Between them, ably assisted by Laura Allred's vibrant colouring, they clearly set out to recapture the sense of joy and cosmic wonder that flowed from the pages of the Fantastic Four in its 60s prime, when Kirby and Lee introduced the Inhumans, Galactus and, yes, the Silver Surfer himself. The Surfer, a fan favourite from the beginning, is one of the few characters whose creation even that old glory hog, Stan Lee, credited entirely to Kirby. Given that fact, it might have been nice to see the credit line read 'Created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee' rather than the other way round. Ah well, small steps...In the hands of these talented writers, the decision to humanise the otherwise aloof and otherworldy Surfer by giving him a human companion was a good one. Well, it's worked for Doctor Who since 1963, so why not? It also worked for Kirby in the 60s, when he often brought the Surfer into contact with the blind sculptress, Alicia Masters. The human in question here is Dawn Greenwood, a young woman who helps her father run a bed and breakfast on the coast. Her down-to-earth normality in the face of the utterly bizarre and cosmically cataclysmic gives us as readers something to cling onto as she clings onto the Surfer while his board spins them across the universe from adventure to adventure. She is an extremely well-rounded, well-drawn character in her own right, with a supporting cast and a back-story that are very well woven into the stories. These feature a host of Marvel's great and good putting in guest appearances, including a personal favourite of mine, Eternity, as originally envisioned by the late, great Steve Ditko. There are many others, but I'm not going to spoil the surprises in store!Silver Surfer is a wonderful, gloriously colourful, hugely enjoyable trip. If all Marvel comics were like this, they might not have to rely on movies quite so much to make a buck! A delightful return to cosmic fun and highly recommended.

This is truly one of the best omnibus around as well as one of the best Marvels for ages and ages. So confident, it doesn't even include a front page contents - it is straight into the most amazingly drawn and weird Silver Surfer tale full of madcap adventures with Norrin and Dawn. Totally recommended

An awesome and fun story with excellent Allred art! The characters are all likeable, especially the reoccurring background characters. It’s quite silly for a modern comic, playing very much in the X-static wheelhouse and fantastic four series the Allred’s did before. Slotts “voice” isn’t nearly as strong as the Allred’s so I would hazard to guess if you like previous allred stuff you’ll like this, but if you are buying it for Slott it might be more of a gamble as it is distinctively another Allred book (which is exactly what I was hoping for!). Lots of cool stylistic devices are used and really excellent big concepts. Clearly trying to do the early Sliver surfer adventures justice.

Una muy nueva y buena versión de un personaje clásico. Con un tono ligero y a la vez emotivo, Dan Slott logra crear uno de los mejores cómics de la década para Marvel. Si eres nuevo lector, es ideal para que conozcas un universo entero de personajes muy particulares. Y si ya eres fan de años, encontrarás varios guiños a toda la mitología clásica del personaje combinados de manera brillante con elementos actuales.Reconocimiento especial al arte de Michael Allred y a la paleta de colores que usa su esposa Laura. Juntos le dan un toque de viveza espectacular a cada viñeta.

Es un libro impresionantemente grueso con portada dura y un guardapolvo dibujado y coloreado por los Allred.Dentro se encuentra la aventura más épica y significativa del Deslizador de Plata. Es emotiva, emocionante, graciosa, bien escrita, relevante y sobre todo rebosa creatividad en cada número. Imperdible.