‘Silver Surfer: Rebirth #1’ Review
Written by Ron Marz | Art by Ron Lim, Don Ho | Published by Marvel Comics
When I saw this on the schedule it was a no-brainer pick up. Back in the day I loved the early 1990’s Silver Surfer run, originally started by the dream team of Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers. Batons, of course, do get handed along, and down the line Ron Marz and Ron Lim took over and contributed a fine run that stands up well even today nearly 30 years later. Marvel has decided to try and bottle some of that 1990’s retro love and has invited Marz and Lim to contribute a new story but one set back in the heyday of their book. An untold tale, if you will. I must admit to being really curious to see if Marz and Lim can recapture the feel of the book from thirty years ago, and the easy synergy they had as writer and artist. Let’s take a look.
We start with some good old cosmic action, as Surfer helps Genis-Vell, son of the original (male) Captain Marvel, rescue a huge starship in trouble. It’s the comic book equivalent of jumping in freezing water at full speed, rather than dipping in a toe. A big welcome back which I can’t love enough. As Surfer and Genis-Vell talk affectionately about his father, who Surfer knew very well, a strange thing happens. Genis-Vell disappears, to be replaced by his father Mar-Vell, the original Captain. His dead father. The Surfer is as surprised as us it seems. Not only at the appearance of his old friend, who has no knowledge of even having a son, but also that they are now on the planet of Eladia, currently in the midst of fighting off a Skrull invasion. Time to help.
Surfer and Marvel fight the Skrulls, with Marvel making the interesting comment that he survived cancer. Well that’s not right. Marvel died from cancer. Something is clearly very wrong here. It can’t get any worse can it? Yes, yes it can. Captain Marvel gets caught full beam in an energy blast, and dies again. Worst. Team Up. Ever. Who would do such a thing? He’s big and bad, dangerous to know, and has been called the mad Titan. Yep, it’s Thanos himself. Something seems a bit odd here, though. Thanos has killed Captain Marvel, but it seems he feels he has good reason to do so. He’s not looking to fight Silver Surfer, he’s looking to get his help. You know when Thanos comes to you for help, it’s going to be a major threat. We’ll have to wait until next issue to find out just what that threat is, but I’ve heard whispers that certain colourful stones are involved…
Overall I really enjoyed this nostalgia trip. It read just like an issue of that early 1990’s book, both in look and feel. Dialogue and characterisation were dead on, and Ron Lim’s art was as distinctive as ever. The only slight negative was that this issue was a bit of a scene setter, and felt a little stretched story wise, something that could have been told in 10 pages. Ron Lim fleshed out the sparse script with some excellent double-paged spreads however, which is a nice compromise. Lim always likes to go big with his art, and has always made excellent use of the whole page. No 6 panel grid pages for this guy. The best way to describe the art here is like storyboards for an animated show, a big compliment of course.
I think this issue was the one to get things going, to establish where we are and who we are. Next issue can be the first one that can just focus on driving the story forward. That being said, I still enjoyed this return to the past, and I’m guessing so will quite a few others.
The two Ronnies are back.
