Silver Surfer vol. 3: Last Days

Last time, I expressed my disappointment that Dan Slott and Mike Allred’s run on this title would be coming to an end with this “Last Days” tie-in to “Secret Wars.”  It turns out that I was wrong and their “Silver Surfer” is getting a new first issue out of this current relaunch.  This is great news because the series gets even better with this volume.  Don’t believe me?  Witness the first issue’s mind-and-story-bending conceit as Slott and Allred show the Surfer, his girl friend Dawn, and the alien flotilla they’re in charge of stuck in a time loop with the story playing out in parallel loops on the top and bottom of each page.  It’s an ambitious approach to telling this tale that could’ve come off as horribly confusing.  Yet after you wrap your mind around what they’re doing, you won’t be able to do anything but marvel (*rimshot*) at the way they’ve managed to tell a story from all sides in a wholly original way.

That first issue is a tough act to follow, and the stories that come after that do lean on some sci-fi tropes a bit.  Starting with the paradise planet that the Surfer finds for the aliens that has everyone living in blissful happiness for days on end.  Sounds too good to be true, right?  The cool thing about the resolution here is that this happiness is and isn’t.  I didn’t see the conclusion coming, which was nice, though the last page of this issue was a bit more in line with expectations.  Fortunately, after twelve issues it’s a moment that feels earned.

Then the Surfer and Dawn start making their way back to the latter’s home (while taking the long, scenic route) and they wind up getting caught up in the end of the universe.  Fortunately for them, there’s a powerful being by the name of Glorian who has the power to allow them to rebuild things the way they see.  Is it a trap?  Yes.  Do our heroes learn valuable lessons by turning their backs on the power offered to them?  You betcha!  Still, it’s hard not to get swept up in the fast-paced fun of this story as Slott takes a swing at creating a tie-in that’s even bigger in scope than the main event.  He doesn’t quite pull it off, but you can’t fault his or Allred’s ambition here.  This is easily one of the best books being published by Marvel right now and I’m glad it’s coming back for another run.  Even if it’s just another fifteen issues.