Marvel Pick Of The Week – January 14, 2015 [SPOILERS]

Pick Of The Week:

Silver Surfer 8, by Dan Slott and Mike Allred

Dan Slott’s relaunch of the Silver Surfer last year has been consistently terrific, and I’m frankly surprised it’s not getting more attention. His grasp of the character is very similar to the perfect union of Mark Waid and Daredevil, proving that he understands a somber character well enough to translate him into a comedic piece and keep his essence intact. Issue after issue, Slott’s uptight Surfer has set up jokes for Earth-born manic pixie dream girl companion Dawn Greenwood, even making a couple of his own with fair success. But in the background, much like with Daredevil, there is a tension with a tragic past he has failed to acknowledge. An issue or two ago, he flinched when Dawn asked him to find her a planet to have some lunch, but otherwise, his history as galactic assassin has been a tight secret.

This issue begins with more of the romance and fun that readers haven’t seen in any other Surfer incarnation, as Norrin lets Dawn drive the surfboard for a while, and her spunky creativity leads to joyously nonsensical acrobatics and a silly crash onto a planet. If the book had stopped there, it would at least have merited an Honorable Mention for the week.

But then, the nature of the planet reveals itself, and the intimate connection to Norrin’s past as the Herald of Galactus crosses to center stage. Dan Slott knows how to write Dawn’s reaction in a way that feels true to the character he’s established and resonant to any reader who learned about a potential deal-breaker in a new love. She’s hurt, she’s betrayed, she’s confused, but she’s not attacking him. For the Surfer’s part, he engages in a monologue about guilt and responsibility that proves Dan Slott has read the boring purple prose of the classic Silver Surfer but is not afraid to edit those into engaging, realistic, contemporary language. In a book that has demonstrated a dozen compassionate explorations of human emotion, this issue stands out with some of the most original and authentic portrayals yet.

Honorable Mentions:

Amazing X-Men 15, because Colossus wants to help find the Crimson Ruby of Cytorrak, and Storm is not at all afraid to tell the metal-coated strongman exactly why she plans to put up with none of the crap Wolverine allowed. Apparently, you don’t need lightning to get burned by Ororo Munroe.

Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man 9, for using the following scene to cap off the story where Miles’s dad so painfully rejected him. As a gay man from a conservative Southern family, I feel no shame in the tear I shed reading this scene. Brian Michael Bendis may have saved me a couple of therapy sessions.

Wolverines 2, for an amazing scene where Mystique saves the day by wisely offering mercenary team The Wrecking Crew a reasonable carrot…

and then showing them the stick.

Daredevil 12, because even though this one scene begins a twelve-month Deathwatch for Kirsten McDuffie, I just love this couple and really like pretending that she’s not going to end up with a weapon through a major organ.

Avengers 34.2, because I am a Texan living in North Carolina and no one understands why I am so fixated on the unchanging debate that “barbecue” means beef and that vinegar-based sauces are an abomination. Thank you, Starbrand and Nightmask, for taking my side in this debate. That picture on the cover is Starbrand, floating around in space and being right about barbecue all the time. I imagine the three of us will continue to be insufferable dinner companions to those around us.