Tag Archives: Norrin Radd

May 1 2015

Silver Surfer 11

Alternating Currents: Silver Surfer 11, Drew and Spencer

Today, Drew and Spencer are discussing Silver Surfer 11, originally released April 29th, 2015.

Drew: I both love and hate that Birdman was shot the way it was. I love that it uses the single-shot effect to such awe-inspiring ends, but hate that it feels so gimmicky. I want to be clear there: it’s not that I think it is gimmicky, just that it feels gimmicky. The conversation is so often about how Alejandro G. Iñárritu and Emmanuel Lubezki achieved those effects (or even just that they achieved them at all), that reason why they did it often goes unaddressed. That this kind of formal affectation might have an unnoticed thematic justification speaks to the low regard we have for form — we only notice it when its weird, and then only to comment on how weird it is. That low regard makes formal outliers all the more daring — will they be known for their reasoned narrative choices, or will they be dismissed as a vehicle for the most unusual of those choices? With Silver Surfer 11, Dan Slott and Michael Allred attempt an even more convoluted formal trick, but its rewards are well worth the challenges it poses to the reader. Continue reading →

Mar 13 2015

Silver Surfer 10

silver surfer 10

Today, Spencer and Drew are discussing Silver Surfer 10, originally released March 12th, 2015.

“You never truly know someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.”

Traditional

Spencer: The Silver Surfer may not wear shoes — at least not when he’s “silvered up” — but that doesn’t make this old adage any less true for him. The citizens of Newhaven have every right to be mad at the Surfer, who, in many ways, is directly responsible for the destruction of their various homeworlds at the hand of his former master, Galactus, but it isn’t until they’re faced with the same horrific choice as he once was that they can truly begin to understand him. What happens once they do is one of the most inspiring, heroic comic book moments I’ve read in quite a while. Continue reading →

Feb 20 2015

Silver Surfer 9

silver surfer 9

Today, Patrick and Taylor are discussing Silver Surfer 9, originally released February 18th, 2015.

Patrick: As he’s about to take Galactus head on in combat, Silver Surfer recalls the story of David and Goliath. I love David and Goliath, mostly because of how its message has been muddled by the passage and time. We read that story now as a triumph of the little guy against immeasurable odds — which is a fine story to comfort us when we feel like we’re taking on the world. But the real story isn’t quite so comforting: David wasn’t an untrained kid with a slingshot stuffed in the back pocket of his overalls; he was a trained soldier, battle-hardened and armed with his weapon of choice. In slaying Goliath, David isn’t beating the odds, he’s fulfilling his potential. And that’s exactly what this issue of Silver Surfer does too: both in terms of narrative power and the power cosmic, Norin Radd gloriously achieves his potential. Continue reading →

Oct 8 2014

Silver Surfer 6

silver surfer 6

Today, Spencer and Suzanne are discussing Silver Surfer 6, originally released October 1st, 2014.

Spencer: You never really know someone until you live with them. I’ve never moved in with or married a significant other, but even just spending a few days rooming with friends on vacation in the past has tended to reveal entirely new sides of our personalities — most often, the annoying sides. That said, if you can work past whatever aggravating habits cohabitation may entail, then you’ll also be treated to all your roommate’s wonderful qualities, and possibly even a whole new perspective on the world. That’s the situation Norrin and Dawn find themselves facing in Silver Surfer 6. Norrin’s ill-prepared for his new companion’s many human frailties, but his annoyance is also blinding him to the many advantages Dawn’s “imperfections” have to offer. Continue reading →

Jun 23 2014

Silver Surfer 3

silver surfer 3Today, Greg and Suzanne are discussing Silver Surfer 3, originally released June 18th, 2014.

Greg: I’m just gonna be blunt and cheesy up-top: the human imagination is a goddamn beautiful thing. It’s a place where everything and nothing exists and doesn’t exist. A breeding ground for active creation and idle daydreaming. It’s arguably the most fun thing about being a human, and by combining heady intellectual concepts of quantum physics with a simple yet emotionally grounded narrative drive (combined with a healthy amount of “call the unusual thing out” humor), Silver Surfer 3 is one of the purest encapsulations of imagination I have seen in recent memory.

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May 5 2014

Silver Surfer 2

silver surfer 2

Today, Scott and Suzanne are discussing Silver Surfer 2, originally released April 30th, 2014.

Wishes are powerful things, Herald. Especially if you believe in them. They might just become your future.

 The Never Queen

Scott: Like any kid, I spent many summer nights gazing up at the sky, hoping to see a shooting star that would grant me a wish. I don’t remember what any of those wishes were, but at the time nothing seemed more important. Now, I see making wishes as an exercise in picturing happiness, with each wish a snapshot of our greatest desire, constantly changing as we mature and our senses of reality take shape. Eventually, our sense of wonder fades away to the point that wishes no longer carry much weight. For that reason, it’s dangerous to base a story around the power of wishes — most readers no longer believe in them. While comic books often ask us to suspend our disbelief, this is like asking us to re-believe in a part of us that we’ve lost. Silver Surfer 2 focuses on the power of wishes, and while it isn’t seamless, it does bring with it an irresistible sense of wonder, the same one I had as a kid gazing at the stars.

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Mar 28 2014

Silver Surfer 1


silver surfer 1Today, Taylor and Patrick are discussing Silver Surfer 1, originally released March 26th, 2014.

Taylor: Surfer’s have always had a pretty bogus rap around popular culture. We tend to think of them as west coast bums who have forgone any responsibility in their endless pursuit of the perfect wave. It’s an unfair stereotype and one that fails to acknowledge the deep community and thoughtful demeanor of a lot of surfers out there. Similarly, the Silver Surfer has struggled with his one reputation. Once the harbinger of doom for Galactus, the Silver Surfer now spends his days trying to make up for a past life of wrongdoing. His reputation is poor but maybe with enough good deeds he can change the way others look at him… and perhaps change the universe as well.

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Jan 28 2014

FF 16

ff 16

Today, Ethan and Drew are discussing FF 16, originally released January 22nd, 2013.

Ethan: With the arrival of FF 16 Scott Lang’s campaign to end Doom is itself at an end. Even though Doom was the cause of the crusade, it’s always been more about Scott — this finale is no different. As Scott confronts the mortal enemy of the Fantastic Four and the man who killed his daughter, there’s never going to be a better time to prove who or what the latest incarnation of Ant-Man has become. Unsurprisingly, Matt Fraction and Lee Allred do not disappoint.

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