Silver Surfer: Black

The Silver Silver seeks redemption as he battles the King in Black in this tabloid sized collection.

Donny Cates (Cosmic Ghost Rider) pens this epic tale that seems to play fast and loose with the rules of physics. And I must say that I am really torn to be a fan of Silver Surfer: Black or to be it's biggest critic.

I've never really connected with much of Marvel's cosmic stuff. This book with it's flashbacks and flash forwards is a little hard to follow. There's even a time paradox! I think… Plus at one point the Surfer claims that he's billions of years old. This really seems to contradict the Galactus Saga that occurred in issues #48-50 of Fantastic Four. But I will admit, I’m not really caught up on my Norrin Radd comics.

One thing I cannot downplay is the artwork. Tradd Moore is freaking amazing. It's like year 3000 type advanced stuff. This psychedelic look at the cosmos has so much tiny detail to it, I wonder how long it took The Luther Strode artist to complete all 5 issues that comprise this volume.

Donny Cates notes that Stan Lee's death was announced as he was writing the fifth and final issue. As Silver Surfer has long been considered Stan's best work - by fans and the Man himself, Cates was inspired to change this book's ending. In the afterword, Cates says that he erased the entire last issue script and started over. He wanted the ending to honor Stan Lee's positivity that he exuded to his reading public.

I really would have liked to have seen what Cates' original script was going to be. I know it's all erased now. But a recreated rough draft inclusion in the sketch book section would have been nice. I like knowing about deleted scenes. It would have been cool to compare what was with what could be. Especially since missed opportunities is a theme of this story.

Silver Surfer: Black was an interesting read. The art was a masterpiece. The story was as confusing as a lecture on advanced physics could imaginably be. I understood each scene. I just couldn't figure out the right order in which the plot was to have taken place. 

Expect a lot of tinkering with the Marvel timeline when reading this.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Cosmic Ghost Rider: Baby Thanos Must Die

It's not often that I find a comic book so insane, so bizarre and it having absolutely nothing to do with Harley Quinn, Deadpool or The Tick! Yet, that's exactly what I have found here with Cosmic Ghost Rider!

I'm not sure how this happened (or even what universe this occurs in), but Frank Castle, AKA The Punisher, has not only become a Ghost Rider but also a former herald of Galactus as well as the previous major domo of Thanos. Having witnessed unimaginable horrors at the hands of Thanos, Castle decides to change history by killing the Mad Titan as a baby before any killings can occur!

Did writer Donny Cates (Thanos Wins) have something to do with Avengers: Endgame? This sort of thing was discussed in length between Professor Hulk, Ant Man and Rhodey in the 2019 movie. Only here in the comics, Frank Castle has a sudden change of heart and decides to kidnap baby Thanos and change history by teaching him the ways of non-violence! (Yeah-like that's gonna work!) 

The art by Dylan Burnett (X-Force) wasn't bad. But it lacked a polish to it. Yet, based on the content of this book with is anything but prim and proper, it fits. I actually find myself enthralled by the vibrant palette of colorist Antonio Fabela (Skyward). It's gritty and yet full of energizing pastels that make for a trippy cosmic scene. And Oh My God, those covers! Stunning!

This book is filled with a countless number of cameos, unimaginable insane violence and cosmic wackiness! It clearly lived up to it's parental advisory! I loved it and I did not want it to end! 

If ever DC and Marvel do crossovers again, I would love for this version of Frank Castle to meet up with the Last Czarnian, Lobo! I think the duo could do some serious but quite crazy damage! But man would I just be in heaven with every moment of it!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.