Sky Rider of the Space-Ways: SILVER SURFER Appreciation!

[Witchfan]

MIKE ALLRED Reflects on the End of SILVER SURFER

https://13thdimension.com/mike-allre...silver-surfer/

I’ve written before about how I never read Silver Surfer before Dan Slott and Mike and Laura Allred got their hands on Norrin Radd a few years back. My comics tastes tend toward the street level and the Surfer is anything but.
But I gave the series a try and was rewarded time and again with some of the most nuanced, heartfelt — and certainly most romantic — comics I’ve ever read.
But Silver Surfer is over now, and with it the journey of Norrin and Dawn Greenwood, the sensational character find of 2014. There were many brilliant twists and turns along the way — literally with the Eisner-winning Silver Surfer #11 from the series’ first volume — culminating in the wonderfully meaningful revelation that Dawn herself was transformed into the Kirby Krackle that has surrounded the Surfer since the beginning.
Beautiful and poignant. That was Silver Surfer.
Mike Allred, credited on the series as “storyteller” with Slott, is here with his thoughts on this cosmic, yet no less humanistic, ride.
Dan Greenfield: You and Dan were credited as “storytellers” as opposed to writer and artist. Describe how your collaboration evolved over time.
Mike Allred: Early on, we talked about the overall epic arc. Then we’d usually have a lengthy phone conversation, which pretty much amounted to Dan in “storytelling mode” where he’d just start talking everything out, even doing voices and sound effects!
Then I’d get a relatively tight outline with page breakdowns, and a good gist of what was being said between characters. I’d jump on it and draw everything out, encouraged to play with it to my heart’s content.
Then Dan would take what I did and do a final script. It was always a big kick to see how the final published issue would sing, given how Dan would pull it all together.
Greenfield:*Were you a big Silver Surfer fan before this series? What do you consider the one story all readers should read?
Allred: CRAZY BIG FAN! Silver Surfer is one of my all-time, lifelong favorite characters. Whether surfing in the ocean or skateboarding as a kid, I always pretended I was Silver Surfer. The coolest! Surfer, not me, obviously. That’s about as nerdy as its gets. But it set my imagination on fire.
Greenfield:*Tell us one*case where you were blown away by an idea Dan had.
Allred:*Well, the biggest mind-blower was the Mobius loop. He actually had to send me photos of diagrams on a white board for me to even begin to understand what he was trying to communicate to me. *But once it clicked in my brain, I set out to make it work. My favorite contribution to that one was coming up with the subtle arrow-shaped panels.
Greenfield:*Tell us one case where Dan was blown away by an idea you had.
Allred:*Me, a mere mortal? Can’t say that ever happened. Maybe Dawn’s polka-dot outfit? That certainly became something significant. Not blown away, such humble beginnings, but it seemed like every little contribution I may have had inspired Dan to take it to cosmic levels.
Greenfield:*The series’ most famous issue was, as mentioned before, Vol. 1, #11 — the Mobius strip story. But in the end, the entire series was more or less*a Mobius strip (if such a thing can be “more or less”). When did it become clear that this is where things were headed?
Allred: Pretty early on. We were all nuts for Dawn and her “Miyazaki -ness.” And we wanted to make sure that when we finished our run that her story was completely told. We set out from Day One to tell a story seeded with callbacks that would reward readers when reread.
Greenfield:*Now fess up: Is Reg supposed to be Dan?
Allred: Just a sec, my lawyer is whispering something in my ear. No. Reg is not Dan. Any similarities to any person or persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
Greenfield:*Readers’ connection to this series was deeper than most. Were you surprised by this outpouring? *
Allred: Oh yeah. We all create with the hopes that the work will move and inspire, but the reactions we got here were off the charts.
Greenfield:*The two of you invented a lot of worlds for this series, some of the most charming I’ve ever seen in comics. Where did some of those come from?
Allred:*Who can say? A monthly schedule leaves little time to reflect. A word, a phrase, even a song, would often put ideas and images in my head. Obviously, there were direct requirements based on what Dan had come up with, but often I’d design aliens directly on the page with no time to rethink or rework ’em, just hoping everyone would dig what I came up with.
Greenfield:*Was there anything you left on the table, anything you wanted to do but couldn’t?
Allred:*Not until this very moment. We gave our alls. But now with a little reflection, it would have been nice to have Norrin and Dawn go on a double-date night with Reed and Sue.
Greenfield:*You guys packed in a lot over the last few years. What are your own favorite parts*of the series?*
Allred:*Wow, that’s the toughest question. I love it all so much. Dan, and our editor Tom Brevoort, who put it all together, will forever have huge chunks of our hearts for every wonderful thing this project brought. Hours at the drawing table felt like fleeting moments.
I can say having the Silver Surfer ride a moon into Galactus provided some of the biggest thrills I’ve ever shared with my pencil.
Nuff said?

[Digifiend]

tldr this book was made using the classic Marvel Method.

[Chainsaw Vigilante]

He did debut as a villain.

Stan was referring to him in his original single title run though, I wouldn't have called him a villain either, more like a gust of wind before a hurricane.

My favorite stuff was the George Perez run (and half of that run was Surferless), it had a bit of everything that made the Surfer the Surfer to me. It was weird, explored a new universe/multiverse away from Marvel, had the Biblical tones of the Lee Surfer, was philosophical, had weird metaphysical stuff, had action, the Surfer was the savior against the oppressive god much like his battles against Galactus and Mephisto (among many others), had introspection, weird Surfer powers, interesting art, one arc with a passionate Surfer and one story with a cold Surfer, etc.
It's really tough to balance all these things. I also thought that 14 (?) issue mini from the mid 2000's or so (while spending a bunch of time Surferless) got the tone of the character well, and had nice art and lots of metaphysical weirdness.
Knowing now that the Allreds laid the entire foundation of the story through their art really makes me hope for their return, maybe with a writer that could take a more serious tone but not go the emo route. Can't think of many writers that could do this that haven't already tackled the character, maybe a Gaiman, Kieron Gillen (his Loki run showed he can handle such types of beings), or Spurrier (his X-Men: Legacy run with Legion showed he's capable, cannot recall his In Thy Name Surfer mini though).

[Rosebunse]

The thing about Dawn's dress dots will always make me a little teary eyed.

[Rod G]

MIKE ALLRED Reflects on the End of SILVER SURFER

https://13thdimension.com/mike-allre...silver-surfer/

I’ve written before about how I never read Silver Surfer before Dan Slott and Mike and Laura Allred got their hands on Norrin Radd a few years back. My comics tastes tend toward the street level and the Surfer is anything but.
But I gave the series a try and was rewarded time and again with some of the most nuanced, heartfelt — and certainly most romantic — comics I’ve ever read.
But Silver Surfer is over now, and with it the journey of Norrin and Dawn Greenwood, the sensational character find of 2014. There were many brilliant twists and turns along the way — literally with the Eisner-winning Silver Surfer #11 from the series’ first volume — culminating in the wonderfully meaningful revelation that Dawn herself was transformed into the Kirby Krackle that has surrounded the Surfer since the beginning.
Beautiful and poignant. That was Silver Surfer.
Mike Allred, credited on the series as “storyteller” with Slott, is here with his thoughts on this cosmic, yet no less humanistic, ride.
Dan Greenfield: You and Dan were credited as “storytellers” as opposed to writer and artist. Describe how your collaboration evolved over time.
Mike Allred: Early on, we talked about the overall epic arc. Then we’d usually have a lengthy phone conversation, which pretty much amounted to Dan in “storytelling mode” where he’d just start talking everything out, even doing voices and sound effects!
Then I’d get a relatively tight outline with page breakdowns, and a good gist of what was being said between characters. I’d jump on it and draw everything out, encouraged to play with it to my heart’s content.
Then Dan would take what I did and do a final script. It was always a big kick to see how the final published issue would sing, given how Dan would pull it all together.
Greenfield:*Were you a big Silver Surfer fan before this series? What do you consider the one story all readers should read?
Allred: CRAZY BIG FAN! Silver Surfer is one of my all-time, lifelong favorite characters. Whether surfing in the ocean or skateboarding as a kid, I always pretended I was Silver Surfer. The coolest! Surfer, not me, obviously. That’s about as nerdy as its gets. But it set my imagination on fire.
Greenfield:*Tell us one*case where you were blown away by an idea Dan had.
Allred:*Well, the biggest mind-blower was the Mobius loop. He actually had to send me photos of diagrams on a white board for me to even begin to understand what he was trying to communicate to me. *But once it clicked in my brain, I set out to make it work. My favorite contribution to that one was coming up with the subtle arrow-shaped panels.
Greenfield:*Tell us one case where Dan was blown away by an idea you had.
Allred:*Me, a mere mortal? Can’t say that ever happened. Maybe Dawn’s polka-dot outfit? That certainly became something significant. Not blown away, such humble beginnings, but it seemed like every little contribution I may have had inspired Dan to take it to cosmic levels.
Greenfield:*The series’ most famous issue was, as mentioned before, Vol. 1, #11 — the Mobius strip story. But in the end, the entire series was more or less*a Mobius strip (if such a thing can be “more or less”). When did it become clear that this is where things were headed?
Allred: Pretty early on. We were all nuts for Dawn and her “Miyazaki -ness.” And we wanted to make sure that when we finished our run that her story was completely told. We set out from Day One to tell a story seeded with callbacks that would reward readers when reread.
Greenfield:*Now fess up: Is Reg supposed to be Dan?
Allred: Just a sec, my lawyer is whispering something in my ear. No. Reg is not Dan. Any similarities to any person or persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
Greenfield:*Readers’ connection to this series was deeper than most. Were you surprised by this outpouring? *
Allred: Oh yeah. We all create with the hopes that the work will move and inspire, but the reactions we got here were off the charts.
Greenfield:*The two of you invented a lot of worlds for this series, some of the most charming I’ve ever seen in comics. Where did some of those come from?
Allred:*Who can say? A monthly schedule leaves little time to reflect. A word, a phrase, even a song, would often put ideas and images in my head. Obviously, there were direct requirements based on what Dan had come up with, but often I’d design aliens directly on the page with no time to rethink or rework ’em, just hoping everyone would dig what I came up with.
Greenfield:*Was there anything you left on the table, anything you wanted to do but couldn’t?
Allred:*Not until this very moment. We gave our alls. But now with a little reflection, it would have been nice to have Norrin and Dawn go on a double-date night with Reed and Sue.
Greenfield:*You guys packed in a lot over the last few years. What are your own favorite parts*of the series?*
Allred:*Wow, that’s the toughest question. I love it all so much. Dan, and our editor Tom Brevoort, who put it all together, will forever have huge chunks of our hearts for every wonderful thing this project brought. Hours at the drawing table felt like fleeting moments.
I can say having the Silver Surfer ride a moon into Galactus provided some of the biggest thrills I’ve ever shared with my pencil.
Nuff said?

Ah, the feels . . . 208 issues of SS.

Hopefully it won’t be long before we see an issue #209.

[Rod G]

I'm hoping for an eventual Omni collecting both volumes of this run.

Same here, Captain Craig. Same here.

[Witchfan]

February Solicits:

THE UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL #29
RYAN NORTH (W) ERICA HENDERSON (A/C)
THE FORBIDDEN PLA-NUT PART 3
* For the first time in the HISTORY of comics, we present the color-coded fight we've all been waiting for: GREEN (Doreen) ON SILVER (Surfer)!
* And if fighting the Herald of Galactus-- a man who literally has the Power Cosmic at his disposal -- isn't enough, Doreen's got other problems to deal with, including intergalactic scam artists, Drax the Destroyer and LOKI LAUFEYSON.
* FEEL the thrill of the fight! SEE it happen, via artisanally selected images and words juxtaposed in deliberate sequence! HEAR the words in your head via your inner voice as you read them, which when you think about it is kind of weird! All we have to do is write down words on a piece of paper, and suddenly they're re-created in your mind exactly as we intended. Minds are crazy, and language is EVEN CRAZIER.
32 pages, $3.99.

[PaxHouse]

In case you didn't already know; Silver Surfer was seen within MOON GIRL #25 and had a very excellent reason of appearing within said Issue.

[darewithpeace]

I want to see him on the mcu !

[Cronus]

So, will this mean the Surfer could possibly show up for Infinity War #2? By the way, I would like to start promoting Ron Marz for a new Silver Surfer ongoing. I mean, Ron Marz is to the Silver Surfer what Geoff Johns is to Green Lantern.

[Witchfan]

I think it is too late to get him in Avengers 4. I am hoping that he appears in GOTG 3.

[Witchfan]

Preview for Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #27 featuring the Surfer
https://www.cbr.com/unbeatable-squirrel-girl-27/

[legion_quest]

So, will this mean the Surfer could possibly show up for Infinity War #2? By the way, I would like to start promoting Ron Marz for a new Silver Surfer ongoing. I mean, Ron Marz is to the Silver Surfer what Geoff Johns is to Green Lantern.

Can he bring Lim back with him?

[Cronus]

Can he bring Lim back with him?

Wouldn't that be amazing? Marz had a wonderful feel for exactly what Surfer fans wanted to read and Lim is right up there with John Buscema as my favorite Surfer artists. Keith Pollard did nice work on the Surfer as well.

So how about it Mr. Marz (if you're reading)? Would you say yes if Marvel asked you to write a Surfer ongoing again?

[Cronus]

I think it is too late to get him in Avengers 4. I am hoping that he appears in GOTG 3.

When is Avengers 4 slated to be released? But honestly? I'd be okay with an appearance in GOG 3.