Annihilation Scourge: Silver Surfer Review

by Nick Devonald on December 11, 2019

Writer: Dan Abnett
Artist: Paul Davidson
Colors: Matt Milla
Letters: VC’s Clayton Cowles

I went into this issue with ridiculously high expectations. It’s Dan Abnett writing Annihilation! His work on the previous Annihilation is up there with my all time favourite comics so I couldn’t have been more excited. Then we’ve got Silver Surfer, hot off the events of Donny Cates’ Silver Surfer: Black. I was looking forward to seeing just what the Surfers new status meant for him. Unfortunately going into this issue with such high expectations left me feeling disappointed. It’s not necessarily a bad comic, but I think I wanted so much more from it.

Before I get into the meat of the review I need to take a moment to talk about Paul Davidson’s art. It’s incredible, and there are a lot of double page spreads to really let him show off his skills. And Matt Milla’s colors are great, especially when it comes to the Surfer himself. Following the events of Silver Surfer: Black he’s no longer Silver, he’s now multicolored in a way that reminds me of an oil leak. Which looks really cool no matter how it sounds.

So the Surfers new status quo leaves him little more than a hopeless bystander for a lot of this comic. Little more than a ghost in his own words. I think this is possibly where some of my disappointment in this issue comes from. I was looking for a bit more action rather than just getting to see the devastation that the Scourge has reaped. The other one shots have shown us that as well as a bit of action. And of course Donny Cates' writing of him in Silver Surfer Black was incredible. Reminiscent of Stan Lee, poetic and beautiful, it makes a hard act to follow.

By the end however the Surfer has managed to find a way to fight back. Whether this is going to be a new state for him going forward or just a temporary solution to his condition remains to be seen, but I for one am looking forward to seeing him in action in his new state.

As I mentioned in my review for Annihilation Scourge: Beta Ray Bill there is also a formula that all the Annihilation Scourge one shots have followed. Introduce our hero. Introduce the Scourge. Finish with our hero ready to do battle with them in Annihilation Scourge: Omega. Silver Surfer follows this formula too.

Following the same formula as all the other one shots in this series readers will know what to expect. Considering this is Dan Abnett of Annihilation fame the writing isn’t quite as strong as I’d come to expect. Colors really help to bring out Paul Davidson’s stunning art which is probably the highlight of this issue.

Our Score:

7/10

A Look Inside