Silver Surfer Requiem is to be the final offering from Marvel’s “Marvel Knights” line…the line up that originally spun Marvel into it’s current form, and set Joe Quesada atop the house that Stan and Jack built.

So you could say that the Marvel Knights line is dying…

How fitting is it, then, that the subject of death is exactly what this mini-series is based on.

Let me start this off by saying that I have somewhat of a bias towards the Silver Surfer. There is something about the “Cosmic Jesus” aspect to the character that I just love. If I were ever given the chance to write for Marvel Comics the firs two characters I would pitch would be Silver Surfer and U.S. Agent (and they they would politely ask me to leave, and that career would be over - I know).

The Surfer’s sacrifice, loss of self, and ultimate quest for redempion for his acts as the Herald of Galactus make him (to me anyway) one of the greatest, and most tragic characters in the entire Marvel Universe. I might even go so far as to say that he’s my favorite Marvel Character ever - and the greatest concept that Stan and Jack ever came up with.

See what I mean? Bias.

Yar, Thar Be Spoilers Ahead…Ye Be Warned…

Now - setting all of that aside - this story immediately loses a point in my book because of one major plot point…the driving plot point behind the story itself…The Silver Surfer is dying.

Why? Not because I love him so much…but because dying doesn’t mean anything in comics anymore. It just doesn’t. I don’t think for ONE SECOND that the Silver Surfer is going to die…NOT ONE. If he does “die” at the end of this mini-series - he’ll BE BACK.

They ALWAYS COME BACK.

So, to me, the “death” of a character has become a major turn off…and honestly almost kept me from picking up this book. I am glad I did, though.

J. Michael Straczynski has a firm grasp on the character of Norrin Radd and does a fantastic job of voicing the character throughout the book. My one major beef with the story still stands - since I don’t buy that he’s going to die (or stay dead, at the very least) - and it is made worse by the fact that they try to keep the fact that he’s dying a mystery from you through the entire first issue, when it’s obvious from the start that that’s where they’re going with the story.

Still, the story is very well told, and Norin’s reaction to the amount of time he has left to live perfectly defines the character, and it so spot on and well written it will make some readers tear up.

I have mixed feeling about the artist Esad Ribic. I love his Surfer…absolutely love it. Particularly the last panel of page 21…beautiful art. I don’t care so much for his version of the Fantastic Four, though. Reed looks like he’s in his late 50s or early 60s, and Johnny looks like he’s wearing a plastic hat that’s shaped like hair, instead of actually having hair o his head. So it’s a mixed bag, but ultimately I like it more than I dislike it.

I will be picking up the rest of this mini-series, and enjoying the time that I have with the Surfer. Even if he lives to the end, it is very unlikely that a new Silver Surfer ongoing series will be starting anytime soon, so I’m going to enjoy this while it lasts. Even if it’s not perfect…it’s still pretty darn good.

Grade: B+