The Fantastic Four: Redemption of the Silver Surfer

The Fantastic Four is the superhero team comprised of brilliant scientist Reed Richards (""Mr. Fantastic""); Reed's wife, Susan Richards (""The Invisible Woman""); Susan's impulsive younger brother Johnny Storm (""The Human Torch""); and curmudgeonly rocket pilot Ben Grimm (""The Thing""). Here, minus the benefit of the four-color artwork that brought them to Marvel Comics fame, and under the guidance of veteran spin-off novelist Friedman (Kahless: Star Trek: The Next Generation, etc.), they team up with the powerful, altruistic Silver Surfer to take on a mysterious planet-destroying villain in the alternate universe known as the Negative Zone. The task has additional resonance for the guilt-ridden Silver Surfer, ex-Herald for the voracious, planet-devouring Galactus. When the heroes finally chase down their quarry, they find Prodigion, what appears to be a beneficent analog to Galactus, as well as Prodigion's shapely, cat-suited Outriders, who seem to perform the same job the Silver Surfer once did for Galactus. Falling instantly in love with the head of the Outriders, the Surfer decides to stay, hoping to make up for his evil past--but things turn out to be neither that nice nor that simple. Few readers other than voracious action and/or comics fans will be entertained by the plethora of battles and purple prose here. Computer-generated black-line illustrations by George Perez maintain the fast and frenetic mood without adding depth. (June)