Written by James Stokoe, Peter David

Art by James Stokoe, Daniel Valadez
Colors: David Curiel

As Secret Wars progresses, Secret Wars Battleworld #4 explores what else is happening in two different lands. I haven’t followed the Battleworld tie-ins compared to the others, but this one stuck out to me. James Stokoe tackles the Silver Surfer of Egyptia, as he tries to keep the ever hungry Galactus from devouring the people of Zenn-la by hunting Fin Fang Foom. Surfer is not alone in his hunt for the dangerous creature either. Peter David comes in for the second story, as Maestro Baron of Dystopia, has an unwanted guest breaking into his precious trophy room.

This was a fun issue featuring two of my favorite characters. This first story was written by James Stokoe. Stokoe channels the Silver Surfer of old but with a twist as he hunts creatures instead of planets. The story is easy to get into since this is just a one shot of what’s happening in a different domain of Battleworld, but Stokoe keeps it interesting. Food for Galactus is becoming scarce forcing him venture out to further areas of the land, making it harder for Surfer to gauge his master’s hunger. The setting fits well as Fin Fang Foom is a giant crocodile instead of a dragon. The appearance of the Juggernaut is brief but fun as the two do an awesome tag team move to drop the beast. The tale is also sad because of the lonely journey that he has to undertake to keep Galactus fed and the tragic ending that happens.

In the second part of the book, Peter David takes the reigns as we have Maestro versus Silver Surfer. The story is brief, but the dialogue between Norrin Radd and Maestro is interesting to say the least. Peter David captures the Maestro perfectly as the angry tyrant and makes the Surfer feel calm and collected through the issue. Even being threatened by the Maestro, Radd is not afraid of him at all and I’m actually surprised by that.. The ending is also pretty funny. The story also seems to tie into Secret Wars 2099 as a prequel to Secret Wars 2099 #3. Surfer is part of the Defenders 2099 team.

Since we have two tales with the Silver Surfer, we also are giving two different styles of art. Stokoe also does the artwork for his story and it look amazing. His art style may not be for everyone but it I like the look of it. It gives off a fun, yet dangerous, and emotional ride. The characters have a distinct look to them matching the foreign land of Egyptia with Surfer in garb and Fin Fang Foom as a giant crocodile. Even Juggernaut looks like Hercules with the head of a lion on top of his head and wearing gladiator style armor. It’s a cool look for both characters. The tone switches from a light to dark toward the end of the story. The action is amazing and seeing the team up of Surfer and Juggernaut was awesome. The scene of Galactus at the end is horrifying. Picture the Thing or Spread from Image comics consuming people with its tentacles. This version of the Devourer looks cool and scary at the same time. The colors look amazing highlighting the zaniness of the story.

For just ten pages, Daniel Valadez makes Maestro and Silver Surfer look wonderful. Characters are detailed very well and even the hair on the characters stands out. Maestro looks menacing and Surfer looks very sleek and smooth. Moving toward the end of the story, I caught Maestro’s feet and there was no work put in there all. I don’t know why his feet were like that but it just caught me off guard for such an amazing looking work. Colors work well and complement the artwork with the tone of the story.

Secret Wars Battleworld #4 was a great ride with two amazing stories about the Silver Surfer and foes. Stokoe and David did an excellent job on the stories even though they had only about eleven pages each to tell them. Just the artwork alone is worth the purchase of this book. I’m definitely going to check out the other Battleworld issues and if you’re a fan of Silver Surfer or Maestro, check this issue out. Also, I want to see James Stokoe do a Silver Surfer series.

4 Silver Surfer and Maestros out of 5