‘Surfer’ – John Wagner, Colin MacNeil (2000AD)

Page Count: 112 Pages

I’ve got a small pile of comic books that have been sat there for a while, waiting for me to be in the mood for a read. In the spirit of reading what I already have before I buy more stuff to read, I thought I’d try and make a dent in that pile ;o) Here goes…

I always loved ‘2000AD’ comic, from when I used to read it round my mates house, as a kid, to right now, when I’m slowly but surely trying to fill in the gaps in my reading. Chopper’s story was one of my favourites but it eventually came to a natural end and I thought that was that; all good things come to an end and all that ;o) Imagine my surprise then when not so long ago, I saw an advert for a new tale simply called ‘Surfer’. It looked like ‘Chopper’ in the advert so I… promptly forgot about it and went straight to reading the next thing that caught my eye. You know, typical me ;o) I saw it again on Amazon, a few weeks ago and didn’t make the same mistake twice. I made sure I grabbed a copy of the book this time.

Had myself a little read, over the Bank Holiday weekend, and...

A young sky-surfer named Zane Perks is hired by a film company to play the lead role in a recreation of Chopper's Supersurf 7 victory. However, after being double crossed by the production company and arrested by the Judges, Zane sets out to clear his name and find out the secret behind the scam.

So, what do you do when you’re thinking that it’s time for another ‘sky-surfer story’ but your most iconic sky-surfer is enjoying a well earned retirement (at least, I’m 95% sure he is…)? It’s simple ;o) You take an entirely new character, stick a wig on him and have him re-enact Chopper’s greatest race while trying to solve a mystery of his own, all the while trying to stay ahead of the Judges.

And you know what? It works beautifully.

Perks’ story is perhaps a little too slight (and to be honest, it’s nothing particularly new either) to carry the whole plot but if you add a ittle homage to Supersurf 7 (with a few little twists to keep things fresh), what you get a story that brims over with a little charm of its own. There’s plenty here to hold the attention, both in the plot and some impressive artwork by Colin MacNeil. It is over in a flash but that’s what happens when the plot is being carried along by a sky-surfer with his foot jammed on the accelerator. And I like the fact that ‘Surfer’ doesn’t hang around, just tells its story and then flies off into the sunset ;o)

‘Surfer’ does come across as a little light weght but that doesn’t stop it being a fun read that I had trouble putting down. Wagner and MacNeil have done themselves proud here.