First, the bad news: you've seen this comic before. I'm not talking about it falling into last month's time loop, but rather that the basic plot of "Silver Surfer" #12 isn't breaking much new ground. Here's the good news, though: it's still by Dan Slott, Michael Allred and Laura Allred and, even when the story itself is a little tired, there's a certain amount of charm present.

The basic thrust of "Silver Surfer" #12 is that, after deciding to stay for just one day on New Newhaven (having safely delivered all of the refugees from Newhaven last issue), it's been months and Norrin and Dawn are perpetually deciding to stay for "just one more day" on a planet that feels like utter paradise and where everyone is happy. Of course, it's too good to be happening with no outside influence and, eventually, the Silver Surfer and Dawn have to figure out what's really happening to make everyone that content.

Slott's story overall is a strange mixture of rushed and predictable; you can figure out fairly quickly what's going on here and, once the revelation appears, the reactions by some of the New Newhaven residents (as well as the departure of Silver Surfer and Dawn) feels crammed into a few less panels than perhaps initially anticipated. With that in mind, however, there are a few little bright spots. The motive for why this is happening (as well as the exact way in which it's occurring) is a slight change of pace for this sort of story, for starters, as is the overall reaction by New Newhaven's population. It's also a good way to advance the relationship between Norrin and Dawn, not only because of the amount of time that the two have spent together, but due to its setup that lets each of them resolve some issues over time that would have otherwise needed to be swept under the carpet.

The Allreds, as per usual, deliver a nice looking book. Laura Allred's vivid colors make her yet again one of the unsung heroes of the coloring industry. The vivid yellow skies of daytime contrast beautifully with the deep indigo and violet of the night sky, with a galaxy's worth of stars spread out overhead in various sizes and intensities. Then add in the smooth, graceful inks of Michael Allred -- whose bearded Norrin works surprisingly well -- as he creates inventive aliens and a dazzlingly fun world overall, and the end result is a consistently attractive comic. No complaints here on that front.

Even a sub-par issue of the current "Silver Surfer" comic isn't a bad comic; it merely isn't up to the heights of earlier issues. "Silver Surfer" is still one of the crown jewels of Marvel's line right now and, if this is the low point, that says a lot. It's not an issue I'd give a new reader to explain why "Silver Surfer" is currently so much fun, but I still got my money's worth.