Product Description

Created by the titanic team of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in the pages of The Fantastic Four, the Silver Surfer went on to become one of the most-beloved characters in all comicdom. Embodying the mind-blowing concepts of Kirby and Stan's socially conscious writing craft, the Surfer's stories expressed their creative vision in staggering and unique stories. Another talent would touch the character, however, granting him a soul-wrenching humanity that helped define him to this very day-the one and only, John Buscema! A master of the craft, Buscema's Silver Surfer is considered by many to be the peak of comic-book art. Now, the original adventures of the Silver Surfer are presented in one complete volume! Containing every story and letters page, restored and recolored to match the original issues, plus behind-the-scenes bonuses and critical essays, this book is the guaranteed way to get in on the character in the upcoming film, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer! Collecting Silver Surfer #1-18.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1120019 in Books
• Published on: 2007-06-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 576 pages

Customer Reviews

premium quality reprints
Purchased this on a whim, triggered by the title of the new fantastic four movie. As I used to read the original books back in my youth I thought i'd purchase this and relive a little of my younger days. What a purchase! Top quality, lustrous pages with the artwork and colour jumping from the pages. The stories and artwork are superb (some of the messages in the stories are a little preachy, but hey this stuff was written 40 years ago). All in all a fantastic purchase and highly recommended to anyone who fancies a little nostalgia mixed in with some great story telling...

A Marvel icon of the 1960s - the complete original series!
The Silver Surfer was one of the first "cult" figures of the early days of comics fandom. It's easy to see why. Quite unlike any other superhero of the time, this alien commentator on the foibles of the human race was perfectly suited to the emerging social conscience of the 1960s.

Sadly, the comic itself wasn't one of Marvel's top sellers in its original format and only lasted 18 issues. The great thing about this book is that entire run is contained here, plus a couple of bonus stories including an amusing spoof from 1969.

As the issues collected here progress, you can see how panic must have set in with the publishers, as guest stars such as Spider-Man and the Human Torch suddenly turn up presumably to try and attract readers more used to the standard Marvel fare.

As the original comic was canceled quickly, the series ended on a cliffhanger, with a bold announcement from the Surfer, which was never resolved (even in later series featuring the character this aspect was ignored I believe). Yet in retrospect perhaps this can be seen as a journey the character takes throughout the book; a character change from peace-loving visitor, through his temptations from the devil (Mephisto) to his startling final decision to give society what it expects of him. Perhaps, by the happenstance of premature cancellation, the comic actually delivered an ending that does work as a proper final act; not the one we would expect of a superhero comic, but it does seem fitting. But read it for yourself to see if you agree.

The Silver Surfer first appeared in the Fantastic Four comic (available as Fantastic Four Omnibus vol 2 from Amazon) created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. In the Silver Surfer Omnibus, John Buscema is the main artist, but Kirby returns for the final issue, delivering a story that includes a powerful final page to the saga.

Reproduction of the artwork is sharp, and the "remastered" colour brings it back to how it looked originally, rather than the more graduated colours used in previous reprints. You could pick up the Essential Silver Surfer Vol 1 paperback in black and white, featuring the same stories at a third of the price of this book, but for such an iconic character, this handsome colour hardback is the better purchase.