Marvel Masterworks: Silver Surfer, Volume 1

Marvel Masterworks: The Silver Surfer #1

by Stan Lee

With the strength of the Hulk and the agility of Captain America, the Silver Surfer rode the wave to Marvel Comics stardom. The Silver Surfer first appeared in Fantastic Four #48, when he came to destroy Earth for Galactus. His heart is softened, though, when he meets Alicia Masters, and he betrays his evil master. Fans couldn t get enough of the Sky-Rider of the Spaceways, and in 1968 Stan Lee and John Buscema launched the Silver Surfer in his own series. Marvel Masterworks: The Silver Surfer presents numbers one through six of this incredible series.

A series of indescribable fantasy and spine-tingling suspense with artwork that Lee suggests, in the introduction, belongs next to the Mona Lisa, these comics tell the captivating story of how Norrin Radd became the Silver Surfer and alien prisoner from the planet Zenn-La. By issue three, the most despicable characters ever to lurk in the pages of a comic book - Mephisto - has become the Silver Surfer s most dangerous enemy. Follow the adventures of this amazing hero in the six original comics - plus a bonus Fantastic Four issue that features the Silver Surfer - that led to an animated series and action figures.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Superheroes, Comic Book, Fiction, Science Fiction

260 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber) was an American writer, editor, creator of comic book superheroes, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics.

With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.

Reviews

[Malum · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

Silver Surfer: "I come to preach peace and love!"

Mankind: "Holy shit, a space wizard! Kill it with fire!"

Old Silver Surfer stories are both fun and a bit of a chore to read. They are fun because the Surfer is just such a unique hero that has to deal with a lot of deep issues and unique problems.

On the other hand, these are silver age comics and so they suffer from all of the problems that come with that. They are wordy, repititious, monster-of-the-week stories that are further hampered by being full of flashbacks to previous comics and origin retellings (gotta hit that page count somehow!).

If you aren't a huge Surfer fan but you want to check him out, starting with more recent books is your best bet. If you are a Surfer fan, though, there is enough decent stuff here to entertain.

[Shadowdenizen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sure, it's a little ponderous and overwrought (This is COMICS, not Shakespeare!), but this first Silver Surfer series (which all 18 issues is covered in these 2 Marvel Masterworks volumes) really works.

This is classic Lee and Kirby, and it just works, regardless of whether the villains are the lame-ass "Order of Baddoon", or on the level of Mephisto.

Surfey's gone thru some ups-and-downs over the years, but this really where it all began. (Also useful to readers wanting to know Surfer mythology is the classic "Coming of Galactus" arc in Fantasic-FOur #48-50.)

[Drew Canole · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Buscema said this was the best work he ever did at Marvel! I'm not sure which interview that was from but it got this put on my short-list. I love his Conan stuff. One thing he liked about this work was doing it Marvel method (when you're writer is credited as Stan Lee, that's the deal) so he enjoyed writing his own comic which he didn't do much. But he's not a great judge of his own work! He's done much better work. The art is pretty simple with not as much detail as I'm used to from Buscema. The stories are fun and wild. Each issue is double-sized so we get 6 pretty good sized adventures here.

The origin of Silver Surfer is super underwhelming. He was just some dude from some planet and agreed to be Galactus's herald. Nothing cosmic or interesting to me at all. Just a dude!

Lee makes sure to fill each panel with a ton of pointless dialogue.

[Jonathan Briggs · Rating 2 out of 5]

All credit to Stan Lee's imagination. He helped create many of the greatest comix characters in the history of the artform. As a writer, however, hoo boy, is that a different story. If I were a 10-year-old or a filthy hippie baked out of my mind, I'm sure I'd enjoy this collection from Marvel's early days. But I just couldn't get my 40-year-old head in the right mindset (empty) to properly appreciate this goofy book. There is some Ed Wood-caliber camp value to be had in the ludicrous plotting and the overwrought dialog. It's hilarious that the Surfer fights invisible monsters while talking to himself nonstop, then wonders why people wanna lock him up. It's dopey fun. Probably worth reading just for the scene in which Ben Grimm emerges from the shower with his head covered in shampoo. What the hell does the Thing have to shampoo??!!

[Kami · Rating 5 out of 5]

- That was my favorite intro by Stan Lee so far! It was really funny and very Stan.

- The Silver Surfer comics really show the weaknesses of mankind. It is kind of sad.

- I don' t know if I'd help save Earth after being treated so poorly. Why does the Silver Surfer care for the people of Earth so much?

- The Silver Surfer is one tormented soul. I feel really bad for the guy.

- It was really fun and interesting to learn how the Silver Surfer became what he is and how he became the servant of Galactus.

- I liked all the appearances from other comics as well, especially Thor and Loki.

- I loved the artwork! It was very beautiful and well done! The Silver Surfer traveled to so many different places. I was impressed that the artist kept coming up with different scenery.

[Himanshu Karmacharya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silver Surfer is yet another amazing example of the vast creativity of Comic book legend Jack Kirby. This comic book expands upon the character, building up his origin, background, his own world. Stan Lee and John Buscema have done a fine job doing so. The plot is something that was rarely thought of that time and the art is classic that lives up even to this day.

But the dialogues being unnecessarily verbose, take up a lot of time and energy to read, taking away a lot of fun.

Wordy dialogues aside, the plot is still entertaining enough to keep the Silver Surfer fans reading till the end, while it may not be the same in the context of first time readers.

[Blindzider · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been waiting a long time to read this and it doesn't disappoint. Stan Lee uses the Silver Surfer to comment on humanity, discussing both their inherent flaws and what makes us so special, while in between he mixes adventure and action. Frequently the Surfer is seen soliloquizing either about the aforementioned human race or about his loneliness and sad state. The Surfer has a nobility and passion for life in general, yet still can be overcome with sadness, frustration and even anger. It's highly melodramatic, perhaps too much for modern readers but has a charm for those who like classic Stan Lee writing.

This is quality is enhanced by John Buscema artworks which is exceptionally dramatic, evoking the drama from Stan's scripts. Personally I like Sinnott's cleaner ink lines over Buscema's pencils, rather that Sal Buscema's which I find inconsistent and lacks the boldness in John's pencils.

One thing to note is the length of each issue: nearly 40 pages. Not sure if Stan was trying something new or just enjoyed writing the Silver Surfer that much.

[Batmark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Condemned by Galactus to spend eternity on Earth, the Silver Surfer roams the land, lamenting humanity's inherent distrust, cruelty, and self-destructiveness.

The first issue tells the Surfer's origin on his home planet of Zenn-La, where he lamented his people's complacency. (The Silver Surfer spent a lot of time lamenting things in his early years.) He became Galactus's herald to save his planet, giving up his true love, Shalla Bal, in the process.

In the second issue he fights the Badoon, and reptilian alien race intent on conquering Earth.

In the third issue Mephisto abducts Shalla Bal in an attempt to win the Surfer's soul.

In the fourth issue he's tricked by Loki into battling Thor.

In the fifth issue the Surfer teams up with a scientist, Al B. Harper, who might just have the ability to break Galactus's curse that keeps the Surfer earthbound. Meanwhile, the Surfer fights the Stranger.

In the sixth issue, in an attempt to break through Galactus's barrier, the Surfer time-travels to the far future to discover that all life in the universe has been extinguished by the Overlord.

Finally, in a story from Fantastic Four Annual 5, the Surfer battles Quasimodo.

The joy of this collection is to be found in John Buscema's artwork. He's still channeling Jack Kirby pretty hard in these issues (first published in 1968), but they're still pretty spectacular.

[Julio Bonilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

You're... different!

AMAZING!!! This is relevant to part of my childhood: Being ostracized at the end of elementary school. Similar to how people react to the sight of Silver Surfer on earth.
Everything is going well until people notice the Silver Surfer! Loved how he comes into contact with other members from Marvel Comics: (FF), The Hulk, Mephisto, even deceived by Loki....

If you are weird or in Special Ed, give this a read!

[Paxton Holley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve always liked the Silver Surfer but never read this series which comes after the Galactus trilogy in Fantastic Four. By Stan Lee and John Buscema. Buscema’s art is GREAT. Very reminiscent of Early Ditko Dr Strange. Lots of color and texture. Lee’s plots are really good, but his dialogue is a little melodramatic. Each issue of this series is 40+ pages! Lots of content.

In these pages the Surfer battles Thor, Loki, The Overlord, and Mephisto in his first appearance! I enjoyed this series a lot.

[L. · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Silver Surfer's given name is Norrin Radd. Did you miss it? Did you miss his name is Norrin Radd? Don't worry, Norrin Radd will call himself Norrin Radd several times. Not to mention other characters reminding everyone his name is Norrin Radd. Norrin Radd is all, All is Norrin Radd. So what is the Silver Surfer's powers? Apparently it is to moan and groan 24 hours a day.

But I do have to give this comic some credit. Underneath all that woe-is-me-ism there is a subtle message about racism.

[Tony Romine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuing my journey through the early history of Cosmic Marvel, I dove right into Marvel Masterworks: Silver Surfer Volume 1. It collects the brief Silver Surfer comic from Fantastic Four Annual #5 and the first 6 issues of the Surfer's solo comic that ran for a couple years.

The short comic from Annual #5 is Silver Surfer encountering a really badly conceived villain named Quasimodo. He has compassion for the poor sod, but ultimately Quasi wants no help and they end up fighting. It's short, it's simple, and it sets the tone for Silver Surfer during his solo series pretty well.

I won't try to dissect the 6 issues of the solo series individually here as their stories are pretty self-contained with only a few elements that stretch out over series. The first issue is dedicated to telling the origin of the Surfer and does so very well, recapping even some of his memorable Fantastic Four stories. This also establishes that he has a woman on his home planet that he longs for, Shalla-Bal, and this romantic yearning is something that lingers throughout the series.

The main idea of this series is that Surfer has been exiled to stay on Earth by Galactus and he hates it because he thinks humanity is terrible and they don't like him. This attitude he has gets really really grating and, unfortunately, is basically the catalyst for almost every issue of this series. The basic concept of every other issue though is him trying to get past the barrier Galactus created, fighting a villain, lamenting humanities terribleness, and occasionally checking in on Shalla-Bal on her home planet in her lamenting/attempts to get her man back.

These first 6 issues feature appearances by Thor (hands down the best issue) and Mephisto (he's the main antagonist, if there was one, for the Surfer in this series) and a whole lot of bottom tier aliens and monsters as villains. There's one particular issue that feature an over-powered alien named Overlord in whom, not surprisingly, only ever appeared in that one comic. That issue is maybe the worst of the lot because Silver Surfer travels at the speed of light to time travel, which of course reversed in the end and is as much a cop-out as an "it was all a dream" ending.

The biggest flaw of these 6 comics are their length. Each one is double-sized, over 40 pages each, and they don't need to be. The origin story works at the length, but the rest of the issues are mostly Silver Surfer philosophizing about how bad humanity is and whining about being trapped on Earth. Really think about it. 40 pages of Silver Surfer fighting Overlord. Even a good villain like Mephisto doesn't necessarily warrant that kind of coverage. The good thing though is they aren't nearly as dense in bad Stan Lee writing as the earlier Silver Age comics and seem to show a shift in tone from constantly light-hearted fights to some darker stuff. The better thing is the artwork is fantastic, as was the norm for these Silver Age comics, even the one like this series that weren't done by Jack Kirby.

It ends with a overly long, cheesy Not Brand Ecch parody comic of the Silver Surfer. I'm not a fan, but it appeals to someone out there I suppose.

Not a bad collection, but there are better Surfer collections out there. These are interesting enough for hardcore Surfer fans and the origins and Thor issues are a must-read for even casual fans. Recommended.

[Bill FromPA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marvel exploited various pagan mythologies to create superheroes of Thor and Hercules, but the Silver Surfer is the closest they came to taking a hero from Christianity. The Surfer’s origin story supplies two world saving sacrifices on his part: as a result of the first he is transformed into the Silver Surfer and becomes the herald and scout of Galactus, leaving forever his home world and his beloved Shalla-Bal. The second, his enabling of the Fantastic Four to defeat Galactus, results in his exile to planet Earth. This heaven-born being finds himself “despised and rejected of men” and continually mourns the childishness, mistrust and hatred of mankind, but nevertheless continually exposes himself to man’s hatred in order to save the world from cosmic peril, usually ending up receiving the blame for the destruction that results from his battles with evil. The most frequent villain in these pages is, in fact, the devil himself in the form of Mephisto. Unlike other comic book villains, he is not looking for untold wealth or worldly power – he already has these at his fingertips, ready to offer them as temptations to his victims. He is, rather, after the Surfer’s soul which, needless to say with no need for spoiler alerts, he never quite achieves.

The first seven issues were double length 39 or 40 page “giants” which allowed a more leisurely pace for the storytelling, with lengthy set-ups in which the Surfer does not usually encounter his foes until almost halfway through the story. Once the format is changed to a 20 page monthly, the stories feel more rushed, and I found them less compelling, though that may also be a result of the formula having been fairly exhausted about halfway through the title’s run. Stan Lee is in at his preachiest and least wisecracking in the writing here, alternating the Surfer’s laments and moralizing with his pining for his lost but still faithful love Shalla-Bal, with whom a possible reunion is a recurring sub-plot.

The art of John Buscema, inked mainly by Joe Sinnott, brother Sal Buscema, and Dan Adkins, is even better than I remember it. Everything is well drawn, dramatically composed, and his figures have a balletic grace which is a pleasure to contemplate; the settings, from the Surfer’s futuristic home world to the halls of Asgard, from the streets of the city to the isolated jungles and mountains of earth are convincingly portrayed. Buscema especially seems to enjoy portraying the shadowy subterranean world of Mephisto with its flames, caverns, cringing underlings, and writhing souls in Dante-like torment.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Silver Surfer is such an excellent superhero: brooding, lovelorn, repeatedly too noble for his own good. Plus he cuts a lovely figure on his board out in the psychedelically rendered cosmos in his gleaming, skin-tight protective coating. The despair he feels at the senselessness of humanity and at his own predicament reveal a glimmer of change for the comic book world of the late 1960s. The colors and design elements are bright and bold; the power cosmic is strong; the stars are within our grasp. You've got to love the pop-astronomy zeitgeist spillover.

As another sign of the times, when race relations are touched on in issue 5, we find a clear nod to John Howard Griffin's Black Like Me, which had been available for six years when this issue came out. There is a striking headshot of the Silver Surfer wearing a trenchcoat, sunglasses, and hat loaned to him by a black scientist who vows to help him ("He's treated like an outcast wherever he goes...just because of the way he looks. Just because he's different. Maybe it takes a guy like me to really understand!"). The Silver Surfer, in his disguise, wanders around the contemporary American city, astounded that the people no longer fear and despise him. The Silver Surfer, for all its mooning over beloved Shalla Bal, nuclear-accident mutant tyrants, and breaching of the cosmic speed limit, is pretty heady stuff.

And thus it's too bad that so much claptrap of the Marvel universe takes over his own first issues. This is mainly concentrated in issue 4, but it makes a strong mark. While it's briefly fun to read aloud the bits of Thor and Loki and assembled Asgardians spoken in iambic rhythm*, the older artistic style and slapstick buffoonery get tiresome quickly. I turn page after page waiting for the surf-rider of the skyways to star in his own issues while the Hulk, the Fantastic Four, and the Mighty Thor all do overlong cameos.

But perhaps that is the message with this character. He is too pure, too forelorn, to do much of anything save rail against oncoming evil -- or act as a hapless puppet for those with sinister will. In some sense I suppose that is the hallmark of the superhero: they are all fonts of reactionary goodness. But the Silver Surfer is repeatedly duped and desperate, and I love him for it.


*Thor has no wish to do thee harm!

He doth ignore thy words, my lord!

[Kevin Mann · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 5 star review is a bit misleading. That is mainly due to the mind-blowing kirby-esque jaw-dropping BIG JOHN Buscema art. While i read some silver surfer when i was a kid, mainly his appearances as a frequent guest star, one thing that stuck with me was his on-going characterization as a backwards, "i cannot undestand your world" paranoid schitzo, but a usually well-meaning schitzo. Well, this book is the blueprint for that and it is definetly "of it's times" --the 60s! Much of the over-wrought ultra serious STAN LEE writing is unintentionally hilarious and you will find yourself laughing out loud many times. Sometimes during serious, heavy moments. The dialogue is stilted and wooden and comical, but this oddly adds to it's charm and makes it different from anything else out there. Stan's attempts at creating parallels between 1960s earth crisis point world issues and problematic things plagueing the Surfer's world, both internal and external, do demonstate stan hadnt totally "lost it" , some of it is quite profound and will make you stop and think. Now for John's art, i had many issue runs from the 70s, of Marvel reprints of 60s AVENGERS & 60s/70s FANT. FOUR, so i was already familiar with his better work from his 60s hey-day. I was pleasantly surprised to learn This is better than even his 60s avengers work, which i quite like, still to this day. His kirby-esque detailing and out of the box, beyond the norm creativity, especially with unorthodox angles to show the surfer in space/earth orbit make you stand up and notice. It is groundbreaking, STILL! For me, this compilation was worth buying for the art. And they sneak a silver surfer JACK KIRBY (w/ stan lee) story into the back of it after the first 6 SS issues! This is the cherry on top!--- I didnt much care for the short "comedy" piece at the end, it seemed out of place, although some of it is dead-on pointing out the surfer's overwrought hystrionics with everything.....uh...excelsior!

[Little Timmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Marvel Masterworks volumes are fantastic reprints of the early years of Marvel comics. A fantastic resource to allow these hard to find issues to be read by everyone. Very recommended to everyone and Highly recommended to any comic fan.

[Jdetrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually find Stan Lee's writing to be somewhat painful, and never is that more true than with the Silver Surfer. This is overwritten to the extreme, flowery and overblown rhetoric. Thank goodness for the John Buscema art.

[Alex Andrasik · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a period in comics, Marvel, and Silver Surfer history. Where to begin?

As conceived by Stan Lee and (let's be frank, mostly) Jack Kirby, the Surfer was one of the nascent comic company's most interesting and intriguing characters. At once a literal blank slate *and* a literal mirror reflecting us back at ourselves, the Surfer was first depicted as an essentially amoral, naive servant of the world-destroyer Galactus, who, through the kindness of a blind Earthling, learned, through the first time in his existence, to see the value in the life he had been so instrumental in snuffing out throughout the cosmos. After his initial appearances, the Surfer bopped around the Marvel Universe for a couple years, learning - and imparting - moral lessons everywhere he went. For instance, he tangled with the sentient computer Quasimodo, raising questions about the nature of consciousness; and he met the Hulk, then in his rampaging-yet-misunderstood mode, and for a moment the Surfer's openness and compassion exposed the potential for Banner's green goliath to find a place in the world. It wasn't incredibly deep stuff, but it was fairly off-beat for comics of the time, and added a little something to the usual fairly senseless hero vs. villain battles.

The Surfer became popular, understandably so, and thus the powers that be gave him his own series, written by Lee and drawn by John Buscema - controversially, the assignment was seen as a slight to Kirby, who had hoped to continue developing the character. In Lee and Buscema's hands, the saga of the Silver Surfer took a hard turn. Playing out over giant-sized, 39-page stories, the Surfer continued to engage in heavy-handed morality plays about acceptance, tolerance, feelings of being trapped, and the tragic shortcomings of the human race, but now he had a defined backstory. Gone was the remote, truly *alien* being who had, as far as we had always believed, been conjured up by Galactus as more force of nature than mortal - now he was Norrin Radd, noble scion of the planet Zenn-La, who had bargained with the great destroyer to spare his world. It was a compelling take on the character - we can instantly empathize with a man who's given up his humanity to save everything he loves, and who is now trapped lightyears away just as he's rediscovering himself. But it contradicted the admittedly sketchy details we'd gleaned about the Surfer so far. How long had he served Galactus? It had seemed millennia, but now he's got a pining ex-girlfriend still waiting for him back home. Did Galactus strip him of his emotions, resulting in the affectless, staring-eyed being first introduced in FF #48, or did they slough away gradually with each world destroyed? Either way, why is his humanity re-emerging now?

These questions and more go unexplored as the Surfer zips around the globe, testing the barrier placed against him by his former master, tangling with world militaries and alien invaders, traveling to the future and to Hell, facing down racism and the perils of getting a job.

And hey, it's fun. Stan Lee is at his loquacious, blue-note best here, really letting his Shakespearean freak flag fly. The Surfer waxes loquacious on every panel, filling balloon after balloon with self-pitying philosophizing. Some critics love this, and some make the fair point that it sometimes seems as though he speaks in vague abstractions strung together with no real point, or meaning, even. But the text is really just sort of a metronome, a way of keeping time and rhythm as you pore over the gorgeous Buscema art, sometimes abetted by his brother Sal on inks. The Silver Surfer is expressive, his lithe, bandy body stretching in various poses of anguish, or his hands folded behind his back in contemplation as he stands impassively, his board carrying him over canyons or cityscapes. The Surfer is more in "blank slate" mode, visually, than "reflectively metallic" mode, which lends him a fragile purity, the sense of a being at perpetual risk of stains and sullying. (I'm less pleased that in this era it was deemed necessary to give the Surfer a pair of undies. He's effectively sexless! This prudishness here is silly.)

My personal favorite in this collection is #5, "--And Who Shall Mourn For Him?" Here, the Surfer meets a Black physicist who sure knows a thing or two about feeling alienated! Again, it's heavy-handed, but this is 1969. Any amount of sympathetic treatment of racial issues introduced into the public sphere was huge. And all things considered, this issue isn't wildly off-base by modern standards. Give it a read, carrying a nice grain of salt with you.

But I have to lament the Surfer that might have been in these pages, if Lee had hewn closer to his and Kirby's original conception. The saga of, essentially, a moral child with godlike power would have been amazing. Less of the Surfer sort of passively observing the ills of man, but stumbling into and through them, participating, learning to understand and differentiate right and wrong. Other eras of Surfer have approached this kind of status quo, but the first six issues of his first series set the course more firmly away from that as a central aspect of his character than it had to be.

[RafaCSQ · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent volume — a delight to read, with stunning artwork. In fact, the art ends up being the biggest highlight. Not that Stan Lee’s writing isn’t good — it is — but it carries a lot of that classic Stan Lee tendency to resolve things a bit too easily (using the Power Cosmic as a catch-all solution is a classic! lol).

To my surprise, some of the Silver Surfer’s reflections and dilemmas are genuinely compelling. I expected them to be somewhat cheesy, but they’re actually thoughtful. It’s a good read and entertaining, especially considering the era.

The real standout, however, is John Buscema’s incredibly technical artwork. We’re talking late 1960s here, and John was already delivering an impressive level of anatomical precision. The biggest highlight is the first appearance of Mephisto in issue #3 — it’s excellent and absolutely gorgeous. Issue #4, set in a more medieval-style Asgard (as opposed to Kirby’s version), is also phenomenal. John Buscema was truly incredible.

Highly recommended — and I also suggest picking up volume two. I believe this one is slightly stronger overall, but the next volume is great if you want more of what you found here.

[Judah Radd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Am I nostalgic? Sure... but even taking that into account, the brilliance on these pages is impossible to deny.

Penned by the “The Man” himself, this is the series “The Surfer” deserved. His early battles, his early woes and his origin are all brought to life by the highly skilled John Buscema (whose work I heretically prefer over Jack Kirby’s... shhhh, don’t tell anyone.)

I like this naive, noble but kinda depressed Radd. He’s a good guy, and he’s true to himself. Buried underneath his self flagellative longing for Shalla-Ball is a refreshing optimism... a hope for a better tomorrow and a belief in a better humanity.

If you love Marvel comics, The Silver Surfer, or just great stories, this is required reading.

[Your_Average_Magical_Girls_Fan · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you can find the first story of Norrin Radd as a separate issue, go and take that over this unreadable drivel. John Buscema art is nice, but Stan Lee writing is like being face-raped by a collapsing empire state building, which is aggravated by the fact that the "genius" behind the creation of Silver Surfer thought it was a good idea to destroy his character's most prominent attitude as an intergalactic ambitious traveler AFTER ONE ISSUE because of a stupid and idiotic barrier. No surprise this abominable run was so short-lived. If you want a readable Silver Surfer Run, you'd better start with Steve Eaglehart and the even better Ron Marz.

[Beelzefuzz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did you know Silver Surfer went around spouting "Live Laugh Love" in the late '60s?Check out issue 6 here for... words to live by? (More like die by if you read that issue). Overall this is goofy and a little boring. It was odd that not only did issue 4 pretty much copy the story of issue 3, but drew direct attention to the fact.
The art was wonderful and issue 5 and 6 were enjoyable. I doubt I would reread this though because it is overall forgettable from a story standpoint. I had forgotten how annoying the random bolding of words in old comics is until rereading this.

[C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those comics I know other people will probably not enjoy as much as I do.
But goddamn is it great.
The Silver Surfer is one of the moodiest Superheroes you will ever read. In-between fighting a roster of increasingly OP villains, Norrin Rad likes to fly above the earth posing on his board as he monologues about the human condition, his seperation from his wife, and his own existential loneliness.
If your on this series' wavelength, its FANTASTIC.

[Mhorg · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most different hero Stan Lee ever created

With art, beautiful, magnificent art by John Buscema, Norrin Radd, the silver surfer, one-time Herald of Galactus, savior of the earth, exiled here, is one of the unique heroes of the marvel universe. Really, a character who Stan wrote to point out the flaws of humanity, this is a great series.

[David Waweru · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sorrowful Surfer

I really like the opening story of who the Surfer was before he became the Herald of Galactus. The problem I have is after the fish out of water story. All the stories are woeful lacking, with the exception of the tale of the Black scientist that tries to create a gizmo to help him leave the Earth. That's Stan at his best.

[Crazed8J8 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Epic!

I've passively read Silver Surfer over the years, but i wanted to read as many of his appearances as I could... And this is an amazing collection! Unlike other solo titles, this actually has some major players in these earliest issues. That Thor story alone is classic, and the artwork throughout is stellar!
Highly recommended read!!

[Davidus1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked it. The creation of the Silver Surfer was very inventive and the character is interesting. Just the concept of the travel through stars and galaxies is incredible to think of. The artwork is good as well.

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing read. I have always enjoyed reading comic books. This graphic novel contained a series of Silver Surfer comics. I had forgotten what a philospher, the Silver Surfer actually was. Great read for kids of all ages.

[Doctor Doom · Rating 4 out of 5]

The artwork of the Buscema brothers is perfection, the whining of the Surfer is past even Spider-man's usual diatribes [again, perhaps because were reading at one setting what was once months apart. The Thor story is perhaps the apex of the Surfer saga.

[Keerthana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of comics was the greatest literary experience I have ever had in my life. The concept of a silver-colored space surfer who is always in the midst of an existential crisis is just so inspired and genius. I will never be the same.