Silver Surfer Epic Collection, Vol. 13: Inner Demons

Silver Surfer Epic Collection

by J.M. DeMatteis, Glenn Greenberg, Tom DeFalco

A new beginning...back on Earth! But the world the Silver Surfer has returned to is not the same one he left. The Fantastic Four and Avengers have fallen to Onslaught - and with the Surfer cut off from his memories and emotions, can he grieve for them? Perhaps with the aid of the first Earth woman who taught him compassion - blind sculptress Alicia Masters! A brutal battle against the rampaging Hulk leads to an eye-opening encounter with Doctor Strange...but as Alicia and the Surfer begin a journey through time and space, mind and soul, can the Surfer cope with the return of a long-forgotten foe - and a startling revelation about Zenn-La? Or will the demonic Mephisto finally claim his silver soul? Guest-starring Spider-Man, Daredevil and Alicia's father, the villainous Puppet Master! COLLECTING: VOL. 13: SILVER SURFER (1987) 123-138, -1, ANNUAL '97

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Collections, Science Fiction, Superheroes

464 pages, Paperback

First published May 22, 2019

About the author

Also Credited As:
DeMatteis, John Marc
Ellis, Michael
Lombego, Wally

Bio:
J.M. DeMatteis was a professional musician/singer and rock music journalist before entering comics in the late 70's.

Credits include Spider-Man, Moonshadow, Brooklyn Dreams, Justice League, Abadazad, Hero Squared, the Life and Times of Savior 28.

Created I, Vampire , Creature Commandos, Moonshadow, Hero Squared (co-creator), Abadazad, Stardust Kid, Savior 28 and more.

Reviews

[Sud666 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vol 13 of the Epic Collection covers 123-138 and an Annual. In comparing it to Vol 1, it does not measure up. However, this is not a bad comic. The artwork is not nearly as good as Vol 1. The story?

Surfer is on Earth and is trying to figure out his feelings for Earth and Alicia Masters. The Puppet Master is able to make a clone of the Surfer and this leads us to the bigger story arc of a group of villains who wish to use Puppet Master to create a Messiah, based on the Surfer's cosmic power.

It ends up being a Surfer gets in touch with his inner emotions and whatnot, Surfer getting together with Alicia and the struggle with the clone and the Messiah. It was a good read and I am a Surfer fan, but it lacks the cosmic sweep of the first volume. I realize that much time has passed since that first volume, but the difference in overall quality is noticeable.

Why three stars? Simply because, for all its faults, this is a good volume. The story isn't bad at all, though I wish the art were better. Perhaps I am being too harsh on this due to comparing it to the stellar first volume, but I read that one and then this one, thus it is hard to not compare.

I think a Surfer fan will enjoy this one, though non-Surfer fans will likely be far less enthused. I enjoyed it but was not overjoyed by it. A good 3 star volume. It'll go into my collection, but one I am unlikely to point out to someone.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this one! Lovely art by Ron Garney and Cary Nord. Tight epic and emotional story. This is probably the best Silver Surfer collection since Lee and Buscema's original series. Grab a copy of this one before it disappears. And it will.

[Rob Schamberger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone rightfully talks about Ron Garney’s time on Captain America but he delivered some tremendous art here, especially in the first issue. Fun Moebius vibes but not beholden to that homage. The DeMatteis scripts are deep but fun and action-packed. My only irritation is that they didn’t go ahead and also collect the Muth issues in here, too.

[Burton Olivier · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only really bought this because I like the image on the cover and while I did enjoy the panel where it looks like Daredevil is trying to put the Surfer in an armbar, as a whole this book was just fine. They weren't bad stories but nothing really grabbed me.

[Devero · Rating 4 out of 5]

DeMatteis applica il suo stile di narrazione, molto introspettivo e analitico, a Silver Surfer. In un certo senso è un ritorno alle sue prime storie scritte da Stan Lee e disegnate da John Buscema, sono storie molto filosofiche e psicoanalitiche, con poca azione supereroistica. Ad un certo punto protagonista principale diventa la stessa scultrice cieca, Alicia, con Surfer che fa più da spettatore freddo e apatico che si contrappone all'emozionabilità di lei e del suo patrigno, nonché di suo padre che, credo, vediamo per la prima volta.
Questo grosso volume permette anche di vedere un altra fase nello stile grafico di Ron Garney, autore da me incontrato a Milano oltre due decenni fa, un simpatico body builder disegnatore. All'epoca aveva evoluto il suo tratto dalle influenze di Joe Kubert a quelle più personali del suo Cap (scritto da Waid), mentre qui, cronologicamente due o tre anni dopo quell'incontro, ha deciso di omaggiare Moebius. Più nelle prime storie che in tutta la sua run, ma il ritorno al suo stile personale è molto sfumato.

Intendiamoci, non è un volume perfetto. A tratti la storia è lenta ed anche noiosa, ci sono un paio di interventi di sceneggiatura che non sono molto chiari e il "deus ex machina" è sempre lì che incombe. Anche il tratto molto linea chiara alla lunga può stancare qualcuno. Non sono storie che uno può leggere per puro svago, perché richiedono un certo impegno. Non sono nemmeno storie che uno avrà voglia di rileggere di frequente: io ho atteso quasi un ventennio per una rilettura.
Restano delle storie ottime per sceneggiatura e disegni, un buon esempio di come si possa fare fumetti non solo per divertire ma anche per riflettere sulla condizione umana.
4 stelle e mezza.

[Judah Radd · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a little dull... but there are still parts I really liked.

With better, more interesting art and a more focused narrative, these issues could have been really great.

This takes place in the timeframe between Onslaught and Heroes Return (while the disastrous Reborn was happening). It follows Norrin’s quest for self. Most of these issues are about Norrin’s search for inner peace. In some ways, it’s a bit tedious... but it also invokes some welcome nostalgia to the Jack Kirby days, when Norrin was a solemn and introspective stranger in a strange land.

There’s not much else to say. The story alternates between the cosmically intriguing (ancient entities, etc) to the absurd (the puppetmaster.)

There are some surprisingly poignant emotional beats related to Norrin’s relationships that make the story worth reading, but it lacks the climaxes and streamlined storytelling to keep me hooked.

If you absolutely love the Surfer like I do, read it. If not, you may feel a bit bored.

[William Cardini · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a bit disappointed by this collection of Silver Surfer comics from the late 90’s. Most of it was written by JM DeMatteis and I really enjoyed his writing for the Spectre series where the Spectre merged with Hal Jordan. A good portion of the artwork is drawn by Ron Garney who does a great job making the Surfer look like an aloof alien.

My main problem with these comics is the giant retcon that’s first revealed in Silver Surfer #122, an issue that for some inexplicable reason isn’t included in this collection, although the events in it are referenced many times. In #122, the Surfer discovers that his home world of Zenn-La doesn’t really exist, it was destroyed decades ago and the Zenn-La he’s been interacting with for the previous ~140 issues of the first three Surfer volumes is an illusion created by Galactus. This reveal just makes all those previous issues, where the Surfer yearns for Zenn-La, finally gets there, and then struggles to protect it, seem meaningless.

If you’re going to do a stakes-shattering retcon like that, the payoff for the reader has to be huge. But I found the reveal of what really happened to Zenn-La to fall flat. The villain involved isn’t as visually interesting as they could be from their concept. I just find it boring that the Other is mostly represented as Grey aliens. I get that’s an image from the subconscious of Earthlings but why would a Zenn-Lavian like the Surfer see them the same way? We also never really get a satisfying answer for the motivations of the villain. Hand-wavy “you could never comprehend my purposes” explanations only get you so far.

On the other hand, I like a different inscrutable, god-like character introduced here, Scrier. What’s so appealing about him when that other villain falls flat? Foremost, Scrier is more visually interesting. Secondly, his mysterious plan is more intriguing because we know it involves the fate of the Earth and humanity but it’s not simply destroying us—we don’t know if he wants to be a benevolent or malevolent architect of our destiny! Thirdly, his petty emotions are entertaining. He says he’s so far above the Surfer and yet he seems desperate for Surfer’s approval and assistance.

As far as I know, the next time we see the Zenn-La-destroying villain and Scrier is 14 years later in The Mighty Thor Annual from 2012, also written by JM DeMatteis. Thor and the Surfer team up and it serves as a good epilogue to the issues in this collection.

[Mariano · Rating 3 out of 5]

- This starts after Onslaught, so we are in the Heroes Reborn era. It's a transitional period for Marvel in which there are glimpses of really good stuff coming a year or two later (Marvel Knights, Avengers by Perez and Busiek, FF by Waid and Wieringo, etc). I feel this is an early glimpse of that. It's not perfect but tries to build a storyline on its own different from the heavy nonsensical crossovers of the previous four or five years.

- Basically, the Surfer lost most of his memories and his human feelings and is trying to get them back. And stuff happens.

- This is classic DeMatteis. Existentialist, profound, and... depressing?

- Ron Garney's art is SO. GOOD. It aged super well. That's the biggest thing that makes this book part of a "new wave" coming. It's surprising that this was being published at the same time as Liefeld's Captain America (I love the guy, but that was not good).

- But it's still a '90s comic, as the story is super decompressed and unfocused, going around and around the main topics just to stretch things out. This story could have been told in half the issues and it would still work. It reminded me of the Clone Saga at times. I wonder if this was selling well so they decided to stretch things out.

- Besides that, it's still really enjoyable, at least until Garney leaves the book. Then Tom Grummett comes in, who I loved in Superman but doesn't work here. Page layouts are super weird and Garney's dynamism is lost. And the story becomes random stuff happening.

- Something that didn't age well was the colors. So many effects! Digital coloring was still being figured out by mainstream publishers. It gets better a year or two later.

- And the lettering. WOW. It's impossible to read at times. So many fonts, weird balloon designs, and effects. I know, it's the 90s, but it's still a lot.

- Fave Issue: Minus 1, the Flashback Issue. This was a kind of "event" from July 97, as every series (as far as I know) had a "Flashback" -1 issue. This one is a meta-story with Stan Lee being abducted, really funny!

- Less Fave Issue: #137, boring and unsatisfying resolution.

- Solid 3/5: It aged better than I expected, although the loss of focus on the main story makes it boring at times. But it's a fast read and Garney's art is amazing.

[Justin Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid story-telling with decent artwork.
I have not read much Silver Surfer, and what I have read tended to be Elseworlds-style, philosophical stories. This was a good collection. It tells stories during a unique time in Marvel Comics. Onslaught had just finished and many heroes were "dead" and off page for a year. As one of the ones that was left, SS gets a bit of spotlight time.
This was solid house work. I probably won't remember these storylines a year from now, but I don't feel any time was wasted in reading them. I got the sense the storylines were building to something much more climatic but then had to be rushed to wrap-up as the Heroes Return times were quickly approaching.

[Miles Trout · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fantastic read. (MILD SPOILERS)...

When Silver Surfer and Dr. Strange hangout, there is so much wisdom and philosophy crammed into that chapter. Overall, action packed and well written. Some characters are in the beginning and come back like 300 pages later, so it felt disjointed for a while.

The very end comes out of nowhere if you don't read Fantastic 4 from the same time period.

Would recommend.

[Mike Reiff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I imagine a lot of epic collections might be like this - a shimmering start to J M DeMatteis’ run with the radiant art by Ron Garney - who is going Moebius minimalist when all his contemporaries are going Image maximalist - but then the first part of the story wraps up, Garney moves on, and the book drags to a grindy halt of plot nonsense month after month. Still, this Garney run is one of the best of the late 90s Marvel golden era.

[Kyne Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rather dense read. This collection is heavy in terms of plot and wording. It’s not the typical super hero story and isn’t full of one page spreads of people fighting. While it does have action, this collection is more story driven than anything else. A good but dense collection.

[42piratas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love all the existentialist threads around the Silver Surfer - but in this collection, the stories are a bit too much everywhere. Not an entirely bad one though.

[Jordan Baker · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 some really cool artwork and stories, but it goes a little off the rails at the end.