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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rise Of The Silver Surfer Omnibus., June 6, 2007
I'm a big collector of the Marvel Masterworks and DC Archives series, but this was my first Marvel Omnibus. And I must say, I'm very very pleased with this purchase.
Positives:
This edition contains the entire 18 issue Silver Surfer series that originally ran from 1968 to 1970. Extras include, the Surfer solo story first published in Fantastic Four Annual #5 (1967), a spoof of Silver Surfer #1 ("The Origin of the Simple Surfer") from Not Brand Echh #13, as well as the original letters pages, house ads for the series, the Fantasy Masterpieces reprint series covers, reprinted articles on the Surfer, etc etc.
The art reproduction is simply beautiful.
The color matches the original comic issues and not the horrendous job in the Marvel Masterworks reprints.
Reprinted on a nice paper stock with some of the best binding I've seen from Marvel (important with a book this size), but still not quite as good as DC Archives.
Stan Lee's over-the-top dramatic soliloquies that could only come from the '60s.
John Buscema's beautiful art (with some bonus Jack Kirby work!)
Negatives:
No Watcher back-ups. The original 25 cent comics (giant-sized for the day) contained Tales Of The Watcher which were really some new art framing material reprinted from Atlas Comics inventory. This makes the reprint feel a little less complete, but would have bumped up the page count (and then the price) so not a big loss.
Missing some of the finer Surfer stories from the Fantastic Four. But these have been or will be reprinted in the Fantastic Four Omnibooks, so not a terrible loss.
Stan Lee's over-the-top dramatic soliloquies that could only come from the '60s. During this period, the Silver Surfer was a very popular character, lending his alien/outsiders perspective on a number of seeming inane foibles of the human race (as well as our more noble aspects) and offering the reader a chance at introspective. This series was launched in an attempt to capitalize on that popularity but Stan Lee never seemed to figure out what to do with the character in solo stories. The series starts off well, but begins to get stale before too long. Sadly, the final issue with co-creator Jack Kirby joining the creative team promised to "kick over the table" but the comic was canceled before the new direction began.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent reproduction of Surfer classics, June 11, 2007
As a fan of the Surfer from his original FF days, I bought this volume because the coloring was supposed to match the originals. I compared the Omnimbus with my original issues and, yes, as advertised, colors do come close to matching the originals (Masterworks don't). The price is high, but if you consider you're getting the equivalent of two Masterworks for less, then the price looks better--plus you get a reprint of the Surfer from "Not Brand Ecch."
If you've never read the Stan Lee/John Buscema Surfer issues, then you're in for some of the best "sermons" that Lee ever delivered. At the time, this was revolutionary for comic books. Unfortunately, in retrospect, the preaching sometimes overpowers the story. How many pages of the SS's soliloquies do we need?--we get it already!
Because Lee and Buscema were aiming for a different reader, the SS didn't sell well enough and was soon relying in the second half of the issues on "guest stars" to boost sales. The final issue with Jack Kirby lacks everything that made the SS one of the most intriguing characters, and is a sad finale--instead of going out with a bang, the series ends on a whimper.
Even so, the series marks a major milestone in Marvel's history. There's some irony involved here too--As the Surfer died, the antithesis of the Surfer--Conan the Barbarian--began. His run was much longer.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Surfer doesn't just talk, he says something., September 19, 2007
This huge book reprints all 18 issues of the original Silver Surfer comic book series from the Silver Age of comics (including the letter pages), plus a Surfer back up story from Fantastic Four Annual #5 and a Surfer parody from Not Brand Echh #13. The Silver Surfer happens to be writer Stan Lee's personal favorite character. To quote Stan from the book's intro: "Perhaps the Silver Surfer comes closest to being the ultimate, quintessential superhero. The virtue of his character, the purity of his soul and the nobility of his actions, coupled with the altruism of his motives, are virtually without parallel--unless one returns to the root of all goodness, for perhaps only in the Holy Bible itself does such morality exist." Stan used the Surfer to articulate his own beliefs and convictions, as the Surfer soared around the Earth soliloquizing about mankind's faults (particularly prejudice and bigotry). Pretty heavy stuff for a superhero comic book. The Surfer was a tragic figure, as he regularly faced fear and hatred wherever he went, despite the purity of his motives. Another tragic aspect of the comic was the forced separation of the Surfer and his ladylove, Shalla Bal, who still lived on their home planet of Zenn-La. But I don't want to give the impression that this comic book is all talk and no action. There is plenty of action, as the Surfer battles villains like the Stranger, the Abomination and his archenemy Mephisto. Through the typical Marvel Comics misunderstanding, he also battles heroes like Thor, Spider-Man and the Human Torch. All this is beautifully illustrated by John Buscema, with the exception of the last issue, which was drawn by Jack Kirby. This review ran longer than I intended, so I will wrap it up by recommending this book to all fans of Marvel Comics.
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