Broken Frontier

At first glance, the Silver Surfer, and I don’t mean to be sacrilegious, appears a bit silly. After all, he is a silver plated man who rides a flying surf board. But beneath that exterior lies one of Marvel’s most entertaining and complex characters.

The Silver Surfer first appeared as a bit player, a lackey if you will, in the classic “Galactus Trilogy” in Fantastic Four #48-50. He was working for Galactus, a immeasurably powerful being who gained sustenance from the destruction of planets. Earth was to become his next target.

Rumor has it that the Surfer wasn’t even in the original outline of the story when Stan Lee gave it to Jack Kirby. Kirby added him, thinking someone as powerful as Galactus would have a herald to do the dirty work of finding planets for him to eat. (The surf board was created, supposedly, because Kirby was tired of drawing spaceships.)

Lee, the story goes, was taken by the nobility of Kirby’s drawing and created characterization to play into that nobility. The Surfer would be touched by the valiant struggle of the people of the Earth and rebel against his master. His efforts worked, the Earth was saved, but his punishment was that he became confined to Earth, never to soar the spaceways again.

Just as Lee was affected by Kirby’s drawing, readers were moved by both of the creator’s portrayal of the Surfer. The latest entry into the ranks of Marvel’s tortured heroes struck a chord with fans, and they clamored for more appearances of the character.

Marvel relented. The character appeared in guest shots in the Fantastic Four, Defenders and Thor. He would headline three ongoing series in five different decades and various miniseries and one-shots over the character’s existence. The latest arrives tomorrow—Silver Surfer: Requiem #1.

It’s not often that a character with such humble beginnings grows to such legendary status. The only others that I can think of off the top of my head is Robin, Punisher and Wolverine. They are all guest stars or supporting characters who have become stars in their own right, that have become a part of pop culture.

The Silver Surfer might be making his live-action debut in June’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, but he has appeared in films before. A character in the movie “Breathless” was seen reading an issue of Silver Surfer. A poster of the character hangs on the wall in a scene of Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs. And Tarantino penned a famous dialogue sequence in “Crimson Tide” around the metal plated alien.

The character has also appeared in a Saturday morning cartoon, on t-shirts, on CD artwork and as toys. His popularity extends beyond the realm of comicdom. He has become a universal symbol of cool. 

Marvel is promoting his appearance in the next FF film big time. They are issuing a Silver Surfer Omnibus, another volume of the Essential Silver Surfer, and the character will play a part in the Ultimate Fantastic Four series. People coming from the movie will have plenty of opportunity to catch the Surfer in comic book action.

But the keystone of Marvel’s offering would have to be requiem. Long-time in the making, it features a story by fan-favorite writer (and no stranger to sci-fi) J. Michael Straczynski and lovingly painted art work by Esad Ribic. The Marvel Knights’ tale, set outside of continuity, will detail the last days of the Surfer’s existence. It seems to be a tragic, final tale of a tragic figure, a fitting combination.

The tortured nobility of the Silver Surfer has made him one of Marvel’s most popular characters, one that has resonated for over 40 years with no signs of stopping. One who is finally getting the attention and kudos he deserves. 

Also out this week:

• Ultimate Fantastic Four #42

Speaking of the silver-plated wave-rider, the Surfer finally makes his official appearance in the Ultimate universe.

Readers of the Ultimate Nightmare/Secret/Extinction series are letting out a collective “What!?!” soon followed by saying the Silver Surfer aready appeared in those books, which composed the “Ultimate Galactus” storyline.

Marvel is countering by saying that even though it looked like the Silver Surfer and served the same purpose as the Silver Surfer, it wasn’t the Silver Surfer. This one is.

Needlesly confusing? Yes, it is. But with Mike Carey writing it, at least it will be a good story. Silver Surfer fans who are interested in the official Ultimate version of their favorite character would be best served to pick up this arc. 

Mike Carey (W), Pasqual Ferry (A), Marvel Comics, $2.99. Ongoing Series.

• The Boys #7

One gerbil. One little duct-taped gerbil was all it took for DC to realize that The Boys was going to be too hot for Wildstorm to handle. The company decided to cancel the series after it’s sixth issue.

So, the book that creator Garth Ennis claimed would “out-Preacher Preacher” was in need of a new home. DC Comics agreed to a special dispensation to allow artist and co-creator Darick Robertson, who had an exclusive contract with their company, to continue drawing the book wherever it landed.

Soon, Dynamite Entertainment stepped up to the plate, and now, over four months later, The Boys #7 arrives. I, for one, can’t wait. Sure, the book was graphic and adult in nature, but it is a dead-on skewering of not only superheroes, but pop culture in general. And the world needs all of that it can get.

Garth Ennis (W), Darick Robertson (A), Dynamite Entertainment, $2.99. Ongoing Series.

• KISS 4K #1

You wanted the best? You got the best!

Over the last three decades, fans of the glam rock band KISS who were also comic book fans asked that question above. And publishers as wide and varied as Marvel, Image, and Dark Horse have answered it. Now a new company responds to the call—Platinum Studios.

The theatrical personas of band members lend themselves to the world of superheroes. The Starchild (Paul Stanley), the Demon (Gene Simmons), the Celestial (originally Ace Frehley, now Tommy Thayer) and the King of All Beasts (originally Peter Criss, now Eric Singer) have appeared in many a comic demonstrating powers that tie-in to their costumes.

Fans of the band with $50 to spend might be interested in the “Destroyer Edition” of this book. It claims that it will be the world’s biggest comic, measuring in at 30 inches by 18 inches.

Ricky Sprague (W), Daniel Campos (A), Platinum Studios Comics, $3.99. Ongoing Series.

• Action Comics #850

There are several reasons why this particular issue interests me (and no, it’s not because Supergirl is drawn to look like WWE Diva Trish Stratus on the cover. Get your mind out of the gutter.)

First off, it’s an anniversary issue. More than that, it’s an “extra-sized” anniversary issue. I love when comic companies celebrate anniversaries. More than that, the issue guest stars the aformentioned Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes. It also promises to answer the question of how Supergirl gets back to the present from the 31st Century. On top of all that, it will reveal sneak peeks of future DC Universe storylines as the characters travel back through time. 

So, there is a little something for everyone in this issue. If you’ve given up on Action Comics until the Donner/Johns/Kubert arc restarts, you might want to make an exception for this arc. 

Kurt Busiek (W), Renato Guedes (A), DC Comics, $3.99. Ongoing Series.

• Spawn: Godslayer #1

One of the things that you have to give credit to Todd McFarlane for in his creation of the Spawn character is the malleability of the property. Spawn could feel at home in all kinds of stories—from science-fiction to superheroes, from horror to epic fantasy. It’s the last genre where this new series mainly takes place in.

This new, ongoing series follows last year’s popular Spawn: Godslayer one-shot, and re-imagines Spawn as a powerful being who is sent to kill the Gods that rule over the world of Ur. The series taps into a potent market as it tries to sell Spawn to fans of Elric, Lord of the Rings, World of Warcraft and Conan. The idea has proved successful enough to garner its own monthly series and surely will act as another notch on the belt of McFarlane’s success.

Brian Holguin (W), Philip Tan (A), Image Comics , $2.99. Ongoing Series. 

• Teen Titans #47

DC seems to have been inspired by the theme of last week’s column. It is using the death of a Teen Titan to spark interest for new writer Adam Beechen’s run on the title and to jump start the Countdown event to which the issue ties in to. What’s worse, it teases that Donna Troy and Nightwing might be the next targets.

So, who died? Since Mr. Grayson and Ms. Troy are mentioned in the solicitation, they’re probably safe. Wonder Girl plays a part in the Amazons Attack arc and Tempest is back in the pages of Aquaman, so it’s likely not them. Beast Boy, maybe? He’s not seen on the cover, if that means anything. If you are curious, and DC hopes that you are, you’re going to have to pick up the issue and find out for yourself, which DC hopes you’ll do.

Adam Beechen (W), Chris Batista & Edwin Rosewell (A), DC Comics, $2.99. Ongoing Series.

• Drawing from Life #1

Everyone probably knows Jim Valentino as one of the founders of Image. Most recognize him as the creator of Shadowhawk. Many may remember his run on Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy and What If? series’ in the 90s. A select few might be savvy enough to recall Valentino as the creator of the satiric Normalman title in the 80s.

But what you might not know is that Jim Valentino got his start in the late 1970s writing autobiographical stories for smaller presses. He returns to these roots with this series, which features tales, as the title aptly puts it, drawn from Valentino’s life. The stories run the gamut from his teenage adventures, behind-the-scenes accounts of his three decades in the business, and milestones involving his friends and family.

Jim Valentino (W/A), Image Comics, $3.50, Ongoing Series.

# # #

William Gatevackes is a professional writer living in Mamaroneck, NY with his wife Jennifer. He also writes periodic comic reviews for PopMatters and writes title descriptions for Human Computing’s Comicbase collection management software. Links to his writing can be found at his website, www.williamgatevackes.com.