The pencils of Jack “King” Kirby in “The Silver Surfer” (1978) – the very first Marvel graphic novel – vault so totally over the top that they overshadow any shortcomings of Stan Lee’s script, of which there are few.
Though this is the final work of his second and last stint at Marvel, Kirby is at the peak of his powers. The otherworldly form of the Silver Surfer is rendered in a way no film can ever capture or replicate. But there is also more here than fantastic art.
This book – the intended source material for a “Silver Surfer” movie that never materialized — retells (and alters) the character’s origin from “Fantastic Four” Issues 48-50 (1966), sans the Fantastic Four. (As such, this story is set on Earth-7888.)
“The Silver Surfer” (1978)
Marvel/Fireside
Tagline: “The Ultimate Cosmic Experience”
Series: Fireside Book Series Vol. 1 No. 11
Writer: Stan Lee
Pencils: Jack Kirby
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Colors: Glynis Wein
Setting: The star system Deneb and the planet Earth-7888 in contemporary times.
In the opening panel, the Surfer emerges from the hand of Galactus, an enormously powerful being whose only ambition is gobbling up life-bearing planets in order to appease his ceaseless hunger. He is not so much immoral as amoral; he exists to eat. His food is inhabited planets. We cannot truly judge him for this, for he simply acts in accordance with his natural inclinations – to satisfy his hunger.
The Silver Surfer is Galactus’ herald, seeking worlds for his master to gobble, and comes across a verdant orb – Earth. Immediately, it reminds our hero (formerly known as Norin Rad) of Zenn-La, his home planet. In examining Earth, he encounters a charming human female who reminds him of his own beloved, Shalla-Bal, observing, “How similar she is to my own once beloved Shalla-Bal! I must draw closer!”
The Surfer’s nostalgic madness
The Silver Surfer is a tortured hero. As we meet him he is an anti-hero, heralding the arrival of the unstoppable being who will consume the Earth as if it were a moist Twinkie. As the Surfer encounters the comely Earth female, his madness is hinted at. He knows his words are gibberish to the Earth woman, but still believes her to be Shalla-Bal.
If the Hulk’s flaw is rage, Tony Stark’s is the bottle and Thor’s is excessive hair product, then Silver Surfer’s flaw is misplaced loyalty to an unstoppable remorseless eater. His fidelity to Galactus links directly to his soft spot for his home planet. But that impetus has long since vanished and the Surfer has been thoughtlessly serving his master for eons. Perhaps anyone would go a little mad on such a mission.
The origin story
Long ago, Galactus had visited Zenn-La, the home planet of Norin Rad who offered to sacrifice himself so that his planet would be remain unmolested. Galactus accepted the offer and transformed Norin Rad into a semi-divine being who can pilot through space without a helmet, his silvery skin immune to radiation, his silvery surfboard a noiseless mechanism for interstellar flight.
When the Silver Surfer encounters Earth, he hallucinates a recollection of Shalla-Bal, but he also falls head over heels for the lovable Earthlings, despite their pettiness and immaturities. So he rebels against Galactus in order to save a second planet.
Initially, the ploy seems to work as Galactus abandons the Silver Surfer, departing and leaving the Earth alone. But even Galactus can have second thoughts. Before long, he returns to Earth for a final showdown with the Silver Surfer. The fate of the Earth hangs in the balance.