Essential Silver Surfer

Grade:

Essential Silver Surfer is one fine collection of stories. It collects the original series that was written by Stan Lee, from 1967-170. The Essential books are Marvels best idea in years. Reprint hard to find issues in black and white format. The problem with a lot of TPB's is that they leave out the issues which give the events context. This line gives you everything. This collectio gives you the original series, plus the first solo Silver Surfer story.

The problem with the surfer is that he just wallows in self pitty most of the time. All these issues are when he is stuck on earth, so don't expect the cosmic adventures. Still, for the price you get a lot. You get the origin, first appearance of Mephisto, and some great stories. One of the best is issue 14, where Spider Man decides to take down the surfer and in the end, learns an important lesson. Some issues are better than others, but Stan Lee is a gifted writer so average stories are entertaining to read.

Ultimately, the Surfer is just not interesting enough to carry a series. Unlike Spider Man or Hulk, who have social connection are more of a human touch, the Surfer is an outsider I never feel like I can connect. This collection does have some good points, and if you are a Fantastic Four fan, this might be a good collection to pick up, since the Surfer is so closely tied to that group.