Discuss: Story Arcs You've Read Multiple Times

Doug: Name 'em, and tell us why! What brought you back, and how about your level of satisfaction on the re-read? And this might be fun -- where did you read these, either the first time or later? For example, you might have been on board for Fantastic Four #s 120-123 (Gabriel and Galactus), but you might have at some point read that story in Marvel Treasury Edition #21.

They Can't Match the Savage Surf - Silver Surfer 1 (1982)

Silver Surfer #1 (June 1982)
"Escape -- to Terror!"
Stan Lee/John Byrne-Byrne/Tom Palmer

Doug: For those of you still hanging with me after my reviews of some subpar fare from the Big Two (Thor #269 and The Joker #9), thank you! Today I promise I'm going to present a more positive experience -- and I hope you'll leave this space feeling buoyed as well. My choice today is a comic book that I actually did not know existed until I purchased the large tpb, Silver Surfer Epic Collection: Freedom. I bought it to replace my 1980s Silver Surfer series that went bye-bye in the "big sell-off" of my collection. I had enjoyed the Steve Englehart-Marshall Rogers collaboration in the early years of that series and wished to hold onto the stories. What I did not know is that it contains the story above, as well as the short tale from Epic Illustrated, "The Answer". Bonus, and bonus. So here we are. Let's get right down to business then.

100-Word Review: Alone and brooding in the former home of the Inhumans, the Silver Surfer reflects on his life since becoming the herald of Galactus. He decides to test Galactus’s barrier once more, only to be repelled. But seeing a strange beam arcing from the Earth toward the barrier, he pursues it until he encounters the Fantastic Four. Reed Richards believes he has found the means to free the Surfer from his fate. But there will be only one chance, and if reversed the barrier will revert. The Surfer flies through, and straight for Zenn-La. Once there, he is met as a traitor…

Obviously there was more to the plot than that -- after all, this issue was a 48-page monster! So to cheat just a bit, the Surfer encounters the father of his lost love, Shalla Bal. The old gentleman is not kind to Norrin Radd, telling a tale of a return to Zenn-La by Galactus. Although the space god had made a bargain with Norrin Radd, trading the planet's survival for Radd's tenure as the herald of Galactus, the Surfer's betrayal on Earth seemed to negate the deal. The Devourer no longer was compelled to avoid Norrin Radd's former home. But Galactus, not without honor, allowed the people of Zenn-La to evacuate the planet before its destruction. Once drained of its lifeforce, the people returned to nothing but desolation on their homeworld. When asked the location of his daughter, the father told the Surfer that she had been taken by one who exuded utter evil. At this point the Surfer became aware of his true enemy -- Mephisto. And it had always been Mephisto, even manipulating Dr. Doom some years before. Can you say: Showdown! 

The Good: Where to start? A script by Stan Lee over a plot by John Byrne, with art by Byrne and Tom Palmer? That's as good a place as any. This reads like a classic Silver Surfer book. No one writes the Surfer like Stan does -- and I'll say for better or worse, depending on your perspective. When I think of the Surfer I think of his nobility, his perseverance, his dedication to his true love and the hope that someday he'll see her again. Stan provides that. 

I mentioned that the book is long -- over twice as long as a standard 20-21 page comic. That was OK, although I did feel my stamina waning a time or two. I'm going to write that off to time of day during my reading rather than boredom. This was a really good story. I can probably argue with you about whether or not this was something I'd seen before (Silver Surfer #3 comes to mind, as does the Surfer graphic novel Judgment Day (published six years after this story)). I'm going to call it "comfort food", or a well-worn pair of blue jeans. 

Take the flashbacks, for example. Again as I mentioned, the Surfer's origin from Silver Surfer #1 is recapped, as are his early appearances in the Fantastic Four (circa #s 48-61) and the Dr. Doom 3-parter from FF #s 155-157. Sometimes I find this sort of thing, particularly if I know the prior stories, tedious. Yet here it's woven together in such a way that the historical elements fit seamlessly into the current context. Byrne thought this through, and knew his Marvel history. I think that's why I believed in the Surfer's passion to break the barrier, it's why I admired Reed Richards's selflessness in working tirelessly to design a means to get through the barrier, and why my heart leapt when the Surfer landed on Zenn-La and fell when he saw its condition. Comfort food.

There are images throughout the story that are just great. The Surfer's recoil upon striking the barrier at his fastest speed, the regality of Galactus, the aversion to the Surfer of the people of Zenn-La, the evil of Mephisto, and the beauty of Shalla Bal. Figure work, settings, pacing -- the artwork is fantastic throughout. Note the two images of Galactus above (one closer to the top, one immediately above to the right) -- see his power in all three panels, but note the emotion in the close-up. Stern, driven, surviving. Love it. And I could go on and on with what I liked, but let's face it -- not everything came up roses. So...

 

The Bad: Some of you might look at the art samples and think this is one darned good looking book. I concur. But, if you wanted a John Byrne Silver Surfer book, my sense is that like me you find Tom Palmer's inks overpower Byrne's pencils. I can see Byrne throughout in some of the figurework ("stock poses", if you will)... one example is in the horizontal panel above right where the Surfer reaches out to Shalla Bal. We've seen Byrne use that pose during just about any tenure on any book he's ever drawn. It's not bad at all -- I'm just saying that it's there that I am seeing him shining through Palmer's inks. Another example would be the facial movements of Shalla Bal's father's speech, also above right. Palmer is wonderful across the breadth of this story -- he is of course in that top tier of all inkers in the Silver and Bronze Ages. So I really have no complaints, just observations. And it's not so bad.

The Ugly: There was nothing about this story that would fall into this category. It was creatively pleasing, paid off satisfactorily, and had I purchased this from a newsstand or more likely a comic book store, I would have felt great about parting with my dollar.

I chose not to delve too deeply into the intricacies of the plot for this review, as once I started looking for images to scan I landed on full pages. While I don't show many pages that ran consecutively in the story, I think you can glean meaning from those that do appear. The page above right, with Shalla Bal now gifted with the power to restore life on Zenn-La would segue into the next Surfer project...

Marvel Comics has done us all a favor in publishing this Epic Collection line of trades. Each volume contains 20-25 issues, some organized by continuity, some by theme. The best aspect of this new line of trades is that they are not published in chronological order -- we can get our mitts on good stuff from throughout the Silver and Bronze Ages. The extras included, as in this trade, are excellent. At the conclusion of this volume is a full reprint of Marvel Fanfare #51, which contains a lengthy story by Steve Englehart, John Buscema, and Jack Abel. It's a presentation of an early version of the project that became Englehart's 1987 Silver Surfer series (in collaboration with Marshall Rogers). You know I'm the biggest John Buscema fan, but I'm grateful that Englehart took the Surfer where he did, rather than what appeared in Marvel Fanfare. Let's just say I was much happier with the reuniting with Shalla Bal, as opposed to settling down with a lady friend who incessantly refers to herself as "this one", and who also communes with plants. You know what I mean.

Who's the Best... Super-Villain in the Bronze Age? + Civil War Trailer #2!

Doug: I am going to request that today's answers be supported with some rationale based on dastardly doings that fell within our generally accepted parameters of 1970-85 (if you're new, we've had this dates conversation several times). For example, ol' Norman Osborn's Green Goblin could be at the top of someone's list because he killed Spidey's love, Gwen Stacy. That's pretty awful, hence it could surely qualify GG on a heinous "best" list. So give us some additional fodder for consideration after you make your nomination. Oh, and just because a particular devilish plan was thwarted should not keep us from talking about the intent of the do-badder.

Thanks!

Doug: And of course by now everyone (say it isn't so if you have not!!) has seen the second Captain America: Civil War trailer. It is a feast -- I am really excited for this flick! And, how about the reference in the clip to the cover featured below? How cool is that?

Surfing With the Alien - Silver Surfer: Judgment Day GN

Doug: An apology to those readers expecting to find the conclusion to our reviews of Frank Miller's Dark Knight graphic novel. As today approached Karen and I knew that we didn't have the review in the condition we desired. This has been a special series of conversations, and we hope you'll indulge our need to take a few extra days to "get it right". The review that follows was actually in the queue for next week, so we are just trading places with TDKR #4. Thanks, and enjoy!

Silver Surfer: Judgment Day (October 1988)(cover by Joe Jusko)
Stan Lee -John Buscema (plot by Buscema and Tom DeFalco)

Doug: Do you have this one? This is from the era when hardcover graphic novels seemed to become "a thing". Of course, this would also have been during the era when I was a sucker for any new presentation innovation that came my way -- not only hardcovers with dust jackets, but perfect binding, acetate covers, variant covers, etc. Yes, the 1990's were only a short time away! Besides the classic creative team, this book also boasts an unusuality (made that word up just now) in that it is told entirely in splash pages. If I recall, the fact that I was going to see John Buscema art at a larger size (8.5"x11.5") trumped the fact that despite it's 68 pages, I'd only be getting 68 Buscema panels.

Doug: I'm going to break today's review into some components. First, I'll start you off with a 100-Word Review in case you've not read this prior -- it's always important to know what the heck is going on, right? And then I think I'll just fall back to a common format I've used in the past, revealing my thoughts on The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of the book. So shall we begin?

The Surfer evades the clutches of Mephisto by denying himself three women seductively posed at a gateway, promising him anything he desires. He later meets up with and has a fun romp through space with Nova, the herald of Galactus. She also faces the same temptation of Mephisto, falling for it. Tricked into “loving” Galactus, Nova will do anything to please him. As she leads him to life-sustaining worlds, the Surfer knows something is awry. The story culminates in a battle royal in the depths of the Realm of Flame and Darkness as Galactus comes to reclaim his lost herald.

The Good: It would be a coin flip, with a coin that has many sides to try to decide what I liked best about this story -- Stan Lee with the character he fancied his own and writing him as such, the pulse-pounding pencils of Big John Buscema, the presence of Galactus, or the messianic Norrin Radd tempted in the wilderness of Mephisto. All of these things conspire to make a really fun story. Stan wrote a preface, and in it he remarked, "To say that this volume is a "first of its kind" is to not fully do it justice. It is truly a watershed moment in the history of publishing. Visually, stylistically, dramatically and artistically, John Buscema and Marvel Comics have made a totally unique contribution to the illustrated epic genre." You would have been disappointed if Stan had not employed a little bombasticism, wouldn't you?

Buscema's art is a wonder. Of course every page is packed with energy, every figure rendered by a master of anatomy. The grotesque characters are just that, yet the peaceful denizens of a doomed planet are cute little humanoids, ugly in a different way. Mephisto is a villain deserving of a treatment similar to Victor von Doom; he gets that in every appearance under Buscema's pencil. At times I've thought that Jack Kirby's fascination with the gods has been balanced with the ghoulishness (oozing with bad intentions) of Buscema's demonic characters. And we get what we pay for when we read a JB Surfer comic -- Norrin Radd is lithe and noble, Galactus is imperious and densely built, and Mephisto is delightfully devilish. Oh, and did I mention that the women are voluptuous?

However, and maybe this is where I segue to the next section of my thoughts, I am not always the biggest advocate of JB inking himself. I am placing this paragraph in the "good" category basically because a happy John Buscema (and he was when he did the full art chores) should make us all happy. But I got a little Vinnie Colletta vibe from some of the art now and again -- not that Vinnie's all bad. The man has a reputation, but I think we've all enjoyed his work many times over (OK, maybe not when erasing Kirby Thor pages). Buscema's brushwork just seems a little feathery or sketchy in some panels. His faces and figures don't really lose any majesty... but it's just not as polished as I'd like it. Some of us have said Joe Sinnott could bury a guy. But the finished product always looked slick, right?

The Bad: As big a fan as I am of Buscema's art in just about any genre, I've always found a quibble here and there with his faces. It's almost like he sometimes forgets what emotion should be conveyed and instead a character will be left with a facial expression akin to "Uhhhhhhhhhh..." Galactus seems this way a time or two, as do the Surfer and Nova. It's not a huge deal, and I wouldn't say it detracts from the overall enjoyment of the story. But it's noticeable. I've provided several examples of the Big G in various fits of boredom and rage. Please judge for yourself -- maybe I'm off base.

There was a mention of Shalla Bal, and of course the Surfer pined for her. We get it, dude. Even in 1988, it had been 20 years. C'mon, bro...

I found the plot point of Nova being manipulated by the Prince of Darkness to the reality that she would bring Galactus to worlds with sentient life an uncomfortable element of the read. Much as I was drawn into the horror of such a reality with Galactus's unceasing hunger, I must say that perhaps this belongs in the section above. Lee and Buscema wanted to raise the stakes and invest the reader in the story by playing on the sensibilities of a civilized morality; they achieved that.

The Ugly: Mephisto and his demons. That's about it! There wasn't anything about this story, the design of the book, the price point (a steal even back in 1988 at $14.95) -- nothing -- that would fall into this category. Count me a satisfied customer. BONUS -- Below is the cover to the paperback edition of this graphic novel. Which cover (both by Joe Jusko) do you like more?

And Then I Saw It...

Doug: Venture with me to those days of yesteryear, when the men were men and the boys (and girls) got all wide-eyed and giddy when they entered the aisle at the supermarket with the magazine rack. Yep -- I'm talking about the Bronze Age, baby, with no Internet, no Diamond Previews, nothing at all to tell a poor soul what magnificent four-color love was about to enter my life. I have three distinct memories (among others) to share.

Doug: The first breath-taking moment I'll relate occurred at the Thrif-t-Mart on Broadway in Bradley, IL in the summer of 1977. Eleven-year old Doug was along with Mom on the weekly grocery run. As was my habit, I'd make my way over to the magazines and paperbacks. I felt all grown up looking at Parade, Creem, and their ilk. I was most enraptured by anything I could find that featured KISS. And then I saw it, right there on the bottom shelf just begging to be picked up: Marvel Super Special #1, starring KISS. Wowza. I grabbed it, leafed through it quickly, and then made a mad dash to the meat counter where I found my Mom. You may not think $1.50 is a lot of money, but back in those days that was "begging and pleading" money. But as she usually did, she said to put it in the cart. Yes!!!

Doug: Chronologically, my next moment came just a short while later, and it was a "twofer", so even better yet. I was at Belscot, a discount department store (sort of like a Wal-Mart or K-Mart) in Kankakee, IL. Not sure why that particular trip was being made, but you guess it -- I stole away to the magazines. And that store had a huuuuuuge magazine rack full of all sorts of goodies. On that particular day the pot o' gold happened to be Justice League of America #s 147 and 148! Not a regular JLA reader at the time, I had been however digging the Legion of Super-Heroes as well as the Justice Society revival in the pages of All-Star Comics. So to see all three teams in a throwdown, and against Mordru, was 10 tons of awesome right there. And again, the combined $1.20 price tag didn't seem to faze Mom and I walked out with all that comic book goodness.

Doug: Lastly, and this was also at Belscot but a few years later, I vividly remember having my senses shattered from a distance when Marvel Treasury Edition #21 met my eyeballs. We mentioned this one a few days ago -- the twice-up (that's original art talk to you) presentation of Fantastic Four #s 120-123 is spectacular. The John Buscema/Joe Sinnott art is worthy of the size, and what a grabber the cover is! And talk about pushing my luck... at $2.00 I'm sure I had to pledge to do some extra work around the house. But I exited the premises with that tome in my clutches -- you know I did!

Doug: I could go on, about the time I saw the Spider-Man novel, the first in that series, or the paperback that reprinted the first few issues of Amazing Spider-Man in color, or the similar offerings from DC that presented early tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes. But that's what you're here for -- to share those memories etched in your childhood's memories. I'm looking forward to it.

Judgment Day: Marvels 3

Marvels #3 (March 1994)
"Judgment Day"
Kurt Busiek-Alex Ross

NOTE: As in the past, we're apologizing up front for the quality of the art scans in today's post. Doug happened to have a digital copy of today's featured issue, but in attempting to convert the images for use some distortion took place. Hopefully you'll still get some utility from our images.

Doug: It's funny how a mood can change, even on the same subject matter. Two weeks ago Karen led off our comments on Marvels #2 by stating that she had a real sense of melancholy after reading that book. I'd argue that her (and mine, as well) feelings were due in no small part to the ugly way in which the citizens of New York's Homo sapiens community reacted to the coming genetic apocalypse allegedly to be wrought by Homo so-called superior. The dominant thread in today's fare is also the apocalypse -- yet I found myself on the edge-of-my-seat giddy as I re-read this for perhaps the fourth time. Alex Ross, in paying tribute to the source material of Jack Kirby and Joe Sinnott, really knocked the Galactus storyline out of the park.

Karen: I suppose it's stating the obvious to say there are a lot of strong visuals in this issue. But it deals with one of the most significant storylines in comics history. 

Doug: I'm trying to think of another Marvel story that would be splash-page worthy (the equivalent of Elaine Benes' "sponge worthy"), and I don't think there is one. Stan, Jack, and Joe truly crafted a tale of universe-shaking proportions and the decision to retell it in full pages was a stroke of genius! Every one of the 8+ full-pagers contains so much majesty, so much peril...

Karen: I like the way those spectacular scenes are juxtaposed with those of everyday people, including Phil Sheldon, dealing with what may very well be their last day on Earth. For all that Ross is adept at portraying epic moments, he gets all the little ones right too. 

Doug: The other thread running not only through this issue but the two previous installments is the personality of Phil Sheldon. We noted from the get-go that he has some hang-ups. Early on, it was feelings of inadequacy that led him to postpone his wedding with his fiance' Doris. Now here, 25 years later (real time, which seems about right -- Ross draws Sheldon as looking to be around 50), he's as absent from his domestic situation as any superhero. When I think of how many times Peter Parker stood up his aunt, or Gwen, or Mary Jane, it seems that Sheldon has done that just as often to his wife and two daughters. And even when he's home he seems to be emotionally barren to them.

Karen: He appears to have obsessed on the 'Marvels' -- is he a reflection of the reader? The issue sets  up his disconnect with his wife and family, but then through the crisis with Galactus, Phil seems to recognize that they are more important to him than his job, or chronicling the doings of the super-beings. Yet, at the end, he leaves his family again to get pictures of Count Nefaria. So what has really changed? He criticizes his fellow citizens for not showing the Fantastic Four, and the other Marvels, the respect they deserve, yet how much respect does he show his family? I don't know -- I just can't figure out how I feel about Phil, honestly.

Doug: I agree. He seems duty-bound, as the heroes he wishes to portray on film. And I cannot decide if he is in love/awe of the Marvels from an existential standpoint, or if it is the potential to profit off their existence with his proposed book of photographs that drives him. Why does he continue to take the photos? He's good at it -- much better than Peter Parker, for example, simply because Sheldon has to work at it. Unlike Parker, he doesn't have the luxury of suspending some high-tech camera from a lamp post while the action takes place. Does he drive himself, indeed putting himself in harm's way over and over because he is obsessed with being a part of this epoch in human history, or is it the lure of financial gain, of financial independence in his golden years that pushes him to place all his energies on his vocation? The character does bother me in that I don't feel like I can get a handle on who he is and what he's all about. Your point about the potential that he is a reflection of the reader, of the comic fan who can't get enough is interesting. Might Phil Sheldon be a "real life" completist?

Karen: That's where I was coming from. With each issue his need to get closer to the Marvels, to make others understand their importance and share his obsession, seems to grow. Although I think he does want to profit from them, his motives seem to be based more from hero worship or even a quasi-religious drive -and doesn't that sound like fandom at its worst?

Doug: So aside from the Sheldon interest, another aspect of this series that continues to captivate me is the research that Busiek and Ross did in crafting their plot. Right from the splash page, there are a bazillion bits and pieces of Marvel history on display. It's really visually appealing to see it presented as if it were real -- and the inclusion of newsmen we know such as a very young Tom Brokaw and John Chancellor adds authenticity to this man-on-the-street perspective.

Karen: Oh, indeed, the effort that went into weaving together all of those past tales was impressive. The book I'm using has an index in the back that lists all the comics they drew upon for each issue of Marvels. For the splash page alone, they reference  Avengers #16, and Tales of Suspense #s 66, 69-72. It made me so curious, I looked at those Iron Man stories on my DVD and saw that Stan Lee and Don Heck stretched out a fight between Iron Man and the Titanium Man over three issues! 

Doug: And speaking of perspective, I know you and I and certainly some of our readers have criticized some of Ross's questionable lay-outs on his Marvel 75th anniversary covers. I don't have that problem in Marvels #3 at all -- in fact, during the entire Galactus sequence is made even more dramatic due to the way Ross renders the crowd scenes. His shots looking straight down on the spectators adds tremendous scale to the battle atop the Baxter Building, and the times he uses an upshot to show Sheldon and the other journalists from their skyscraper windows is equally effective.

Karen: I went back and looked at Fantastic Four #48-50 to see those original scenes and it's really amazing to see the way Ross takes what Kirby and Sinnott did and then interprets it. He's very faithful to the source -- the shot of Galactus blasting the Torch, you still have the thick, billowing black smoke, for example, but in Ross' composition, we have both Galactus and the Torch in the same frame, giving us a sense of the space god's size. Or when Reed curls into a ball and knocks Galactus off the Baxter Building momentarily, we get the shot from a slightly different angle, with Galactus' foot in our face, again, giving a sense of size. The full page shot of him halting his fall , floating above the Manhattan streets, is spectacular. Another item of note: Ross is completely faithful when reproducing Kirby's wild machinery -- I checked and every odd screw, coil, and gizmo is copied exactly!

 

Doug: What did you think of Ross's Peter Parker? He's certainly snarky-looking, which fits that scene perfectly. But I'll tell you -- I got a real Andrew Garfield vibe off Pete. And you know how I'd feel about that!

Karen: Oh, I laughed, but you can understand Phil's ire! And yes, Andrew Garfield could have played that scene well.

Doug: Lastly, we'd be remiss if we didn't hit on a few of the cameos in this issue. In addition to the above named journalists, did you catch the Monkees? 

Karen: Oh yeah, of course, how could I miss Mike Nesmith's beanie hat? There were a lot of faces that looked familiar, but I couldn't place them. Maybe it's just due to Ross' realism. As one of our readers mentioned, I do think Ross makes Foswell look like Don Knotts. I thought Kurt Busiek himself was a reporter in one panel. I also thought the man in the restaurant bar behind Phil's family on the next to last page might have been Stan Lee, but not so sure about that one.

Doug: Yes to all those, and then some. And Ross even managed to work his father, Clark Ross, into a crowd scene -- years before he would be the model for Norman McKay, the cipher in DC's Kingdom Come! I can't tell you how strange it was to meet Mr. Ross at an art gallery show in Chicago that featured Alex's DC Comics work -- the page cometh to life!

Doug: Join us in two weeks for the conclusion, a portrayal from Busiek and Ross that I feel was just as gut-wrenching as the Conway/Kane/Romita/Mortellaro source material.