The Silver Surfer: The Ultimate Cosmic Experience! (Fireside, 1978)

Today I'd like to bring up a comic that -- amazingly enough, has never gotten the attention it's deserved. Almost forgotten actually, and that should be a crime because it's a true-blue Stan Lee and Jack Kirby classic. It's also one of the first original Marvel Graphic Novels, and it's called The Silver Surfer: The Ultimate Cosmic Experience!

The Silver Surfer is a character that not only carries a special significance to his creators, but also caused a source of contention between them. He will always be known for his role as Galactus' Herald in the epic "Galactus Trilogy" which appeared in Fantastic Four #48-#50. However, when Stan first saw the character in Kirby's sketchbook, he said "Jack, this time you've gone too far". Kirby had envisioned the character as an alien creature of pure energy, curious about human emotions such as love and hate. But as Stan grew to appreciate the Surfer, he wrote an entirely different background for him, as a man who paid the ultimate sacrifice to save the woman he loved.

Stan and Jack clashed over which version of the character was better, and eventually Stan created a new Silver Surfer series...with artist John Bucsema, detailing an origin that was entirely different from the one Kirby had devised and had already partially drawn. The relationship between Stan and Jack inevitably deteriorated, and in 1971 Jack Kirby left Marvel to join with rival DC Comics.

The collaborations between these two legendary comic creators could very well have been said and done after that. But integrity and mutual respect still existed between them (after all, they created some of the best characters ever seen in comics). And when Kirby's contract was up at DC, they agreed to work with each other again. Surprisingly enough, they decided on a Silver Surfer graphic novel featuring a re-envisioned story -- one they believed would re-establish the character with a spiritual, mystical quality -- an aspect they hoped would separate him from other superheroes.

The Silver Surfer: The Ultimate Cosmic Experience!, hit store shelves in 1978. At the time, Fireside Books had a deal with Marvel to release various reprints of Marvel titles in graphic novel format. Marvel had no idea what to do with a 114-page Silver Surfer story, and ended up soliciting Fireside in publishing the Silver Surfer graphic novel, becoming the first Fireside/Marvel book to feature original content in that format.

The story reintroduces the Silver Surfer's plight as Galactus' herald and his discovery of Earth. As he arrives, the Surfer realizes the worth of three billion human lives is too much to waste on the hunger of his master. The Surfer tries to stop Galactus from destroying the planet, and thus begins an epic battle between them, with Earth as their battleground. The Fantastic Four (or any of Earth's other superheroes for that matter) are nowhere to be found.

Galactus punishes the Surfer and discards him as his herald, leaving him powerless on Earth. There, he takes human form and learns more about humans and their strange emotions, such as anger and fear. Eventually he regains his powers, and meets another cosmic being: Ardina, Galactus' new herald.

Ardina tries to seduce him, in hopes that he will abandon Earth. Initially this fails, but the Surfer is unable to escape her presence. Ardina wields a power to transcend distance, allowing her to follow the Surfer wherever he goes. A romance is formed and the Surfer begins to experience the strong emotion of love, but Galactus has other plans for these new found emotions in an ending I'll refuse to spoil here.

Kirby had originally drawn a fantastic cover for the book, but a publishing issue between Marvel and Fireside somehow resulted in Earl Norem's painted version of Kirby's drawing instead. With the book released, Stan and Jack had hoped to shock fans with their new interpretations of both the Silver Surfer and Galactus. What they got was a mixture of confusion and disappointment. Where was the Fantastic Four? The Watcher? Who is Adrina? Is this a love story? This is not canon!

What the naysayers were missing was that this was the perfect blend of both Stan and Jack's aspirations for the character, with Jack's vision of the Surfer's quest for human emotions intertwined with Stan's vision of an ultimate sacrifice made out of love. To witness this unification between Stan and Jack is simply amazing to behold. And in that aspect, they pulled it off. A story doesn't necessarily have to stay in continuity to be good. It's just a comic, after all.

Another problem was that, due to the nature of the format being so new, most readers discarded the book as a reprint of earlier Silver Surfer stories. Even today, you can clearly see the confusion in Amazon reviews (seen here). Luckily, the book has not escaped all praise. Some consider this story as one of the last great Stan Lee scripts, while others have been able to appreciate the concept and Kirby's amazing artwork.

In any case, the book went out of print and has never been reprinted to this date. It's become a sort of forgotten classic ever since. It's quite possible there is a publishing issue in the way, between Simon & Schuster and Marvel. If that's true, it's unfortunate. This is a book that deserves a reprint in a deluxe, large-sized hardcover format.

In the meantime, some might have luck finding a copy of the original on eBay or Amazon. Many of these are way overpriced, so be careful. You should be able to find a very good or better copy for around $30, and I'd say it's well worth it. Because if there was ever one Stan Lee and Jack Kirby comic that deserved more attention, it's this one.

Here's a few pages I scanned from the book. Enjoy!