I found this tome for relative small money at my local shop, and the price was to good to pass up. Getting to see Big John's work in such a way only increases my life-long adoration for his work. While he had general disdain for his superhero work and there's no doubt that at some level Conan was a work of love, it's his Silver Surfer books which stand out to me when I think of him. He did so many great Avengers issues in several tenures on the book, but issues one through seventeen of this singular book always seemed to bring out the best. Maybe it's because Stan Lee always treasured these so highly and took great pains to husband the Surfer gently into the broader Marvel Universe after the departure of his creator Jack Kirby. Some have said this is some of Stan's best writing and I won't disagree, the melodrama is vibrant and Buscema was the ideal artist to bring it forth. No artist, living or dead, has ever drawn the Surfer's suffering with more potency.
Here are the issues in this over-sized tome of awesomeness.
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Great artist, but I always thought the Surfer on #1's cover was a bit stiff and flat. Yet look at him on #8 - much better. Wasn't it Romita who drew the cover on #5?
ReplyDeleteIt was indeed Romita. The cover submitted by Buscema was not deemed good enough and frankly I agree. I've added "Big" John's version to the post.
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Yeah, the lower half of the Stranger's body just isn't right. A rare clunker by big John. There are one or two clunkers in his Supes/Spidey team-up as well, but he made far fewer 'faux pas' than other artists.
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