SENTINEL Of The SPACEWAYS - Cover Grab-Bag...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

To complement Crivens' Cover Gallery posts about the SILVER SURFER over the years, I thought I'd remind you of this titanic trio of cataclysmic covers - just because I like them.  The first is FANTASY MASTERPIECES #1 from 1979, which reprinted 'ol NORRIN's premiere issue from the '60s.  Unfortunately, the stories in this series were abridged, with several pages being edited out for reasons of space.  How ironic, eh?  Denied space in the heavens - and the comicbooks.  At least they were 'square-bound', just like the originals. 

Next up is the 1982 one-shot by JOHN BYRNE, inked by terrific TOM PALMER.  It was an interesting issue, but not quite up there with the better issues by STAN LEE and JOHN BUSCEMA.  (Despite being scripted by Stan over a John Byrne plot.)  I bought two copies of this comic from the VIRGIN MEGASTORE in Glasgow back in '82, and remember perusing one of them on the train home.  A whole 44 years later, I still have them - in just as good a condition as when I first purchased them.  In fact, they're in better nick than I am.

Finally, one of the issues of the Silver Surfer's then-new, ongoing series launched in '87, this particular example being from '89.  RON FRENZ, doing a composite of Kirby/Buscema images as only he can.  Although it can sometimes be jarring to see a mixture of two different art styles, there was something very 'sixties' about Ron's covers which always appealed to me.  So, which of the three is your favourite, faithful Crivvies?  If you like all three, list them in order of preference and preserve your pictorial picks for posterity in our captivating comments section.

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If I have one complaint about the Surfer, it's that he never looked silver enough.  When Stan had characters refer to him as "Whitey", it never seemed as odd as it should've done on account of him looking white.  I'm sure, even back in the '60s, there must've been a way of suggesting a more silvery appearance.  Anybody else feel the same?  Anyway, enjoy the above covers.