Silver Surfer Epic Collection: Freedom (Epic Collection: Silver Surfer)

The Silver Surfer has always been one of those characters with great potential - immense power, a wistful, philosophical personality - but for much of his early existence, he was somewhat restricted by being confined to Earth. While this allowed for some great fish out of water perspective, those initial stories always seemed as if they weren't utilising the character to his full extent. Finally in the eighties, Norrin Radd was freed from his earthly confines and set free to roam the spaceways again, and it was glorious, bringing a real cosmic grandeur to the classic Marvel style. It is these space-faring stories that the aptly named Freedom, Volume 3 in the eventual complete Surfer chronology, collects.The book is a thicker and more satisfying tome than the already released Volume One, and covers a range of material from 1980 to 1990. The volume opens with a short story from a 1980 Epic Illustrated. Basically an extended philosophical conversation between the Surfer and his master Galactus, the piece is mostly notable for its gorgeously coloured art. After this we get the 1982 one-off extended issue by Stan Lee and John Byrne. Concerning the Surfer's latest attempt to escape from Earth, it sees our hero search for his lost love Shalla-Bal and battle an extremely powerful enemy with his very existence at stake. It's a treat both in script and art, and well worth inclusion here.The bulk of the book contains the first fourteen issues of the Surfer's 1987 ongoing series, and there is where the fun really starts. Writer Steve Englehart and artist Marshall Rogers finally release the hero from our planet and send him soaring across the cosmos. Subsequent stories take in vast, sweeping developments, such as the status of Shalla-Bal and his home planet, the stirrings of a second Kree-Skrull war, a plot by the immortal Elders of the Universe to rid the universe of Galactus, and romance with both Galactus's new herald Nova and Celestial Madonna-turned-plant-woman Mantis.Englehart has plots and energy to spare, and manages to insert some real pathos into the taciturn, usually reserved Surfer and his conflict between wanderlust and a need to belong. His struggles are on a far grander scale than the usual superhero, and with villains like the Elders and the Kree and Skrull empires, he has nemeses worthy of his power. Rogers, while not the greatest figure artist, has a real knack for cosmic vistas, with some quite lovely backdrops cropping up throughout the series.After the main section of the book, we have an issue of Super-Villain Classics, concerning the origin of Galactus expanded from the version Lee and Kirby gave us in a sixties issue of Thor, and a Marvel Fanfare giving us the original Englehart pitch for the series, an intriguing alternate take elevated to treat by the gorgeous John Buscema art.Included as extras are Silver Surfer articles from Marvel Age, the letters pages from the first three issues of the ongoing, and original art pages from Byrne and Rogers. It's a fantastic collection, and a must-have for fans of the more cosmic corners of the Marvel universe.

Fantastic selection of Silver Surfer stories

Back in the day, the Marvel crew must have been doing a lot of acid.Great collection, artwork reflects the era.

Enjoyable bedtime reading and thence to the charity shop.

Probably my favourite Epic collection so far. Having read these a few years ago, I knew that I had enjoyed the Surfer comics from this series, but had read them in digital form (from the GIT Corp DVD-Rom). Reading these again, there is much to be enjoyed here. First, you have one of Marvel's best writers in Englehart. He weaves a coherent and clever plot in these issues, but one that captures a sense of Surfer being part of an exansive universe which previous incarnations had failed to capture. It would be easy to attribute this to Surfer escaping his Earth-bound prison, but immediately we are thrust into an intergalactic war with Skrulls/Kree, a plot by the Elders, and an alliance with Galactus. Importantly, in the second issue Englehart deals with his original planet and provides a justification for Surfer moving on in the rest of the comic from his first love and his home world. Second, Marshall Rogers is an artist who is more known for his Batman work than his Marvel work and he delivers some really original and engaging art here. He redesigns the Surfer to a less built frame whilst capturing the essence of a man who is surfing through Space. It is a shame that he did not carry on with the art throughout this title. This is probably the best collection of Surfer stories and stands as an enjoyable read throughout. The comics which follow are also worth a read, and some of the seeds of the Infinity Gauntlet storyline are already in place here.The addition of the Byrne comic is fine, as well as the original story for the first issue which was published in Marvel Fanfare. It is also nice to see the origins of Galactus included. Overall, an excellent book and definitely recommended for anyone with an interest in Marvel's cosmic stories, especially for any Silver Surfer fans.

The story from Epic Illustrated looks great and it was interesting to read the '82 one-shot again. I could remember my frustration at the time with the ending where the Surfer was still trapped on Earth.The Englehart/Rogers stories are truly excellent and SV Classics is a great extra along wih MF #51. There's a shedload of bits and pieces at the back with articles and pin-ups from the likes of Marvel Age and Marvel Fanfare as well as art pages.Can't wait to get some more.