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XXL
XXL books are a minimum 39 cm (15.4 in.)

Marvel Comics Library. Silver Surfer. Vol. 1. 1968–1970

200Edition: EnglishAvailability: In Stock

Soar across the cosmos with one of Marvel’s most far-out characters! All 18 Silver Surfer stories from the 1968 series by Stan Lee and John Buscema (with a final issue drawn by Jack Kirby) are collected in this galactic-sized volume from the Eisner Award-winning Marvel Comics Library, each page meticulously photographed from the rarest pedigreed comics.

About the Series

Famous First Edition: First printing of 5,000 numbered copiesHardcover11.0 x 15.6 in.10.48 lb706 pages

“Imagine a book so big and magical that you could almost use it as a surfboard to ride the entire galaxy.”

Surfer Today

“TASCHEN’s Marvel Comics Library represents a sincere respect and appreciation for comics history.”

Comic Book Resources

“The latest volume in TASCHEN's Marvel Comics Library is a breathtaking celebration of Stan Lee and John Buscema's legendary Silver Surfer series. The colors are absolutely stunning – [it’s] one of the best looking at most accurate reproductions of the original artwork.”

Comic Book Resources

“Nobody does opulent coffee table books like TASCHEN, and this is no exception. But it’s not so much opulent as it is ridiculously cool. Form follows function, with a majority of the book printed on paper stock that feels something like the newsprint of the original comics, only better quality. Worth the splurge.”

Esquire

“A giant-sized, more than perfect reprint of the original classic. This thing is massive and a collector’s dream.”

Comic Book
“We had created a comic book for the older reader, for the more literate, more perceptive, more cognizant fan.”
Stan Lee
XXL
XXL books are a minimum 39 cm (15.4 in.)
Marvel Comics Library. Silver Surfer. Vol. 1. 1968–1970

Marvel Comics Library. Silver Surfer. Vol. 1. 1968–1970

200

Sentinel of the Spaceways

The Silver Surfer’s most cosmic stories collected in a single volume

Introduced by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in the fertile pages of The Fantastic Four, the Silver Surfer quickly established himself as one of Marvel’s most far-out characters. Enslaved by Galactus to prowl the cosmos for the demi-god’s next planet-sized meal, the Surfer was as tragic a figure as any in comics—and he looked impossibly cool at the same time! A smash hit with fans and a regular supporting character in Fantastic Four, the character struck a creative nerve with Lee, who couldn’t wait to begin to tell some Surfer solo stories, but the timing had to be right.

In the spring of 1968, things came together for both writer and character, with Lee giving the Surfer Marvel’s very first ongoing double-sized book. Lee also recruited artist John Buscema, who had recently been lending his extraordinary pencils to The Avengers. Together, they spun off a run of legendary tales that helped define the character forevermore.
The feature stories from the entire 18-issue run of the 1968 Silver Surfer series are collected in this cosmic-sized XXL tome from the Eisner Award-winning Marvel Comics Library series. The most pristine pedigreed comics have been cracked open and photographed for reproduction in close collaboration with Marvel and the Certified Guaranty Company. Each page has been photographed as printed more than half a century ago, then digitally remastered using modern retouching techniques to correct problems with the era’s inexpensive, imperfect printing—as if hot off a world-class 1960s printing press. A custom paper stock was exclusively developed for this series to simulate the feel of the original comics.
Texts by author and critic Douglas Wolk and Marvel artist and brother of John Buscema, Sal Buscema, accompany original artwork, photographs, and rare memorabilia.



© 2023 MARVEL
The artists

John Buscema (1927–2002) began working for Timely Comics in 1948 drawing Westerns, crime comics, and horror/suspense. He left comics for commercial art but returned to Marvel in 1966, establishing at Marvel a singular style of elegance and realism. His long list of credits includes The Silver Surfer, The Avengers, Sub-Mariner, The Fantastic Four, and numerous Conan the Barbarian stories. In 1978, he collaborated with Stan Lee on a landmark instructional book How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way.

Stan Lee (1922–2018) is known to millions as the man whose super heroes propelled Marvel to its preeminent position in the comic book industry. His co-creations include Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, and hundreds of others. While the Chairman Emeritus of Marvel, he was also the Chief Creative Officer of POW! Entertainment, where he created numerous new characters and stories in areas including publishing, film, reality TV, stage, documentary, and multimedia.

The author

Douglas Wolk is a multiple-Eisner-winning author of All of the Marvels and Reading Comics and has written about comics and pop music for The New York Times, Time, The Washington Post, Rolling Stone, and The Believer, among others. He teaches comics history at Portland State University. 

The contributing author

Sal Buscema is one of the most prolific comic artists in Marvel history, with long runs on titles like Incredible Hulk, The Avengers, The Defenders, and Thor. His first work at Marvel was inking The Silver Surfer. He helped launch the series The Spectacular Spider-Man in 1976 and returned to the title years later to pencil and ink a much-lauded 100-issue run. In the 1990s, he helped make Spider-Girl one of the most talked about titles of the era. 

Marvel Comics Library. Silver Surfer. Vol. 1. 1968–1970
Hardcover28 x 39.5 cm4.75 kg706 pages

ISBN 978-3-8365-9651-0

Edition: English
Download product images here

The Marvel Comics Library has earned well-deserved raves from comic collecting diehards for combining an old school comic book reading experience with a luxurious oversized book format, winning the industry’s coveted Eisner Award for Best Publication Design. These XXL collectors’ dreams, close in size to the original artwork, feature comics sourced from collecting greats Shelton Drum and Bob Bretall. Rather than recolor the original artwork (as has been done in previous decades’ reprints of classic comics), TASCHEN has attempted to create an ideal representation of these books as they were produced at the time of publication. The most pristine pedigreed comics have been cracked open and photographed for reproduction in close collaboration with Marvel and the Certified Guaranty Company. Each page has been photographed as printed more than half a century ago, then digitally remastered using modern retouching techniques to correct problems with the era’s inexpensive, imperfect printing—as if hot off of a world-class 1960s printing press. A custom paper stock was exclusively developed for this series to simulate the feel of the original comics. The library offers collectors a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to lay their hands on the world’s most desirable comics. Each volume includes an essay by a comic book historian alongside archival photographs, ephemera, and original comic book artwork.

5

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1 Rating

Galaktischer Weltenreiter

Highlightzone,October 29, 2023
Taschen feierte bereits die ersten Comicauftritte von Spider-Man, den Avengers, den Fantastic Four und den X-Men in überformatigen Büchern ab. Hierbei handelt es sich Comics aus den frühen Jahren mit den von Jack Kirby gezeichneten ersten Abenteuer der ganz großen Marvel-Helden, die auch heute noch im Comic und im Kino ihre Abenteuer erleben. Taschens Band über den Silver Surfer enthält nicht die ersten Comics mit dieser faszinierenden Figur. Seinen ersten Auftritt hatte der galaktische Weltenreiter 1966 in Heft 48 der Serie Fantastic Four. Um seinen Heimatplaneten Zenn-La vor der Zerstörung durch Galactus zu schützen, trat er in dessen Dienste. Fortan suchte er nach Ersatz-Nahrung für das sich von Planeten ernährende Wesen. Ab August 1968 erhielt der Silver Surfer eine eigene Serie, die von Stan Lee geschrieben und von John Buscama gezeichnet wurde. Ein zentrales Motiv war, das Entsetzten, dass der Silver Surfer über das nur selten humane Verhalten der Menschheit empfindet. Der Taschen-Band enthält alle 18 Hefte der Serie, wobei letzteres von Jack Kirby gezeichnet wird. Dieses ist nicht gerade der krönende Abschluss, der Serie, denn der sich an Hal Foster (Prinz Eisenherz) und Burne Hogarth (Tarzan) orientierende John Buscama arbeitet in einen sehr viel feineren und detaillierteren Stil als der sehr viel gröber arbeitende Kirby. Als Vorwort enthält dieser Band einen Text von Sal Buscema, der sehr häufig die Zeichnungen seines Bruders geinkt hatte und dessen Kunstfertigkeit in den höchsten Tönen lobt. Diese kommt dank des Überformat von 28 x 39,5 cm bestens zur Geltung. Zum Abdruck der Titelbilder und Backcover wurde Hochglanzpapier und für die Innenseiten Offsetpapier mit matter Oberfläche verwendet. Als Anhang gibt es noch eine praktische Übersicht mit “Storylines & Credits“. Hier ist zu erfahren, wer an den jeweiligen Heften mitarbeitete. Hinzu kommen Inhaltsangaben und jeweils eine Übersicht darüber, wer in den jeweiligen Heften seinen ersten Auftritt im Marvel-Universum hatte. Die 18 Comichefte sind in englischer Sprache enthalten, inklusive der ebenfalls recht amüsanten Leserbriefseiten und Werbeanzeigen, Bei den ersten sieben Heften fehlt leider, die darin ebenfalls enthaltene Comicserie Tales oft the Watcher. Doch ansonsten ist auch dieser Prachtband, die perfekte Möglichkeit, um die Faszination der frühen Marvel-Comics zu vermitteln und zu feiern.