Back Issue #135 Preview

™ June 2022

No.135

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82658 00458

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Silver Surfer TM All Rights Reserved.

Superman TM&&©©Marvel.

DC Comics.

All Rights Reserved.

$10.95

JACK KIRBY’s Silver Star • SCOTT HAMPTON’s Silverheels • Silver Sable Silver Banshee villain history • featuring BUSIEK, BUTLER, DeFALCO, ENGLEHART, FRENZ, NICIEZA, PURCELL, ROSS & more!

Volume 1, Number 135 June 2022 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Eury Comics’ Bronze Age and Beyond!

PUBLISHER John Morrow DESIGNER Rich Fowlks

COVER ARTISTS Ron Frenz and Joe Sinnott (Commissioned illustration from the collection of Bernd Philipp. Art scan courtesy of Scott Kress and Catskill Comics.)

COVER COLORIST Glenn Whitmore

PROOFREADER David Baldy SPECIAL THANKS Tom Brevoort Kurt Busiek Shaun Clancy Tom DeFalco Steve Englehart Epic Marvel Podcast Kurtis Findley Timothy Finney Stephan Friedt Grand Comics Database Bob Hall Scott Hampton Allan Harvey Karl Heitmueller, Jr. Heritage Comics Auctions Chris Ivy Scott Kress/ Catskill Comics

Jean-Marc Lofficier Ed Lute Ralph Macchio Robert Menzies John Morrow Tom Palmer, Sr. Thomas Powers Norrin Radd Bill Reinhold Linda Lessmann Reinhold Alex Ross Josef Rubinstein Diana Schutz David Scroggy Joe Staton

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PRO2PRO ROUNDTABLE: The Silver Surfer’s Surfin’ Safari . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Creators with an insider’s perspective look at the Surfer’s Bronze Age one-shots and special issues FLASHBACK: The Rise of Silver Star . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Created late in Jack Kirby’s career, this pioneering character got another shot at stardom decades later BEYOND CAPES: Silverheels: Scott Hampton’s Painted Treasure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 The illustrator recalls his 1983 short-lived Pacific Comics miniseries ART GALLERY: The Silver Surfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Featuring Buscema, Frenz, Hall and Rubinstein, Lim, and other awesome artists FLASHBACK: The Silver Surfer, Beyond the Bronze Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 The 1987 revival that rebooted Marvel’s Cosmic Universe WHAT THE?!: Drake’s Cakes Silver Surfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 This little-known Silver Surfer issue may also be the smallest Surfer comic!

PRINCE STREET NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Cartoonist Karl Heitmueller, Jr. remembers the stuff he misses in comic books BRING ON THE BAD GUYS: Silver Banshee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 A history of the Superman/Supergirl villainess who’s really a scream FLASHBACK: Silver Sable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Out of the pages of Amazing Spider-Man comes a Mighty Marvel mercenary BACK TALK: Reader Reactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 BONUS FEATURE: Hostess Comic Ads Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 BACK ISSUE™ issue 135, June 2022 (ISSN 1932-6904) is published monthly (except Jan., March, May, and Nov.) by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614, USA. Phone: (919) 449-0344. Periodicals postage pending at Raleigh, NC. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Back Issue, c/o TwoMorrows, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614.

Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief. John Morrow, Publisher. Editorial Office: BACK ISSUE, c/o Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief, 112 Fairmount Way, New Bern, NC 28562. Email: euryman@gmail.com. Eight-issue subscriptions: $90 Economy US, $137 International, $39 Digital. Please send subscription orders and funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial office. Cover art by Ron Frenz and Joe Sinnott. Silver Surfer © Marvel.

Other characters © their respective companies. All Rights Reserved. All editorial matter © 2022 TwoMorrows and Michael Eury except Prince Street News, © Karl Heitmueller, Jr. Printed in China. FIRST PRINTING.

Silver Issue • BACK ISSUE • 1

The Silver Surfer by Ron Lim, with inks and colors by Joe Rubinstein. From the collection of Shaun Clancy. Silver Surfer TM & © Marvel. Art © Ron Lim and Joe Rubinstein.

COVER DESIGNER Michael Kronenberg

Sentinel of the Spaceways! (left) Marvel’s original Silver Surfer book died after 18 issues, relegating the Surfer to guestappearances for much of the Bronze Age. (right) Stan Lee and Jack Kirby reunited for Simon & Schuster’s 1978 Silver Surfer graphic novel. Cover by Earl Norem. (opposite, left) Marvel rebooted Fantasy Masterpieces in 1979 to reprint for Bronze Age readers the original Silver Surfer series. It ran for 14 issues. (opposite, center) Fans went wild when Lee and John Byrne (with Tom Palmer finishes) produced this Silver Surfer oneshot in 1982. (opposite, right) Silver Surfer as high art, with Moebius joining Lee for a 1988 two-issue miniseries under Marvel’s prestigious Epic imprint.

TM & © Marvel.

2 • BACK ISSUE • Silver Issue

by

To m P o w e r s

From 1978 to 1991, the Silver Surfer experienced a second surge of popularity, as he evolved from being a supporting player in such series as The Fantastic Four and The Defenders to having his new ongoing title launch in 1987 and later serving as a major heroic contender in the Marvel Universe throughout The Infinity Gauntlet era. During this time, the indomitable Norrin Radd would intermittently also appear in three graphic novels, a one-shot, and a two-issue microseries, so hop aboard your hypothetical (or real) surfboard as we catch a wave of critical insight and embark upon a safari of sorts concerning these sundry Silver Surfer comic-book specimens from both their contributors and industry professionals alike.

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Specimen #1: The Silver Surfer Graphic Novel (1978) Tour Guides: John Morrow and Tom Brevoort

First up on our tour of the silvery one’s side hits is the Silver Surfer graphic novel, which was published in 1978 by Simon & Schuster under their Fireside Books imprint. For the first time in years, the Stan Lee/Jack Kirby team was reunited, on a retelling of the Silver Surfer’s origin story.

Seeking critical insight on what is arguably the first Marvel graphic novel, I emailed both John Morrow, who edits TwoMorrows’ The Jack Kirby Collector, and Tom Brevoort, a senior executive editor at Marvel Comics who has extensive experiencing serving as editor on The Silver Surfer, and shared several questions with them via email, which I have placed together in order to present their unique respective views on this exciting late-1970s work.

TOM POWERS: Gentlemen, what are your general thoughts on the 1978 Fireside Silver Surfer graphic novel? In other words, what do you appreciate about this latter Lee/Kirby collaboration in terms of the story and art?

JOHN MORROW: At the time, I purchased it new at (if memory serves) a Waldenbooks store. While I was impressed with the production values and the sheer fact it was sold in a “real” bookstore, I was really disappointed that it jettisoned the Fantastic Four for a storyline that didn’t rely on established Marvel Comics continuity.

In hindsight, I understand now the rationale for that, since the idea was to make a film from it—but of course, the current MCU shows that you can be faithful to the source material and still make a solid film. Still, john morrow the art was dazzling, and inker Joe Sinnott was at the top of his game over Kirby’s pencil work. And Jack was putting a lot into this one—the work seems much more inspired than his final 1970s Marvel issues of Machine Man and Devil Dinosaur. I’m assuming the pay was much better than standard comics work as well.

TOM BREVOORT: It was an impressive book when it first arrived in 1978, a step in the direction of the modern era of the graphic novel.

And overall it looks good and reads nicely.

I’ve always felt that Joe Sinnott was Kirby’s most attractive inker, and that combination works its usual magic here. There are a number of stunning and compelling images in the story as well. And Stan’s copy is pretty well done—you can tell that he knows that he’s writing for somebody other than the typical comic-book audience. It’s not the best Lee and Kirby story ever done, by far. But it’s a fitting capstone to their work together.

POWERS: As Lee and Kirby’s final Marvel collaboration, what does this graphic novel tell you about their creative partnership at this point?

An Origin Reimagined Lee and Kirby’s 1978 Silver Surfer graphic novel made revisions to the classic “coming of Galactus” origin as seen in the pages of Fantastic Four. Original art courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com).

TM & © Marvel.

THE SILVER SURFER, BRONZE AGE GUEST-STAR Norrin Radd was awfully sad when his

• The Defenders #2, 3, 6, 8–11

original title was cancelled with Silver Surfer

• The Avengers #116, 118

#18 (Sept. 1970), but the Sentinel of the

• Fantastic Four #155–157

Skyways managed to drop in on these Marvel

• Thor #233

titles while he was awaiting his various come-

• Tomb of Dracula #50

backs as a solo star:

* A Spider-Man/Silver Surfer team-up was

• Sub-Mariner #34–35

planned for a 1975 issue of Giant-Size

• Marvel Feature (Defenders) #1

Spider-Man, the double-sized companion

• Fantastic Four #121–123

title to Marvel Team-Up, but the book was

• Thor #192–193

cancelled before that story was produced.

4 • BACK ISSUE • Silver Issue

MORROW: Based on Jack’s letters to Stan that were included when Fantasy Fair, and met Stan Lee, who was there as part of the promotional he submitted his pencil pages, it’s clear Jack was overwhelmingly tour to promote the Silver Surfer graphic novel. Jack’s SSGN pages providing the direction and creativity on this project, with Stan doing were on display, but I overheard some Marvel staffers (who were there guarding the display) make disparaging comments about how Jack virtually none of the heavy lifting conceptually.

To me, Stan’s input at this point is akin to what he did during had “lost it” and couldn’t produce decent work anymore.

I was stunned, to say the least, as I was still enjoying Kirby’s Kirby’s final year on Fantastic Four—Lee was so busy editorially and work at the time—just not as much as on his earlier Fourth PR-wise by that point that he largely stuck to dialogue and World work at DC. Seeing those originals up close blew me after-the-fact editing of Kirby’s work. I think Kirby was away and made me wonder how those guys could think putting more of himself into the Surfer graphic novel Kirby had lost his touch. But in hindsight, I now know than he did that last year on FF, and the result is what a level of disrespect he was getting from some in something closer to “epic” than FF #90–102 were. the Marvel offices at that time, and it really saddens But there were obviously restrictions on what he me. I’m glad that this project now has gotten some could do and still please a potential moviemaker, so of the respect it deserves, and I hope that people will, while Kirby gave it all he could, those limitations kept through this article, get a better understanding of it from truly becoming one of his greatest stories. why it wasn’t what a lot of fans wanted it to be.

BREVOORT: It certainly tells me that, as much as ever, BREVOORT: It may sound as though I’m down on this Lee and Kirby still weren’t on the same page as regards work, but that really isn’t the case. I think it was a the Silver Surfer. And it creates a bit of dissonance in game attempt to try something new, the kind of this project. Here, Kirby is overt: We witness Galactus tom brevoort project that Kirby had been striving to execute for creating the Silver Surfer out of nothingness in the at least a decade: a comic-book story in a high-end palm of his hand on the opening two pages. But several format aimed at a more sophisticated reader. But the pages later, we get a flashback to Zenn-La and Facebook.

Shalla-Bal—elements that were from Lee’s interpretation and which problem with it is that it’s the shadow of a better story these guys had didn’t fit in with Kirby’s version. As a result, we get a story here that already done a decade earlier, and so rather than propelling the medium is somehow less than the sum of its parts, where the two central forward, it feels instead like a best-of reunion tour. And it feels like a waste to me to have Jack Kirby draw 100 pages of a story that he’s already creators are working at cross-purposes with one another.

POWERS: What is your opinion concerning Lee and Kirby’s decision to done; for all that, he came up with some terrific visuals within that span.

So for all that it got right and did well, what I tend to see when I “reboot” the Silver Surfer’s story for this tale? (In other words, what do you think about their decision to tell the story of the Surfer’s conflict look at it, more than anything, is the wasted or misdirected potential. with Galactus on Earth without the presence of the Fantastic Four and A new Silver Surfer story would have been welcome—a redo of the original Silver Surfer story couldn’t help but feel well-trod.

Alicia Masters?)

MORROW: Stan had already “rebooted” the Surfer in 1967, without Kirby’s input. Jack saw the character as a being of energy that knew nothing of the human condition and had to learn it as he went along— largely through his interactions with Alicia. In Silver Surfer #1 (coverdated Aug. 1968), Lee ignored all that had gone before and gave the backstory of a very human Norrin Radd who lost his true love—which totally betrayed Kirby’s original intent when he added the character (unbeknownst to Lee) in Fantastic Four #48 (Mar. 1966). Kirby was already very disillusioned that Lee had co-opted his character (one of the reasons he left Marvel in 1970), so I’m assuming he just grudgingly accepted that was what he had to work with in order to take on this high-profile project. It’s a big part of why I don’t find this Surfer story totally satisfying nor any of the non-Kirby ones after Lee changed the core concept of the character to a more trite origin. I wish they’d have gone back to Kirby’s original idea; even without the FF included, they could’ve used an Alicia-type character to guide him in the Silver Surfer graphic novel [SSGN], but I’m sure Lee insisted on keeping his origin intact.

BREVOORT: Reportedly, the whole idea here was to create a story that could eventually be made into a movie—this would have been the often-talked-about picture that Olivia Newton-John was attached to at one point. So it was necessary to frame the story in such a way that there were no other Marvel characters in it, as they would all have been covered in other film licensing deals.

Consequently, it is what it is. In a very real way, it’s Lee and Kirby telling a story they’ve already told—and while the new flourishes and characters (Ardina, the Advocate, etc.) lend some interest to things, the project simply doesn’t have the same spark of inspiration as the original Surfer stories that both creators worked on, either together or separately.

POWERS: What are your other thoughts regarding this graphic novel?

MORROW: As I recounted in my book Kirby & Lee: Stuf’ Said; in summer 1978, I attended my first major comics convention, the Atlanta

I Honestly Love You Norrin Radd’s painful reunion with Shalla-Bal. (inset) Just picture lovely Olivia Newton-John in the role of the gal the Surfer left behind.

TM & © Marvel.

Silver Issue • BACK ISSUE • 5

“Don’t rattle your gonads in my ears!”

by

Allan Harvey

This line of dialogue would be startling in any comic in the early 1980s. What makes it even more remarkable is that it was written by Jack Kirby. It confirmed his new series, Silver Star, was unlike anything he’d done before.

More adult; more violent; more brutal. The cover blurb stated it was “a visual novel” and, thematically, the series posed the question, What if the solution is worse than the problem? To explore this, Kirby concocted a story about genetically modified humans designed to survive a nuclear apocalypse. Unfortunately, one of their number has his own plans—and they make nuclear annihilation seem like child’s play!

NEXT BREED

Silver Star ran for six issues (Feb. 1983–Jan. 1984), published by Pacific Comics.

The concept, however, had long pre-existed this: TM & © The Kirby Family Trust.

Kirby designed the character in early 1975. His ideas coalesced into a screenplay co-written by Kirby and his assistant, Steve Sherman, around 1977.

A film was never produced, but the screenplay is an interesting document. In it, young US soldier Morgan Miller, serving in Vietnam, undergoes an amazing transformation, becoming unbelievably strong and invulnerable, trashing an enemy tank as if it was a toy. The only way his power can be constrained is to clothe him in a special suit of silver, and so Morgan is nicknamed Silver Star.

After he’s discharged from the Army, he returns home to his father, a scientist. It transpires that Miller Senior has been conducting illicit experiments, injecting his “genetic package” into five people including his son. The resulting potential new race of humanity is superpowered and better able to survive the sure-tobe-coming nuclear Armageddon. Unfortunately, the others die in mysterious circumstances and Morgan becomes aware of the evil Darius Drumm, an individual who has naturally acquired tremendous abilities similar to Morgan’s, and is killing those powerful enough to oppose his desire to destroy all life on the planet.

Morgan must defeat Drumm and save the world.

The screenplay was registered with the Writers’ Guild, but seemingly met with little interest and was filed away. Soon after, Kirby left comics behind for a new career in animation.

The Next Breed Jack Kirby’s Silver Star #1 (Feb. 1983), from Pacific Comics. Autographed by inker Mike Royer, courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com).

TM & © The Kirby Family Trust.

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Star-Spangled Roots (top) Kirby’s early conceptual drawing of Silver Star. (bottom) Jack Kirby, circa 1982–1983, with his Silver Star presentation artwork, which measured a whopping 19x24 inches! Courtesy of Heritage.

Silver Star TM & © The Kirby Family Trust.

In the meantime, the owners of San Diego-based retailer Pacific Comics, Bill and Steve Schanes, noted the rise of the direct-sales comic market and saw an opportunity to produce product specifically for this new distribution outlet, starting with limited edition portfolios. They then set about enticing Jack Kirby back to comics.

David Scroggy, then the company’s editorial director, takes up the story: “Pacific Comics had been dealers at San Diego Comic-Con from the beginning [and] Jack was a main guest at every [con]. Comic-Con was much more intimate [then], so it was easy to get to know the regular guests. Hence, Bill, Steve, and I had already grown a personal relationship with Jack and Roz Kirby.

“When the Schanes brothers realized the potential of publishing original comics for the emerging specialty market was great, and that they were uniquely situated to capitalize on it, they thought about who would be the david scroggy best choice to get the ball rolling. It was not hard to think of Kirby. He was frustrated with the comics publishers, and doing animation work and other non-comics projects— but, of course, comics was Jack’s true medium. Bill and Steve came up with a deal for creators that addressed their main frustrations with the big publishers: creators would own the copyright to their creations; be paid on a royalty basis rather than a flat fee; retain their original art.

“This convergence of factors—the developing viability of the direct-sales market channel, Kirby’s availability, the mutual trust from the personal relationship—combined to make Jack the obvious choice to create the initial Pacific comics. The Schanes crafted a good contract, explained the direct market to Jack, and promised him creative control. He agreed, Pacific paid him, and he came up with and delivered Captain Victory.”

Ever the pioneer, Kirby’s science-fiction extravaganza Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers #1 (Nov. 1981) put Pacific Comics on the map, announced a new paradigm for comics, and quickly led to a whole slew of independent publishers and comics bursting onto the direct market.

[Editor’s note: See BACK ISSUE #93 for the Captain Victory story.]

A year later, Pacific was keen to capitalize on its relationship with Kirby.

“There was a general hunger for more specialty product,” explains Scroggy, “and the Schanes wanted to expand the line. Captain Victory sold very well, over 100,000, [and Jack’s] legendary prowess creating comics made a second bimonthly title well within his capabilities. Two titles meant twice the payday—or so it was hoped. As I recall, it was Jack who pitched the idea of a second title, but Pacific was only too happy to agree.”

This second title, was, of course, Silver Star, for which Kirby adapted his screenplay. The resulting comic has broadly the same story, but with significant alterations. Darius Drumm has no longer developed his powers naturally, but is a recipient of Dr. Miller’s genetic package, focusing the plot more neatly. Additionally, whereas in the screenplay Drumm ends up unleashing a monster on the world, here he literally transforms himself into an “Angel of Death” to cleanse the Earth. The idea that “homo geneticus” was designed to allow some form of humanity to survive nuclear holocaust is made explicit, and characters openly, with no small horror, discuss their own coming extinction, made obsolete by the likes of Morgan and Drumm.

The world situation in the early 1980s—ongoing Cold War tensions, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, etc.—made the threat of nuclear war seem all too real. This was reflected in films such as War Games, Threads, and The Day After. Kirby clearly shared these concerns and used his new comic to address them. Captain Victory had, at least partially, been a reaction to films like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which presented friendly aliens, whereas Kirby chose to warn of the threat they might pose. Similarly, Silver Star offered us a glimpse of where the nuclear arms race might lead, and what could happen if some mad scientist tried to tip the odds in humanity’s favor.

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“My life is on this compound; I know no other. Here I hunt rabbijacks, sleep on the dirt beneath the Moon. The barrier encloses us, standing as it has stood since before my grandfere was born, and round its fringes are staked pale Nazite guards, protecting their world from the likes of us…”

by

Stephan Friedt

That’s how, in 1983, the first issue of a proposed four-issue series opens, with the imagery provided in the words of Bruce Jones and April Campbell (later Campbell Jones), and expanded upon by the fully painted artwork of Scott Hampton. This was the first full US comic to be totally painted and not just inked and colored line art. Though scheduled for four issues, it only ran three at Pacific Comics before its collapse. The fourth issue would see the light when Eclipse Comics gathered the story together for a graphic novel release in hardback, limited-edition hardback, and paperback in 1987.

A look at the creators gives us a foundation of why it came together so well.

Bruce Jones: artist, comic-book writer, novelist, and screenwriter…

Bruce started in comics in 1969. He wrote and drew a story, “Point of View,” for Web of Horror #3… which happened to be the last issue of the short-lived, but well-remembered magazine.

From there, he moved to Jim Warren’s Creepy and Eerie… at the same time writing for rival Skywald using the pseudonym of Philip Roland. Bruce would freelance for Marvel in writing and drawing for their black-and-white magazine line, as well as penning stories for Conan the Barbarian and Ka-Zar. In 1979, Bruce met his future wife, April Campbell, and they formed a 1982–1984 writing partnership that would evolve into Bruce Jones Associates that worked like a comicbook studio. Bruce Jones Associates (BJA) would package, edit, and do most of the writing for all the books coming out of the studio. The artwork would come from Bruce’s connections and friends in the business. For Pacific Comics they would provide the content for the titles Twisted Tales, Alien Worlds, Somerset Holmes, Pathways to Fantasy, and Silverheels. Alien Worlds and Somerset Holmes would continue from 1984–1986 at Eclipse Comics after the demise of Pacific Comics, and BJA would also provide Eclipse material for Alien Encounters, Tales of Terror, and a new series, The Twisted Tales of Bruce Jones. Bruce wrote Richard Corben’s Rip in Time (1986–1987) series for Fantagor Press.

In the 1990s, Bruce jumped to screenwriting for several television movies and the series The Hitchhiker. From 1990–1992, Bruce wrote the newspaper strip Flash Gordon, with artwork by Ralph Reese and Gray Morrow. During all this he also managed to pump out several novels including a pair under the pseudonym, Bruce Elliot. Bruce continued providing many stories for DC titles and a multitude of Marvel issues, including runs on Ka-Zar the Savage #1–27 (1981–1983) and The Incredible Hulk vol. 3

Revolutionary Work Detail from Scott Hampton’s cover art to the 1987 Silverheels collected edition, reprinting the USA’s first fully painted comic-book series, from late 1983 and early 1984. Image scans accompanying this article are courtesy of Stephan Friedt.

Silverheels © Bruce Jones Associates. Art © Scott Hampton.

Silver Issue • BACK ISSUE • 21

ART GALLERY Silver Surfer and related characters TM & © Marvel.

An undated John Buscema pencil recreation of (inset) his iconic 1968 cover for Silver Surfer vol.

1 #1. Courtesy of Heritage. (opposite page top) The Recorder, from the pages of Thor, spaceraces the Surfer in this commissioned illo by Ron Frenz, colored by Ian Sokoliwski. From the collection of Robert Menzies. (opposite bottom) The Surfer comic-blasts the Hulk in this 2000 commissioned drawing penciled by John Buscema and inked by Joe Sinnott. Signed by both artists, plus Smilin’ Stan Lee. Courtesy of Heritage.

24 • BACK ISSUE • Silver Issue

The Surfer Returns Ye ed couldn’t decide whether to open this article with the original art or colored, published version of the cover for Silver Surfer vol. 3 #1 (July 1987)—so we’re going with both!

Original Marshall Rogers/Joe Rubinstein art (signed by the inker) courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com).

TM & © Marvel.

by

Ed Lute

Silver Issue • BACK ISSUE • 31

steve englehart steveenglehart.com.

Ever since Stan Lee and Jack Kirby teamed up for Fantastic Four #1 (Nov. 1961), Marvel Comics had showcased the cosmic aspects of the Marvel Universe.

The Fantastic Four, The Avengers, Thor, and many other Silver Age titles featured the Marvel superheroes facing off against intergalactic threats. However, Lee, Kirby, and other members of the Mighty Marvel Bullpen went further than just featuring little green men attacking Earth.

The creators introduced characters that weren’t primarily Earthbound. Heroes such as Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell), Adam Warlock, and the original incarnation of the Guardians of the Galaxy graced comic-book covers and enthralled readers with their exploits in the cosmic corner of the Marvel Universe. As the years passed, many of these spacefaring characters ceased publication, or in the case of Captain Marvel, even died.

That didn’t mean that Marvel comics didn’t contain any stories in outer space. Quite the contrary, because some of the most beloved and well-regarded tales of the Bronze Age didn’t take place on Earth.

The Avengers’ involvement in the Kree/Skrull War, the X-Men’s interactions with the Starjammers [see BI #133—ed.] and the Shi’ar Empire, and the Fantastic Four’s jaunt through the Negative Zone are just a few of the classic storylines that highlighted intergalactic action. However, these stories featured characters that were mainly Earth-based. The cosmic side of Marvel wasn’t being showcased in titles of its own.

That changed in a huge way in 1987 with a new Silver Surfer title. Not only was the book set in outer space, it returned Marvel’s cosmic side to the forefront, with a vengeance.

Since being introduced in the seminal classic Fantastic Four #48 (Mar. 1966), Norrin Radd/Silver Surfer had remained an integral, although irregularly seen, part of the Marvel Universe. He received his own 18-issue solo series (Aug. 1968–Sept. 1970), with outstanding artwork by John Buscema and, in the final issue, Jack Kirby. After the cancellation of his original series, he made guest-appearances in The Fantastic Four and Thor and was a member of the Defenders as well as being featured in several one-shots and specials.

However, even though the Silver Surfer is known around the Marvel Universe as the Sentinel of the Spaceways, these adventures were mostly Earthbound due to his imprisonment on our planet at the end of the Galactus trilogy. That all changed during the Copper Age with the release of Silver Surfer vol. 3 #1 (July 1987), when the Silver Surfer was freed of his Earthly imprisonment and returned to the stars.

Tour the galaxy as BACK ISSUE looks at the creation of this Silver Surfer title, the idea to release the character from his Earthbound prison, the series itself, and how it reinvigorated Marvel’s cosmic universe.

EARTHBOUND NO MORE!

When Silver Surfer vol. 3 #1 hit newsstands on April 7, 1987, it was the first time that a Silver Surfer solo story was penned by anyone other than Stan Lee. Steve Englehart was chosen for the assignment. Did Englehart feel intimidated following in the footsteps of Lee? “[The-Marvel editor-in-chief Jim] Shooter called me up and offered it to me,” Englehart recalls to BACK ISSUE. “I said I understood that Stan had reserved the Surfer for himself, but Shooter said he was overriding that. I hadn’t been daunted since I took over Captain America; after that, there was never a problem (I wanted to follow Frank Miller on Daredevil, just for the challenge). I expected to make the Surfer work.”

Artists Marshall Rogers, who famously partnered with Englehart on a short-lived but influential series of Batman stories in Detective Comics in the late 1970s, and inker Josef Rubinstein were tapped for art duties on the title. Rubinstein reveals to BI, “I enjoy the Silver Surfer.

I never read the first series when it originally came out

Cutting Loose While the Surfer occasionally violated Galactus’ space exile and left Earth, such as in (top left) Fantastic Four #155 (Feb. 1975) and (top right) Incredible Hulk #250 (Aug. 1980), in the first issue of his new Silver Surfer series (below), the chrome-domed do-gooder boldly undertook a brand-new star trek.

TM & © Marvel.

32 • BACK ISSUE • Silver Issue

Galactic Grindberg From Heritage’s vaults, a stunning 1999 Surfer illustration by Tom Grindberg.

TM & © Marvel.

“The Herald Ordeal” storyline addressed accountability and responsibility for one’s actions as well as their consequences. In the end of the storyline, Nova paid the ultimate price for her part in the deaths that Galactus caused. This was something that the Silver Surfer has wrestled with himself, and would continue to do so in future storylines.

Marz revealed, “To me it was much more about trying to justify someone going to serve as Galactus’ herald willingly because, when you fill that role, you are a party to genocide on a planetary scale. That’s what Galactus does.

He eats planets, and if you happen to be living on that planet, unfortunately for you, you’re part of it. So some of the first Surfer stuff that I did, sort of playing off a lot of what Jim did, was dealing with the Surfer’s guilt and complicity in serving Galactus, and the fact that Frankie Raye followed him into that service and obviously did things that led her to be ron marz complicit in that. The story was really just about justifying that and trying to Luigi Novi / come up with what is your fate if you are © Wikimedia Commons. complicit. I believe that dramatic stories have to have dramatic consequences.

So that was where Frankie’s death came from. I could understand alien beings being complicit serving as the herald of Galactus. I wrestled much more with how a human could do that. You could assume that aliens have different moral attitudes and strictures, but for a human to willingly sign on for that and do the job, there’s a price to be exacted.”

Artist MC Wyman penciled issues #70–72, while Ron Lim returned to pencil the remaining issues of the story arc.

Tom Christopher continued to provide inks on the series.

TYRANT

After a three-part story guest-starring Jack of Hearts in issues #76–78 (Jan.–Mar. 1993), Marz’s next major storyline began. Galactus is one of the most powerful entities in the known galaxy, but that doesn’t mean that he can’t be challenged, and that’s just what happened with the introduction of Tyrant in issue #81 (June 1993).

The new character was a major threat not just to the Devourer of Worlds, but to the entire galaxy.

Thousands of years ago, Galactus created Tyrant as a sentient machine and gave him some of his own cosmic power. While Galactus feasted on planets for his own survival, Tyrant destroyed worlds because he enjoyed doing it. Sensing that Tyrant was a danger to the universe, Galactus thwarted him, took back his cosmic powers, and sent him off into deep space.

Many years later, Tyrant found his way back to the known galaxy, where he confronted the Silver Surfer.

The Surfer was easily beaten and imprisoned, along with other cosmic heavyhitters including Beta Ray Bill, Morg, Gladiator, and Terrax, amongst others. Galactus arrived to set his herald free, but was forced into an agreement with Tyrant. Galactus doesn’t usually make deals, but Tyrant worried him enough to go along with it. Tyrant would only make a handful of appearances throughout the 1990s, including one where he faced Thanos.

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Dewey Cassell

A Big Delight… …Oops, wrong ad campaign! Drake’s Cakes’ The Silver Surfer #4, “Lunacy in Latveria,” a hard-to-find mini-comic you probably didn’t know existed! Cover pencils by Jim Craig and inks by Dan and David Day. TM & © Marvel.

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Drakescakes.com.

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Okay—true confession time. How many of you have eaten one (or more) boxes of cereal—sometimes really bad cereal—just to get the prize inside? (Aficionados call them premiums.) The prize might have been a sticker or a ring or a toy. Did your mom make you eat all of the cereal first, before retrieving the prize? Was the prize sandwiched in between the box and the bag of cereal or was it actually buried in the cereal, so you had to stick your hand in the box up to your elbow to rummage around for the prize (or pour it all out into a bowl, remove the prize, and then try to put it all back in the box before your parents noticed)? As for me, I experienced all of the above at one time or another, and it is one of my fondest memories of childhood.

The premium idea wasn’t limited to cereal. Other food products also contained premiums. Sunbeam Bread used to include cards or stickers. Cracker Jacks featured a variety of prizes.

And then there were Drake’s Cakes. The N. E. Drake Baking Company began in 1896 in New York City. They started out making pound cakes, but became better known for tasty treats like Devil Dogs, Coffee Cakes, Ring Dings, Yankee Doodles, and Yodels. If you are not familiar with Drake’s Cakes, it is likely because until 2016, the company focused its marketing and distribution on the northeastern United States.

Drake’s has a long tradition of using premiums with their products.

Beginning in 1925, Drake’s featured a series of collectable cards, among them Babe Ruth. In 1978, as The Incredible Hulk television series was taking off, Drake’s products included one of 24 cards displaying classic Hulk comic-book covers. On the backs of the cards were advertisements for Hulk mugs, posters, and T-shirts. When Superman: The Movie starring Christopher Reeve was released in December 1978, Drake’s products included one of 24 cards with scenes from the film.

The backs of the cards featured advertising for Drake’s.

So, it is not surprising that in 1993, Drake’s would partner with Marvel Comics again for another promotion. Beginning March 1, 1993, and running for nine weeks, Drake’s Family Pack and Value Pack boxes shipped with two Marvel mini-comics (packaged together) from a “limited series” of four titles. Each mini-comic measured 3x5 inches and was 20 pages, including covers. They were printed in full color on heavyweight paper bound with glue, rather than staples. The first two issues contained a 16-page story with a maze or word search puzzle on the inside front cover. The last two issues omitted the puzzle, allowing for 17-page stories. The inside back covers were advertisements for the set of Marvel mini-comics, encouraging the reader to “Collect all four!” The back covers were advertisements for Drake’s Cakes.

Old Yeller Silver Banshee wails in her first appearance in Action Comics #595 (Dec. 1987). By John Byrne, with inker Keith Williams.

TM & © DC Comics.

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Siobhan McDougal often gave Superman and Supergirl a run for their money when she used her magic voice against them as the Silver Banshee. Yet Siobhan is more than your typical villain out to destroy Kal-El, Matrix, or Kara Zor-El. BACK ISSUE, in its salute to silver characters in the Bronze Age of Comics, will look beyond the surface of this post-Crisis super-foe and delve into the psyche of Siobhan McDougal in an article that will make fans scream for more. Just cover your ears before you continue reading.

James Heath Lantz AND THE SHRIEKING BEGINS

Silver Banshee screamed her way into comics for the first time in Action Comics #595 (Dec. 1987) during John Byrne’s run as writer and artist on DC’s main Superman titles. While Byrne himself has not presently revealed inspirations for the character or how she came to be, he has stated in the Byrne Robotics forum that her skeletal look is actually black-and-white makeup, or at least it was during his time drawing her. Byrne wasn’t sure what later creators had intended for her.

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The Silver Banshee’s powers include a death-touch, an ear-piercing sonic scream, and the ability to kill one when she knows their true name. Aside from her abilities being magic-based—which aided her initial defeat of Superman and his perceived demise— little is revealed about Silver Banshee’s origins and motives in Action #595. We only get the idea she’s looking for an ancient book that was sold in an auction. The tome, according to Jimmy Olsen, had belonged to the library of Castle Broen. We’ll get to the importance of that place soon. However, at this point in the Banshee’s debut, we learn that Supes, with the help of Martian Manhunter, feigned death to defeat the Silver Banshee.

Issues #17 and 23 (May and Nov. 1988) of Superman vol. 2 delve into the Silver Banshee’s origins in more detail.

The former, by Byrne, shows the supernatural scream queen continuing her quest for the book she sought in Action #595. That latter, written by Roger Stern with art

by Hellboy’s Mike Mignola, has Batman aid Superman in fighting the Silver Banshee by his utilization of that book to learn more about her. In addition to those events, Byrne, Stern, and Mignola delve into the villain’s origins.

The Silver Banshee’s real name is Siobhan McDougal.

The footnote in Superman #17 and other sources erroneously pronounce the Gaelic moniker as “Shee-Van” and “Shee-Vaughn.” It is actually “Shuh-vaughn.”

Siobhan was the firstborn child of Garrett McDougal, head of a clan that lived on an island between Ireland and Scotland. Castle Broen had been the family home for generations. Siobhan had traveled the world when she was old enough to do so. She returned to Castle Broen six years later when she had gotten news of her father’s death.

The laws of the McDougal clan state that the leader’s first child will be the next in line. Siobhan points out that the rules do not stipulate gender in selecting the head of the clan. Yet Garrett’s brother Seamus (pronounced “Shay-mes”) does not permit a female to become head of the family and takes over until Siobhan’s brother Bevan returns. Siobhan, angered by her uncle’s actions, undergoes the traditional supernatural ritual of the Clan McDougal.

Bevan’s interference causes her to be pulled into the Netherworld. A mysterious entity known simply as the Crone saves her by giving her the powers of the Silver Banshee, whose sonic scream and touch can mean death to those she encounters. john byrne The Crone’s help comes with a price: The Silver Banshee must give her an antique © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons. book that had been in the Clan McDougal for generations. Said volume had been sold at an auction and eventually ended up in Metropolis.

The Banshee uses her deafening wail to kill anyone who gets in her way. The thousandth first-born McDougal— Siobhan—shows the Crone that there had been no improvement in the clan over the millennia. The Silver Banshee’s ease and willingness to kill her fellow humans makes the ancient mage believe her to be worse than

The Voice of Villainy Silver Banshee’s earliest appearances, in Action #595 and Superman #17 (covers by John Byrne) and Superman #23 (cover by Mike Mignola and P. Craig Russell).

TM & © DC Comics.

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D a n Ta n d a r i c h

Silver Sable ignited a fuse in her first appearances in Spider-Man’s world and kept that about-to-explode edge as she quickly detonated her own path in the Marvel Universe. Hunter of Nazis. Mercenary. International bounty hunter. Imagine a woman like Marilyn Monroe, complete with stunning looks and beauty mark. Now imagine that woman commandeering a mid-flight helicopter 7,000 feet in the air, deftly swinging under the whirling blades from her own flying vehicle, gun poised at the pilot, while she stands front and center with unearthly confidence. Combine the look with the ability, skills, and unrivaled fearlessness of a trained soldier. The look belies the fact that this woman is dangerous! Guns galore. Her signature weapons, throwing chais, at the ready. Family tragedy and years of relentless combat training have created an unstoppable force of nature.

Silver Sable led the charge at Marvel Comics for female characters with a new definition of leading lady!

Flashback! Symkaria, a country in Europe in the late 1940s. A young girl of seven and her mother walk down a street. The young girl overhears Nazis plotting to kill her father. She runs to warn him, inadvertently alerting the enemy to her presence and leading them right to their target. Her father realizes immediately what her appearance foretells. Within seconds, gunfire rings out and the young girl’s mother collapses in a hail of bullets. The father yells, “You see what you have brought upon us, Silver? Maybe now you’ll think before you act!” Cut to the mother’s death and an innocent girl whose life is changed forever by violence. Years of relentless training follow.

The mother, Anastasia Sablinovia, the father, Ernst Sablinovia, and the young girl, their daughter, who goes by the name Silver Sablinovia, the future Silver Sable, all play out this drama.

BORN TO BE WILD

Silver Sable made her debut in the Amazing Spider-Man #265 (June 1985), written by Tom DeFalco with art by Ron Frenz and Josef Rubinstein. Silver explains, “My father founded the [Wild] Pack, with the aid of the government of Symkaria, to hunt down Nazi war criminals! But I believe in changing with the times! Under my leadership, the Pack will hunt anyone… for a price!”

Silver Sable International has taken on the assignment to capture an international jewel thief, the Black Fox. At the Symkarian Embassy in New York City, Silver and her Uncle Morty discuss the business at hand, Spider-Man’s interference, and the Black Fox’s escape.

The talk does not happen over a conference table, but during Silver’s daily workout, where she takes on members of her Wild Pack with martial arts and her signature throwing chais, mini projectiles of her own design. An assassination attempt occurs, but Silver seems unfazed. The reader gets the basics: Silver Sable has honed herself into a hunter. Silver Sable International

The Sable Fables Begin Steven Butler illustrated and colored this 2014 recreation of the cover for Marvel’s Silver Sable and the Wild Pack #1 (June 1992).

From the collection of Shaun Clancy.

TM & © Marvel.

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On the Drawing Board Early Silver Sable character designs by Ron Frenz.

Courtesy of Dan Tandarich.

Silver Sable TM & © Marvel.

runs different ventures for profit, her main motivation to provide for the economy of her native country, Symkaria. Assassination attempts come fast and furious.

She has no time for nonsense, as her country relies on her. Mistakes have no place in her organization. Back to the current mission, Spidey recovers the jewels but lets the Black Fox get away. In this case, Spider-Man frustrates her, being the personification of the spider, er, fly in the ointment.

But to truly delve into this origin, we must start with Silver’s real-life beginnings and, for that, we turn to legendary creators “Two-fisted” Tom DeFalco and “Rampaging” Ron Frenz. New levels of creative excitement had to occur for DeFalco and Frenz to feel successful. That meant new faces like in the early days of the Spider-Man comic when new characters debuted regularly. DeFalco purchased a set of safari animal cards, looking for new sources of inspiration, which resulted in the Marvel characters Silver Sable, the Puma, and Black Fox. DAN TANDARICH: How did the inspiration of the sable morph into the character of Silver Sable?

TOM DeFALCO: I started with the name and decided I wanted the character to be a hunter. But I wanted her to be a unique type of hunter. I had read a book about the Nazi war criminal hunters and wondered what became of them when they ran out of Nazis. Seemed like the basis for a backstory.

TANDARICH: Did you invent her weapon of choice, the chais?

DeFALCO: I wanted Silver to have a unique weapon— something that set her apart. Since she was a martial artist who could go one-on-one in close combat, I figured she needed something that would allow her to strike at a distance and kept playing around with ideas until I developed the chais.

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58 • BACK ISSUE • Silver Issue

DeFalco gave all of the details to Ron Frenz. The artist came up with the look, or one should say looks, of Silver Sable, ranging from combat-ready uniforms to elegant evening wear, all visually stunning. He also sent a crude sketch of what he had in mind for the chais.

Frenz tells BACK ISSUE, “The core idea DeFalco pitched was a mercenary organization originally formed to track down Nazis after World War II that was now run by a woman who turned it into the economic backbone of her postagestamp-sized European country. Tom designed the chais. I was only responsible for Sable’s physical appearance, her short stature (no taller than 5 feet 2 inches), and her resemblance to Marilyn Monroe (including the oftenforgotten beauty mark). [Author’s note: Silver Sable and the Wild Pack ron frenz artist Steven Butler didn’t forget it!

Butler said that he always drew the beauty mark and production would take it out.] I’ve always enjoyed the visual of a relatively tiny woman ordering around these massively built male mercenaries.

Early on we also suggested she had mostly men working for her as subordinates.”

Regarding the importance of the color in Silver Sable’s name and costume, DeFalco reveals, “I didn’t think calling her Sable was enough, so my Stan Lee training kicked in with a little alliteration. Silver just seemed to go with Sable and it provided a strong visual motif. Also, the first villain she faced was the Black Fox, and I liked the Silver vs. Black imagery.”

The Butler Did It! (top left) Silver Sable issue #15 (Aug. 1993, inked by Jimmy Palmiotti) featured Cap—and a ’90s screaming pose! (top right) Steven penciled and inked the cover of his farewell ish, #25 (June 1994). (bottom) From the collection of Shaun Clancy, a 2014 Silver Sable portrait illo’ed and colored by Steven Butler.

TM & © Marvel.

Was Wright making the parallel between Uncle Ben and Silver’s mother to explain why she felt the need to act the way she did?

“Not on purpose,” noted Wright. “But many origin stories seem to occur in the midst of tragedy. I wanted her to have a real reason to take over the Wild Pack, and not just because she was supporting her own country.”

MEET THE WILD PACK

Another giant contribution Wright made to the Silver Sable legend was the second part of the series title… the Wild Pack! DeFalco and Frenz co-created the virtually anonymous operatives who made up the original soldier unit. Wright and Butler added faces and grittier, real-world personalities to the Wild Pack, turning it into a team book.

Members of this motley crew included Doug Powell, a racist Southerner and ladies’ man; Amy Chen, a lesbian Asian assassin who takes pieces of people as souvenirs; Karl Strikland, a.k.a.

Crippler, a sadomasochist who turned his passion into his job; the HIV-positive Raul Quentino, a former gang member and tech wizard; Battle Star, Lemar Hoskins, former Bucky to John Walker’s Captain America; and Larry Arnold, L.A. gang member.

[See Wild Pack sidebar.]

Sandman transcends Wild Pack status and quickly transforms into Silver’s right-hand operative and partner-in-peril, and later goes on to lead her superpowered squad, the Intruders! Members included Paladin, Man-Eater, Fin, and Light Bright. However, Sandman started developing YOU ENJOYED THIS PREVIEW, feelings for Silver. IF [See “The Intruders” sidebar.]

CLICK THE LINK TO ORDER THIS ISSUE PRINT OR DIGITAL FORMAT! TANDARICH: One ofIN your themes for the book

was redemption. You wrote on the letters page of #35, “That is primarily Silver’s altruistic goal.

She takes in those who nobody else would and reforms them.” And by the end of the series, you had Silver redeem herself. What are your thoughts on this idea of redemption?

WRIGHT: I never felt like I got to do a story where her work paid off significantly in that regard. I mean, you got to see Powell soften a bit with his racism, and the others became steven butler very loyal and so on… but I wanted to have at least one really bad character make a significant Facebook. change and another one go really bad…

Battle Star joined the team with the third issue, making it one of BACK ISSUE #135 Wright’s favoriteSILVER issues.

Star onlyAge! thing ISSUE,Battle starring the Silversaid, Surfer “The in the Bronze Plus: I ever did that made me feel like I wasn’t worthless fightin’ crime. All I’m askin’ is JACK KIRBY’s Silver Star, SCOTTwas HAMPTON’s Silverheels, Silvermyself.”

Sable, Silver Banshee, DC’s Silver Age Classics, and more! a chance to prove Featuring BUSIEK, BUTLER, BYRNE, ENGLEHART, STAN LEE, LIM, MARZ, MOEBIUS, POLLARD, MARSHALL ROGERS, ALEX

ROSS, JIM recall STARLIN,talking and more. Cover

by RONGruenwald FRENZ and JOE about using TANDARICH: Do you to Mark SINNOTT. Battle Star?

(84-pageifFULL-COLOR magazine) WRIGHT: Yes, I asked Mark I could have him$10.95 since he was no longer (Digital Edition) $4.99 using him in Captain America. I wanted him to be the moral center of the Wild Pack. https://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=133&products_id=1654 TANDARICH: Silver Sable was involved with a few crossovers, including “For Love Nor Money” with Luke Cage and Terror, Inc., Infinity War, Infinity Crusade, “Siege of Darkness,” Captain America, and Deathlok. Did you have a favorite?

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