American Update: Iconic Silver Surfer #4 Vs Thor
*Marvel: All the Silver Surfer’s original 18 issue series, launched in 1968, are keenly sought, but issue #4, in which our angst-ridden cosmic hero faces the might of Thor, is particularly scarce, both here in the UK and in its native USA. Many theories abound (including one about most of the print run being set alight by disappointed truck hijackers, which we declare inventive but apocryphal), but no conclusive explanation has yet been presented. Nevertheless, rare it is, significantly less common than even #1 in our experience. Great art by John Buscema at the height of his powers. This is a respectable cents copy with a small stamped arrival date on the Surfer’s board. The cover image is unblemished except for some faint creases towards the bottom right corner, a couple of which just break colour, a tiny crease at the top right cover edge and a small mark or two near Thor’s hammer. There is a lower spine split up to the lower staple at the front cover, and a 1 cm split at the top, but of course this squarebound is glued and the staples are designed to hold the inner pages, which they do well. Those pages are off-white to white and present very well. Beautiful cover colour and gloss.
PICTURED: SILVER SURFER #4 GD/VG £425 SOLD