*Marvel: As the premier series of the Marvel Universe, the Fantastic Four did seem to spend a lot of time incubating the stars of tomorrow, as their guests frequently spun off into their own titles. One of the most popular ‘break-out’ stars was the Silver Surfer, and in issue #50 the former Norrin Radd, having been introduced two issues previously as the minion of the planet-devouring Galactus, breaks away from his master and defends the threatened planet Earth. Cosmic menace, epic grandeur and, hm, college hi-jinks, as the Human Torch commences his blink-and-you’ll-miss-it struggle with higher education. The latter subplot introduces Johnny’s fellow student, Wyatt Wingfoot, soon a staunch ally of the FF. (As well as She-Hulk’s favourite squeeze-toy, but that was a couple of decades later…). This defining issue for the Surfer is lowish grade, pence printed, with moderate spine and edge wear, corner blunting, a colour breaking crease across the top right cover corner, a couple of very small cover edge tears and a tiny chip out of the bottom right cover. Nevertheless, firmly attached staples, reasonable pages and a largely unmarred cover image of the surfing dude!
PICTURED: FANTASTIC FOUR #50 GD+ p £80