Lately, or well, the past year or so, I have been working to complete a run of The Silver Surfer, Vol. 1. I originally had just assumed such a task was out of my price range so I bought a copy of The Essential Silver Surfer (which collects all 18 issues of the series in an affordable b&w trade). I enjoyed it so much that, just curious, I took a peek at what some issues were going for on Ebay. To my surprise there were quite a few up for very affordable prices...and some not so much. After not too much thought at all, I decided that I'd like to try grabbing a few for my collection. The first issue I snagged was #3, which is the first appearance of Mephisto, Marvel's version of The Devil (or a Devil). I've always like him, so it seemed like a nice book to have. That of course sparked me to keep looking for good deals and slowly I started to piece the collection together.
I tried to only use the money I made from selling unwanted comics on Ebay to buy other (read: better) comics. So for the most part the whole collection was essentially traded, which worked out well for my bank account.
The main challenge about this collection is that when these books were released, 1968-1970, they weren't hugely popular. The Surfer was something of a pop culture figure along with the Hulk and Spidey and was popular with the college crowd but the books were not big sellers, so they didn't print many, making them somewhat scarce now-a-days. But with persistence and patience great deals can be found.
So without further ado, I present:
The latest acquisitions, which have a nice kind of poetry to the idea, were #1 and #18, the first and last issues. I got an amazing deal on #1 which is in fantastic condition and probably worth quite a bit more than what I paid for it. All the books are in pretty nice shape and I'm still giddy about having them in my collection.
So with this second goal complete, my first being collecting every appearance of Adam Warlock, I have decided to take a break from serious collecting. Well, at least until I have more books I want to unload on Ebay or the next Boston Comic-Con in April, which ever comes first!
Congratulations The Goog! That's a nice run to complete. I like the covers to #'s 1,4 and 16. They really stand out, especially Thor, ready to hammer (no pun intended) the Surfer. On the other hand, I've always hated #6. There's just something about the growling beast and the color scheme that doesn't work for me. I see it all the time on the wall in Arlington and really can't stand it.
ReplyDeleteI know you say that you're going to take a break for awhile, but what will you be collecting next? Might I suggest The Sub Mariner, The Champions or The Defenders. Congrats again!
I agree, #6 is a pretty decent story but a horrible cover. They can't all be winners :)
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what I'm going to go for next. I have picked up a few Spider-Man issues that I'd like to complete the story to, so that might grab my attention for a bit.
I don't think I knew that you had completed the run, man. Congrats!!
ReplyDeleteAnd, yeah, Gary, #4 is an AWESOME cover. One of my absolute favorite covers EVER. Glad to see you're not just DC :-)
Any help you might need The Goog, let me know. I'm always available.
Congrats on an awesome collection. I still like the cover to issue # 1 the best, you just can't beat it.
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