Sunday 24 June 2012

Hulk Foes: Silver Surfer

As a fan of the Hulk and a fan of the Silver Surfer how could I resist Tales to Astonish #93?  The cover alone is enough to justify a purchase!


Tales to Astonish #93 (July 1967)
 Pencil art by Marie Severin, inks by Frank Giacoia


"He Who Strikes The Silver Surfer" by Stan Lee and Marie Severin is a classic early Silver Surfer tale in which the former herald of Galactus anguishes over his banishment to Earth and his inability to soar the spaceways. 

Tales to Astonish #93 splash page pencil art by Marie Severin, inks by Frank Giacoia, words by Stan Lee

Hulk is fed up of being hounded by puny humans and hopes the Surfer can carry him to a planet where he can live in peace.  Greenskins is told repeatedly by the Surfer that this is not possible but Hulk doesn't understand.  Eventually the Surfer zaps him with the power cosmic and reads the Hulk's mind with the same cosmic power to reveal the tortured anguish of Bruce Banner's transformation to the Hulk.  The Surfer decides to cure Banner of his Gamma radiated curse with the power cosmic.  Is there anything that cosmic power cannot do?  Except of course penetrate the barrier trapping the Surfer on Earth. Unfortunately Hulk wakes up and misinterprets the Surfer's intentions and attacks.  The Silver Surfer has second thoughts and soars away leaving the Hulk to his fate.

Hulk hits Silver Surfer, art by Marie Severin and Frank Giacoia, words by Stan Lee

Two classically tragic Marvel characters in their first meeting and Stan squeezes every ounce of despair and anguish he can with expositions from the Surfer containing more words than a contemporary book by Geoff Johns.  It may be standard Marvel plot #1 in which hero meets another hero, misunderstandings lead to a fight then a reconciliation, but Marie Severin's art captures the emotion and the dynamics of the fight perfectly.  What more could a true believer desire?

2 comments:

  1. Easily my favourite Marie Severin Hulk tale.

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  2. It's interesting to me that they wrote in this potential for the Power Cosmic to cure Banner. Given that these two wound up on the Defenders together, I'm curious as to whether this theme was ever revisited. Does anyone happen to know?

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