I’m not sure that I agree, Denzel – The Silver Surfer (Limited Series) #1 & #2
Stan Lee never really recaptured the writing magic that he harnessed so profitably in the 60’s. Some would argue that that’s because masters like Ditko and Kirby were carrying the freight in the respective writer/artist teams, and others would contend that times and tastes changed. But Lee has always said that the Silver Surfer is his favorite character, and maybe it was that select status that helped rouse him to put together a pretty nice little story in collaboration with Jean (Moebius) Giraud.
These two-issues re-imagine the coming of Galactus as the true biblical apocolypse that it should be, complete with raving lunatics and end-of-times hysteria. Moebius employs his elegant artwork to maximum effect as the religious themes are hammered home and the Silver Surfer as messiah challenges Galactus’ evil godhood. Fun stuff, and Lee summoned his A-game to match the beautiful visuals.
An interesting little aside to Moebius’ artistic take on the Surfer is its mention in the 1995 film Crimson Tide. Known to most people as “The submarine movie that isn’t The Hunt for Red October,” Tide featured some crackling dialogue between screen titans and in-film antagonists Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington. Of note to comic fans is a nice little exchange that Denzel’s first officer character has with a couple of bickering sailors. I couldn’t find any video of it (Damn you, YouTube!), but here’s an audio clip:
I’ll never say a negative word about Kirby — well, I might offer a criticism here and there — but as far as the Surfer goes, I kind of like Moebius’ version. He gives him less of a blocky physique, making him more lithe and agile looking (handy when you’re dodging Galactus’ energy blasts). He renders him more as a swimmer and less as a linebacker, and I think that’s a good and appropriate thing.
Sorry, Denzel.
Jared
blog into mystery 
Hahahaha, that audio clip is hilarious, thanks for uploading!
I had this story for a while before I got around to reading it, mainly because I feared how Lee’s writing would fare and was surprised at how excellent it is.
While I agree that this 2-part mini-series was absolutely lovely (both well written and beautifully illustrated), that scene in “Crimson Tide” was total B.S. Anyone knows a comic geeks argument about the best Surfer illustrator would focus on Kirby and John Buscema…
I can’t disagree, though I might add Ron Lim to the debate.
How odd; I just reread this recently and was going to write a review for my own site as well.
Ron Lim is THE Silver Surfer artist, as far as I’m concerned, as he was the Silver Surfer artist of my youth, and I always loved the way his Surfer was just so shiny. But I do think Moebius was able to capture the loneliness and alien-ness of the Surfer in a way that no one else has been able to – including Kirby.
Nice blog, by the way. I’m gonna link to it — came here from Random Longbox. 🙂
Great clip thanks! Loved that scene. Even if they forgot Busecema. But, in a sense, Buscema was portraying Kirby’s Surfer. Also like Ribic’s Surfer in Requiem. All of the vol. 4 series from 2004 is outstanding as well, story and art.