"The Silver Surfer in the 60's & 70's" (To Surf the Skies)

The Silver Surfer was another fabulous creation of Stan Lee (writer) and Jack Kirby (artist); who made his first appearance in "Fantastic Four"#48. He began as a herald for the cosmic-powered, gigantic, planet devourer Galactus. The Surfer's mission was to soar through the galaxies, to find planets for his master to feed upon and absorb. This he did until discovering Earth, where he met and battled the Fantastic Four, who convinced him of the nobility and importance of the human race. The Surfer betrayed his master Galactus and helped the Fantastic Four to drive him from Earth. Galactus punished him by taking away his ability to leave Earth, with an invisible barrier. The Silver Surfer made many more appearances with the Fantastic Four, battling against villains like Doctor Doom, who had temporarily imprisoned him. He got his first solo story in Fantastic Four Annual #5.

The Silver Surfer received his own comic book in the 70's. Issue #1 revealed his full origin story in detail. Norrin Radd  was a scientist on the planet, Zenn-La, which Galactus had come to devour. Norrin was able  to have his world (and his lady love,Shalla Bal) spared, when he sacrificed himself to become a herald for Galactus. Galactus then changed him forever with his Power Cosmic, endowing him with superhuman strength and endurance; the power to absorb energy and fire energy bursts from his hands; and gave him a fantastic cosmic surf board (which he was mentally linked to), that gave him the ability to fly through space and hyper-space, effortlessly. The Surfer became Galactus' herald for an undisclosed amount of time , until he arrived on Earth."The Silver Surfer" comic book lasted for 18 issues (the first 17 were drawn by John Buscema: #18 was drawn by his original artist, Jack Kirby). In 1978, a Silver Surfer graphic novel, which was penned by Stan Lee and drawn by Jack Kirby, was released.

The Silver Surfer joined the Sub-Mariner and the Hulk to form the Titans 3. When Dr. Strange  was added to their group, they became "The Defenders" (a long-lasting, popular comic book series), which the Surfer was a sometimes member of.

The Surfer made his TV animated debut in the 1967 Hanna Barbara "Fantastic Four" cartoon (I wish they would release this series on DVD. I have fond memories of the' 67' version. They've released all of the other F.F. cartoon series').He made his live-action Feature Film debut in 2007, in the movie:" Fantastic Four-Rise of The Silver Surfer".

The Silver Surfer is still an extremely popular, noble superhero. He is quite a fascinating creation!