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Underground > Comic Books >

The Silver Surfer Retooled?

22:50 / 15.04.03

Marvel plans on revamping the Silver Surfer and man does it looks cool.

"As such, our interpretation of the Surfer is more inscrutable, he doesn't say much, and even his actions are prone to misinterpretation," Brevoort said. "He's got an alien thought process and an alien cultural upbringing and value system, so he's motivated by factors we don't even comprehend much of the time. He's not the guy next door, or even the planet next door anymore. But this should hopefully make him fascinating to watch."

00:30 / 16.04.03

And here was me thinking that meant they were going to give him a willy.

Elijah, Freelance Rabbi

02:36 / 16.04.03

wasnt GM supposed to be doing a silver surfer story this year, like a 1 shot or some such?

this does sound cool, i hope he mentions the power cosmic at least once per page...

Matthew Fluxington

03:09 / 16.04.03

It goes against continuity, but if they really wanted to get what they are going for, the Silver Surfer should almost never speak in English.

08:33 / 16.04.03

One M Night Shaymalan film and they think they can turn Norrin Radd into a 'grey'.

The shame.

The Photographer in Blowup

09:21 / 16.04.03

It goes against continuity, but if they really wanted to get what they are going for, the Silver Surfer should almost never speak in English.

Or have a surf board, for that matter.

"Essentially, Brevoort wanted to get the Surfer back away from interchangeable cosmic playa in the Marvel Universe, but at the same time, keep him away from endless naval gazing and contemplation of life, the universe, and everything. Remember Alan Davis and Robin Riggs' illustration of the Surfer in Marvel's Heroes book? (The Silver Surfer looking down on earth from orbit in a contemplative manner) Think of that. There's going to be some distance -at least metaphorical - between the Surfer and the human population."

Why Surfer is even on Earth is a mystery, considering he spent 20 years of continuity trying to break the barrier; you would have thought he'd gotten sick of the humans by now.

And he would be more fascinating interacting with the likes of The Watcher, The Celestials, Thanos, Death, and all those cosmic wackos.

Oh, and i suppose this means no Silver Surfer submissions to Epic Line; time for many to start rewriting their shiny scripts.

The Natural Way

10:22 / 16.04.03

I like the *surf board*, 'cause it's not REALLY a surf board, is it? It's a vehicle for moving between the stars that resembles something WE call a surf board. Kind of other and strange. Familiar and silly....but not.

10:30 / 16.04.03

Maybe they should go the other way and have the Silver Surfer a proper surf dude.

Norrin Like Totally Rad.

The Photographer in Blowup

11:16 / 16.04.03

It's is a surf board, down to the last detail - and what about his name? 'Surfer' - that was given to him by Galactus, not the Fantastic Four - why would an alien know anything about surfing?

yawn - thing's buddy

13:20 / 16.04.03

erm, why the fuck not?

A

13:42 / 16.04.03

Jack Kirby created both the Silver Surfer and the Black Racer, yeah?

It's a good thing that rollerblades weren't around before he died.

14:26 / 16.04.03

or indeed that we didn't get the golden hoolahoopa.

Y'know, for the kids.

The Natural Way

15:18 / 16.04.03

Whatever, Rosa. That's not the way to play it if you want to get anything out of the character (except more of those fucking tired, Garth Ennis-style wicked laughs). Christ it's all just so STUPID and UNREALISTIC, isn't it?

Bollocks.

15:36 / 16.04.03

Geez. I'm guessing that what Rosa was getting at is that if they are trying to make the Silver Surfer more "realistic" by making him more alien, then they should pull out all the stops. It's like Marvel is only going halfway.

And before you flip, I freaking love Silver Surfer. Jesus in Space, man.

They had an amalgam version of the Silver Sufer and Black Racer called the Silver Racer.

at the scarwash

15:59 / 16.04.03

The Black Racer, there was a character: "I've got SKIIS!!!" What was Kirby on? His has to be one of the most unique cosmologies of all time.

16:31 / 16.04.03

I say give him a Segway and metaphysical postman's cap.

Love the PR - emphasizing that this comes out of Epic submissions. Look, kids, you can get famous by giving us your stuff!

17:12 / 16.04.03

It's is a surf board, down to the last detail

I don't think the original board had skegs.

Like this:

It also has a weird tail, no rocker and zero rails.

*Some* versions made the "board" more of a surfboard:

But he's never worn (or needed) a leash (which, admittedly, wasn't standard in the 1960s like it is now).

-----
Surfboard glossary:

leash = the long cord of surgical rubber or rope attaching the board's platform to an ankle cuff. saves you from losing your board.

rails = the rounded edges of the board, designed with a subtle but essential lip for grabbing onto a wave. for most rides, the rails and the tail are what's actually in contact with the water.

rocker = the curvature just behind the nose of the board, lifting the nose relative to the rest of the board. if the board is a lever you're standing on, the rocker is the fulcrum somewhere between your feet. no rocker, and you're gonna be pearling (short for "pearl diving" - you can guess what that means) every ride.

skegs = the fins at the bottom. longboards tend to have one, shortboards generally have three in a "thruster" configuration.

tail = duh. very important in determining board performance. tails vary from old-style square tails to points and swallow-tails. each shape handles differently. squares are stable and slow, while points are more maneuverable, but tricky.

more information here, on this surfboard anatomy page.

The Photographer in Blowup

17:20 / 16.04.03

Whatever, Rosa. That's not the way to play it if you want to get anything out of the character

Right! So how should one realistically play an alien character that uses for transportation the cosmic equivalent of a surf board?

Way i see, this new creative team is just rehashing old concepts - except instead of being a misunderstood alien trying to do good on a planet that fears/mistrusts him, he'll become some sort of wraith doing the hell he wants without giving anyone satisfactions, to serve some way of life only he understands and thinks is benefic - basically it's going back 30 years of what we know about the Silver Surfer.

The Photographer in Blowup

17:31 / 16.04.03

When we hit on the idea of portraying him like a character in an M. Night Shyamalan film, I had the hook that would make the series work for me.

Fuck does that mean?

The Natural Way

20:19 / 16.04.03

You don't play it realistically, Rosa. You play it weird. I don't care if it looks exactly like a surf board or not.

Who gives a shit for realism. Just something to snatch and grab for effect along the way. Another *tool*, if you like.

20:55 / 16.04.03

Is it just me, or did that review read like it was translated from another language?

Like Captain America, I don't think the Silver Surfer is a character Marvel can ever get "right" without destroying their marketable brand, because obviously the way to tell a really good the Surfer story that is both "weird" and "realistic" (though it wouldn't really be either) is to make him the Messiah: lunatic disciples, parables, the money-lenders-in-the-temple, and a ritual sacrifice at the end so that he can supertransubstantiatimize to the Power Cosmic and fundamentalist Silver Surfer cults can crop up all over the place. In other words, to be totally offensive about the whole thing and completely ruin any possibility of a movie deal. It'll never fly.

The Photographer in Blowup

21:08 / 16.04.03

Why does he have to be a Jesus-like figure?

Can't he just cruise the universe doing good?

21:16 / 16.04.03

What, like the Fugitive? Zzzzz...

11:59 / 17.04.03

It's a good thing that rollerblades weren't around before he died.

or the folding scooter..

Surely the best way to do a Silver Surfer revamp is to emphasise all the mad Jack Kirby weirdness, the big cosmic machines, the insane pantheons of entities, the weird energy stuff. Kind of like what Morrison touched on in some of the issues of Marvel Boy, taking all that weird Kirby stuff and marrying it to modern scientific and psuedo-scientific concepts. One of the characters greatest strengths is the sheer implausability of an alien getting about the universe on a surfboard. It's perfect, like the comics equivalent of the vespa scooter, or the cambells soup can.

The Natural Way

12:27 / 17.04.03

That's it! That's exactly what I was trying to get at, you saucy Gypsy, you!

10:32 / 18.04.03

Why does he have to be a Jesus-like figure?

He doesn't have to, but it would be significantly more interesting than...

Can't he just cruise the universe doing good?

The Natural Way

12:46 / 18.04.03

Aaah, the Jesus thing - that's just a single isher (if that). It'd be real fun to do an arc based on different civilization's takes on him.

02:33 / 19.04.03

Nah, Runce, the really cool stuff all happens after he's dead. "Raddians" rounded up by the thousands by Skrull legionairres and fed to enormous space-lions made of cosmic fire. Also, the Skrulls would insult them by calling them "Raddishes." Which is why Marvel will never do it.

22:20 / 22.04.03

Well now I'm really intrigued. This from the new Marvel previews:

SILVER SURFER #1

Children all around the world are vanishing, spirited away by a gleaming figure from the stars. Are these just routine cases of alien abduction, or the harbinger of something far more sinister?

How routine are alien abductions anyway?

Solitaire Rose as Tom Servo

00:11 / 23.04.03

The Black Racer was one of the examples of Kirby feeling like his creation was taken away from him and he wanted to "re-create" the idea. The costume was goofy, but the concept of the character was certainly filled with potential...Death was using the soul of a paralized black man who was injured in Vietnam as a vessel, and used his dreams to create his form.

If you can't do something with that in the 70's, you weren't trying hard.

I also like the origional concept of the Surfer (which Stan immediately tossed away) where he is so alien that he doesn't comprehend humans in any way...he sees them almost as cute, fluffy ants who are completely different from him. Then Stan made him into a typical belly-aching whiner. Feh. At least Steve Englehart used the character to try to tie up all of his leftover cosmic plots from the 70's.