Good grief, I thought in our senior years we became less busy. Where does the time go? Wherever it's fled to, I'm running low on it this week, so I thought I'd once more raid my cache of graphics that I've stored from here and there and cobble together a little John Buscema goodness for you--mostly prior work that never saw the comics rack, with one or two homage prints thrown in.
Leading us off is someone else who appears to have run out of time--the Silver Surfer, who in an unpublished Buscema cover from his first series falls victim to none other than the heir of Frankenstein!
There's so much more going on for the reader in the unpublished cover that I'm frankly stumped as to why it was rejected. Villain and his evil assistant, check; Surfer in peril, check; entire cover made use of and not an ounce of space wasted on nonessential items like bare walls and flooring, check. The only reason I can fathom the published cover being chosen is that a body of the creature that Herr Frankenstein was working on at the time was thought to be an added draw.
Next we have Silver Surfer #5, its final cover having a little more scope thanks to its crowd and city backdrop which ties directly into the story title. The cover caption is retained on both--though we can see in the unpublished version that the Stranger isn't planning on doing any mourning for the sky-rider.
An Avengers meeting to decide on the Vision's petition for membership is our next stop, as we take a look at the scenario which Buscema apparently adapted for a commission print.
The Panther's rope in the b&w version perhaps draws too much attention to the large amount of vacant space present above the other members, but what do I know.
This Avengers cover comparison is one we've all already had our say on, but the unpublished version is so delightfully more maniacal than its successor that it deserves an encore.
A Buscema commission that takes its cue from Jack Kirby's classic cover to Fantastic Four #72 might have made a more compelling cover for issue #50, eh?
Our fleeing crowds are still present in the unpublished cover to Silver Surfer #2, but perhaps they make the Badoon vessel, crammed into the scene, seem too much like a one-man ship. (Though I love the sci-fi pulp look of it all.)
A curious cover in every respect comes in the form of Silver Surfer #19, an issue which never materialized in light of the series being cancelled with the previous issue.
The image suggests either a Galactus appearance for its own sake scheduled for issue 19, or an aborted issue that was meant to conclude the series with Galactus returning for his former herald and possibly being rebuffed. Either way, it provides stark proof of how diminished in form Buscema had presented the Surfer over the course of the series.
Finally, let's get to those homage pieces, shall we? First, Buscema's classic cover to Silver Surfer #4, lined up next to a tribute cover drawn by Arthur Adams. What colorist wouldn't want to get their hands on this rendering?
Followed by a tribute from Ron Frenz that brings us Galactus and the Surfer in a portrait patterned in Buscema's style.
How about lending me that board for awhile, Norrin?
6 comments:
"Tempus edax rerum" ("Time, that devours all things" by the Roman poet Ovid).
The Silver Surfer's adventures were re-printed in the UK in a weekly called 'The Superheroes' which ran for 50 issues from March 1975 to February 1976 but the only one I bought was #9 which featured the "Heir Of Frankenstein" story. And the cover of The Superheroes #1 didn't use the John Buscema cover from Silver Surfer #1 but instead used the Jack Kirby cover from Fantastic Four #72.
"I'm frankly stumped as to why it was rejected"
I agree with you about preferring that unused cover for Silver Surfer #7, Comicsfan, for pretty much the same reasons. But we're making an aesthetic judgement, as fans - I suspect looking at it as an editor, Stan decided a clearer, larger image of the Surfer in action would probably be better for sales.
-sean
Galactus is drawn by Kirby on the cover numbered 19. The mix of Jack and John's art doesn't quite work.
Ovid had a nice quote, Colin, but the man's no match for Steve Miller and his crew. :D
Sean, your explanation makes perfect sense. (Though perhaps a moot point--it doesn't look like the aim of either Herr Frankenstein or the Surfer is worth a plug nickel!)
Kid, you could be right. I think it might have worked better in a dramatic sense if the Surfer, board in hand, had been standing with his back turned to us and facing whatever judgment Galactus was delivering. A well-placed caption or two could have done the rest.
Great minds do think alike. I also prefer the rejected cover for SS#7, while in the other cases I think they made the right choice. Who wants to see the Surfer's rear end get stepped on? So inelegant.
Don't feel bad about having to throw this post together at the last minute, C.F., these ad hoc deals can be quite entertaining and stir up debate. I have a copy of the cover of F.F. #72 on my wall, believe it or not.
Who says this isn't the Marvel age of interior decorating?
M.P.
You won't get any argument from me, M.P.! :D
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