SILVER SURFER RUN: 18 issues 1968-70
KEY CREATORS: Stan Lee (writer), John Buscema, Jack Kirby (artists)
OUTLINE: Silver Surfer tries to escape from Earth
STANDOUT ISSUE: #3 (Mephisto's debut, with lots of parallels to Jesus being tempted by Satan). I also liked the origin story (#1) and the Thor issue (#4)
DUD ISSUE:The Frankenstein issue
OVERALL: John Buscema's artwork is gorgeous on the first few issues. Unfortunately it weakens over time but still has a certain appeal throughout. Kirby comes on board for the final issue but draws the Surfer with way too many lines on the Surfer's face
 Now for the writing. I had high hopes for the writing because I know Lee has a particular love for this character. Unfortunately the writing is flowery to the point of being more annoying than poetic. For instance in #1 he mentions how unique the Earth is, and as an example notes that the Earth has a sun. Given that the former herald of Galactus can't recall encountering another planet with a sun it's not hard to believe Marz's later retcon of the Surfer suffering from memory loss. Surfer's whining gets old fast as well.
 The plotting gets worse over time, a good example being a story when he swipes something from the Fantastic Four at the beginning of the story, and then can't bring himself to steal from a stranger later in the story because of his values. So it's not okay to steal from strangers, but stealing from your closest friends on Earth is hunky-dorey? There are also points where if the Surfer had been half-ways thinking, he could have escaped from Earth no problem (such as a time travel story where the Surfer finds himself in an era when the barrier didn't exist).
 The plotting gets worse after the page count is reduced, typified with a story where Mephisto starts acting more like a generic super-villain with a lot of power.
 RECOMMENDED OR NOT? While the first four issues are generally okay despite some quibbles, the series doesn't work as a whole, so not. Even with the first four, be prepared for a somewhat rocky journey at points.
 CONTINUITY NOTES: Apparently while Perez was writing, it was established that Zenn-La had been extinct for a long time. Since Shalla-Bal appears frequently in the stories, and not just in flashbacks, this retcons away a
lot of the series.