Marvel Comics Library: Silver Surfer. 1968–1970 (Bibliotheca Universalis)

Introduced by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in the fertile pages of The Fantastic Four, the Silver Surfer quickly established himself as one of Marvel’s most far-out characters. Enslaved by Galactus to prowl the cosmos for the demi-god’s next planet-sized meal, the Surfer was as tragic a figure as any in comics―and he looked impossibly cool at the same time! A smash hit with fans and a regular supporting character in Fantastic Four, the character struck a creative nerve with Lee, who couldn’t wait to begin to tell some Surfer solo stories, but the timing had to be right.

In the spring of 1968, things came together for both writer and character, with Lee giving the Surfer Marvel’s very first ongoing double-sized book. Lee also recruited artist John Buscema, who had recently been lending his extraordinary pencils to The Avengers. Together, they spun off a run of legendary tales that helped define the character forevermore.
The feature stories from the entire 18-issue run of the 1968 Silver Surfer series are collected in this compact-sized volume from our Marvel Comics Library series. The most pristine pedigreed comics have been cracked open and photographed for reproduction in close collaboration with Marvel and the Certified Guaranty Company. Each page has been photographed as printed more than half a century ago, then digitally remastered using modern retouching techniques to correct problems with the era’s inexpensive, imperfect printing―as if hot off a world-class 1960s printing press.
Texts by author and critic Douglas Wolk accompany original artwork, photographs, and rare memorabilia.
© 2026 MARVEL

Douglas Wolk is a multiple-Eisner-winning author of All of the Marvels and Reading Comics and has written about comics and pop music for The New York Times, Time, The Washington Post, Rolling Stone, and The Believer, among others. He teaches comics history at Portland State University. 

John Buscema (1927–2002) began working for Timely Comics in 1948 drawing Westerns, crime comics, and horror/suspense. He left comics for commercial art but returned to Marvel in 1966, establishing at Marvel a singular style of elegance and realism. His long list of credits includes The Silver Surfer, The Avengers, Sub-Mariner, The Fantastic Four, and numerous Conan the Barbarian stories. In 1978, he collaborated with Stan Lee on a landmark instructional book How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way.

Stan Lee (1922–2018) is known to millions as the man whose super heroes propelled Marvel to its preeminent position in the comic book industry. His cocreations include Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, and hundreds of others. While the Chairman Emeritus of Marvel, he was also the Chief Creative Officer of POW! Entertainment, where he created numerous new characters and stories in areas including publishing, film, reality TV, stage, documentary, and multimedia.

John Buscema (1927–2002) began working for Timely Comics in 1948 drawing Westerns, crime comics, and horror/suspense. He left comics for commercial art but returned to Marvel in 1966, establishing at Marvel a singular style of elegance and realism. His long list of credits includes The Silver Surfer, The Avengers, Sub-Mariner, The Fantastic Four, and numerous Conan the Barbarian stories. In 1978, he collaborated with Stan Lee on a landmark instructional book How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way.

Stan Lee (1922–2018) is known to millions as the man whose super heroes propelled Marvel to its preeminent position in the comic book industry. His cocreations include Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, and hundreds of others. While the Chairman Emeritus of Marvel, he was also the Chief Creative Officer of POW! Entertainment, where he created numerous new characters and stories in areas including publishing, film, reality TV, stage, documentary, and multimedia.