FAVOURITE COMICS OF THE PAST PART FIFTY-NINE - FANTASTIC FOUR #55...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

Behold The Silver Surfer on the comic's cover above.  Assuming that I purchased this issue of Fantastic Four in its proper numerical sequence (and because of erratic distribution back in the '60s, there's no guarantee of that), I suspect that this was my very first exposure to the erstwhile sky-riding herald of Galactus, who I next encountered in FF #s 57-60.  Having said that, it's always possible I had the latter four issues (or some of them) before #55, due to some US comics turning up on UK shores months, sometimes even years, after they were first published.  However, in an attempt to keep things simple, we'll give events the benefit of the doubt and assume I acquired this issue within its proper time frame.

There were two nearby shops where I could've purchased this issue.  One was R.S. McColl's across the road from my house, and the other was Corson's*, a little further up the road in a different street, but I'm pretty sure it was from Corson's I acquired the title under consideration.  Bear in mind the significance of this ish; it was the first time the Surfer had made a return appearance since his debut in the 'Galactus Trilogy' (FF #48-50), so it's now regarded as a pretty hot comic among collectors, and the cost of obtaining one in a condition as good as the one featured here certainly reflects that.  Y'know, I've got several reprintings of this tale, but I simply had to own an original again to replace the one I had as a kid, which is why I recently reclaimed it into my possession.

(*Funnily enough, there was also a branch of Corson's next to the newsagent's across from my house, but that Corson's didn't have a spinner-rack of US comics for me to browse through, so I had to trek slightly further afield.)

Back then, I remember looking through the comic (after buying it) as I approached my house, and certain interior images trigger memories of the street and surrounding environs as they were in my day.  Once again, the view of the horizon as it then was from the top of the road where stood my home meets my gaze, and long-departed (flitted, emigrated, or deceased) friends and neighbours yet live, and go about their daily business as they did so long ago when I was a mere boy.  Truly, comics can be a doorway into the past in such a tangible way that I'm glad I fell under their spell so many decades ago.  (I just wish it weren't quite so many decades.)

Anyway, that's more than enough self-indulgent guff from me, so enjoy the pretty piccies and remember your own personal recollections of this classic from yesteryear.  And if you feel like sharing them with your fellow Crivvies, then you know where the comments section is.

Posted in: Cartoons