Review: Silver Surfer Epic Collection- Freedom

Quick Summary

Pros: The Silver Surfer’s evolution and character development is excellent across this volume. The main narrative is interesting and deals with exciting, high-stakes threats. The comic, as a whole, feels like a rejuvenation for the cosmic side of Marvel Comics and brings back several great space-centric storylines from the past.

Cons: The narrative might be harder for newer readers to jump into. The artwork is, mostly, just alright.

Overall: This is a great collection for the Silver Surfer and for the cosmic side of Marvel Comics. It has enough action, drama, emotion, and excitement to make the storyline compelling from beginning to end. However, this is further enhanced by a sense of evolution for the Silver Surfer and many other cosmic concepts, pushing these elements into the Modern Age of Comics. Anyone who likes the cosmic side of Marvel or who is interested in important moments from the Silver Surfer’s history should read this volume.

Story

Silver Surfer Epic Collection: Freedom, by Steve Englehart, is a wonderful volume that expertly handles the evolution of the Silver Surfer and the rejuvenation of the cosmic side of Marvel Comics. This collection details a thrilling narrative, where villains threaten the stability of the entire universe and large-scale wars threaten intergalactic peace. While this is happening, the collection also dips into the Silver Surfer’s psyche, as he experiences a brand new era of growth and development. All of this is also done by bringing great, cosmic concepts, like the Skrulls, Galactus, and the Elders of the Universe, to the forefront. There are points in this collection that may be harder for newer readers to appreciate but, as a whole, this volume has a lot to offer anyone.

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At its core, Freedom is a story about the Silver Surfer and what happens to his life after he obtains the “freedom” he has been craving for so long. This is the biggest leap forward this character has experienced since his creation and has him reach the goal he has been working toward throughout the Silver and Bronze Age of Comics. It is also done because the Thing suggests the Surfer try to get through Galactus’ barrier without his surfboard, a concept so simple that no one thought to try it before. I like the fact that the Surfer got to experience this evolution and I absolutely love the humor that went along with it.

The Surfer’s personal journey does not stop there though. Over the course of this volume, he reunites with the love of his life, realizes that they cannot work out, discovers his ability to love again, and has this new love taken from him. The ups and downs of this journey are all enjoyable to see and are balanced in a way that works well.

Freedom also makes sure to inject plenty of action into this otherwise emotional quest for discovery. The volume places an emphasis on larger story arcs, with significant threats that are dealt with over the course of multiple chapters. This creates an exciting narrative with high-stakes that suit a comic of intergalactic proportions.

The other great part about this book is the way it helps reignite Marvel’s cosmic landscape. It picks up concepts related to the Kree, the Skrulls, Captain Marvel, Galactus, and the Elders that have all been woefully underused in this era of Marvel history. It then goes on to craft new and interesting stories using these concepts, stories that easily do justice to the original stories. Witnessing the start of a new Kree-Skrull War and the end of the universe’s Elders makes a read that feels important on a cosmic level.

The downside to this is that the volume ends up heavily relying on past knowledge of the Marvel universe. Though newer readers can definitely jump in on this volume, it will likely be a big information dump. Newer readers will also not be able to appreciate watching all of these past storylines come together, which is a big part of the fun. I still think that this volume could appeal to newer readers, just not as much.

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Art

The artwork in Freedom is a little mixed and ends up being one of the less appealing aspects of this collection. The collection gets off to a great start with beautiful chapters from John Buscema and John Byrne. These chapters are great representations of the Surfer and of the wild world of space.

Unfortunately, Marshall Rogers’ work on the rest of the collection isn’t that impressive. These chapters often feel too busy, with chaotic structures that do not flow well into one another. There are also moments where it feels like the level of creativity is lacking, especially in places where it would be great to see the imaginative wonders of the cosmos. Specifically, I thought Obliterator and Reptyl to be rather disappointing looking. There are definitely pages that look great and a few splash pages really help capture a moment but these pages are in the minority. Since these chapters form the bulk of the volume, they end up weighing down the visuals for the volume as a whole.

Continuity

Silver Surfer Epic Collection: Freedom marks the start of a new Silver Surfer series. This series somewhat picks up plot threads from the previous Silver Surfer series, which ended with Marvel Masterworks: Silver Surfer Vol. 2 (Review).

The story here continues in Silver Surfer Vol. 3 #1, currently uncollected.

This volume also makes references to other comic books, detailed below:

• The Silver Surfer has been trapped on Earth since the original invasion of Galactus across Fantastic Four #48-50, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four Vol. 5 (Review).
• The Silver Surfer’s battle against Mephisto is show across Silver Surfer Vol. 1 #3, #8, #9, #16, and #17, collected across Marvel Masterworks: Silver Surfer Vol. 1 (Review) and Vol. 2 (Review).
• Silver Surfer Vol. 3 #1 references a wedding from Fantastic Four #300, collected in Fantastic Four Epic Collection: All in the Family. 
• The Thing fought Champion in Marvel Two-In-One Annual #7.
• The Skrulls lost their shape-shifting abilities across Fantastic Four Annual #19 and Avengers Annual #14, collected in either The Avengers: The Legacy of Thanos (Review).
• Nova went off to join Galactus in Fantastic Four #244, collected in Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne Vol. 2. Galactus also swore not to attack Earth again in this issue.
• The story of when Doctor Doom stole the Silver Surfer’s powers is told across Fantastic Four #56-61, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four Vol. 6 (Review), and Daredevil #37, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Daredevil Vol. 4. 
• Silver Surfer’s friend, Al Harper, died in Silver Surfer #5, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Silver Surfer Vol. 1 (Review).
• The Silver Surfer nearly died trying to break through Galactus’ barrier in Fantastic Four #155-157, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four Vol. 15 (Review).
• The Silver Surfer encountered the Hulk in The Incredible Hulk #250.
• The explanation behind the split in the Skrull Empire is given in Avengers #259, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 16 (Review). 
• Notes in Silver Surfer #3 indicate that this takes place after the events of West Coast Avengers Annual #1 and Avengers Annual #16, collected in Avengers Epic Collection: Judgment Day (Review). 
• The Grandmaster and the Collector previously interacted during the Contest of Champions event. This event is mentioned a number of times throughout this volume.
• Silver Surfer #3 references some elements of Espirita’s character that were revealed in West Coast Avengers #20-23, collected in Avengers: West Coast Avengers: Lost in Space-Time.
• Captain Mar-Vell “went mad on his mission” to Earth across Marvel Masterworks: Captain Marvel Vol. 1 (Review).
• The Runner was previously seen in Defenders #143, collected in The Defenders: The End Of All Songs.
• Silver Surfer #4 mentions the Avenger/Defenders clash, detailed across Avengers #115-116 and Defenders #8-11, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 12 (Review) or Marvel Masterworks: Defenders Vol. 2 (Review). 
• Mantis started spending time with the Avengers in Avengers #114, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 12 (Review), and she departed as the Celestial Madonna in Giant-Size Avengers #4, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 14 (Review).
• A note in Silver Surfer #5 states that Phae-Dor was last seen in Captain Marvel #53, collected in Marvel Masterworks Captain Marvel Vol. 5 (Review).  
• The Soul Gems were thought destroyed in the battle between the Avengers and Thanos from Avengers Annual #7, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 17 (Review). 
• One of the Soul Gems was placed on Adam Warlock’s grave in Marvel Two-In-One Annual #2, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Marvel Two-In-One Vol. 2.
• The Gardener fought the Hulk in Incredible Hulk #248.
• Korvak killed the Collector in Avengers #174, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 17 (Review). 
• Rick Jones’ role in the Kree-Skrull was is mentioned. This refers to the events of Avengers #47, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 5 (Review).
• The Supreme Intelligence nearly fixed the Kree’s evolutionary problem in Captain Marvel #41, collected in Marvel Masterworks Captain Marvel Vol. 4 (Review). 
• The Kree’s role in the creation of the Inhumans is shown in Thor #147, collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor Vol. 6 (Review). 
• The Super-Skrull debuted in Fantastic Four #18, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four Vol. 2 (Review), and was killed in Alpha Flight #10, collected in Alpha Flight Classic Vol. 2.
• Silver Surfer #14 references the Silver Surfer’s appearance at the Death of Captain Marvel in Marvel Graphic Novel #1, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Captain Marvel Vol. 6 (Review). It also references his next appearance after that point in Avengers Annual #11, collected in Avengers: Absolute Vision Book One (Review).
• Marvel Fanfare #51 references Mephisto’s role from Thor Annual #13.
• Marvel Fanfare #51 references the Mangog’s last appearance in Thor #250, collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor Vol. 15 (Review).