Shalla Bal | Magazines and Monsters!

Silver Surfer (vol. 2) #1, 1982

Posted on November 22, 2014 by billyd75

In this awesome issue, we see the Silver Surfer, as he’s trying to break the curse put on him by his former master, Galactus, and leave Earth. He hungers for another chance to scour the space-ways, and see his beloved Shalla Bal again. With the help of the Fantastic Four, he accomplishes this feat, but as we all know, there is always a price to be paid for actions such as these. In this one-shot, we see victory, defeat, agony, and irony. The Surfer, and his enemy forever, Mephisto!

In this one issue, John Byrne gives us an absolute masterpiece. His plot is fantastic, and with a script by Stan Lee, letters by Rick Parker, and inks by the ever-present Tom Palmer, you get one heckuva creative team on this one! Byrne really flexes his artistic muscles here, and shows a wide range. From the awesome shots of the Marvel cosmic universe, to the demonic depths of Mephisto’s realm, you will be in awe of the details in his work. Check it out!

Fantasy Masterpieces #10, 1980 “A World He Never Made”

Posted on September 18, 2014 by billyd75

This issue is my first grab of this title, and I can’t wait to get my hands on more of them! When you see the wondrous world that ‘Big’ John Buscema creates just in the first couple of pages, you’ll be awestruck. He can really make you believe that you’ve exited your body, and entered another world. His uncanny ability to capture characters, especially when they’re in an emotional distress, coupled with his great use of anatomy, is what made him so very special.

In this story, the Surfer is trying to further understand the human race, and that’s something that has proved most difficult for him since his former master, Galactus, banished him to Earth. After witnessing a cop trying to help a suicide attempt on a bridge, the Surfer dresses up like Dick Tracy to “blend in’, and assess mankind down among the people! He hangs out in South America for a while, but realizes that a militaristic group has taken control of the area, and will kill anything they deem untrustworthy. In a subplot, out in space (but nearing Earth), the beloved of the Silver Surfer, the beautiful Shalla Bal, is a passenger aboard the ship of Yarro Gort, and he means to embarrass the Surfer, and take Shalla Bal for his own!

A good story with powerful art! Buscema was such a master at anatomy, and facial expressions specifically. He really knew how to get everything out of a character in pain, or that was suffering. The back-up story is one I own in a couple of different formats, but it’s still very cool. Jim Starlin gives us “The Terrible Trial of Adam Warlock” (Strange Tales #180, 1975), and the whole cast is here for the ride! Pip the Troll, Gamora, and the Universal Church of Truth! Other creators include – Dan Adkins (inker – SS story), Sam Rosen (letters – SS story), Stan Lee (writer – SS story), Tom Orzechowski (letters – Warlock story), Alan Weiss (inker), Len Wein (editor), and Danny Fingeroth (reprint editor)!