Kevin Feige has repeatedly stated during interviews that, among all of the MCU's upcoming film projects, he's the most excited about the Fantastic Four: First Steps. That film will introduce a fan-favorite character, the Silver Surfer, to the MCU.
In anticipation of this event, we thought it'd make sense to create this Silver Surfer stock ticker specifically for the Sky-Rider of the Spaceways! As with our other curated lists, this Index features the Silver Surfer's key issues selected by GoCollect staff. Picking these issues is both an art and a science, and, as always, we're always looking for feedback on how to make these indexes better.
When you look at the data contained in the CPI, you can see several market trends and common themes. One theme that jumps out is the market's love for comics where the Hulk, the Thing, Thor, the Human Torch, and Spider-Man fight the Silver Surfer "mano a mano." In general, the market doesn't care too much about issues where superheroes fight one another for the first time; heavyweight bouts with the Silver Surfer, however, are an exception to this general rule.
Personally, I find interest in these issues to be eccentric since they're not valuable for traditional reasons (e.g., they contain first appearances of important characters). Still, market demand for them is sustained and not a flash in the pan driven by a single movie or a TV show. For example, take a look at the value for Silver Surfer #4, an issue where the Silver Surfer and Thor fight for the first time, over the past five years:
Really the only thing that is special about this issue is its cover penciled by John Buscema; people LOVE it. It actually contributes the fourth most points to the overall Index even ahead of Fantastic Four #50 (which has one of the greatest Silver Surfer covers ever drawn by Jack Kirby). Like most other key issues, this issue exploded in value during the 2020-2021 comic boom; however, unlike most other Marvel comics which plummeted in value when the bubble burst in 2022-23, this issue held onto its value.
While not quite as valuable as Silver Surfer #4, copies of Fantastic Four #55 (Silver Surfer vs. Thing) and Tales to Astonish #93 (Silver Surfer vs. Hulk) are always in high demand. Both of those Silver Age comics have experienced a small dip since the comic boom, but are still up big since late 2019.
Key Collector states that Fantastic Four #55 is significant because it's the "first issue where Silver Surfer is illustrated with boxer briefs." I doubt the market places any value on that "first," but maybe that's only me!
Another "Silver Surfer versus" issue that many collectors want is Silver Surfer #15 where the Silver Surfer battles the Human Torch on its cover. It's a cover that recalls the chase scene between the Silver Surfer and the Human Torch in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.
Again, like the other books above, there isn't anything particularly special about this book except for its cover, but it's still quite valuable. According to GoCollect, the FMV of a CGC 9.0 (the most common grade on the CGC Census) is $270. There was a noticeable jump in value in late July 2022 when Feige announced the Fantastic Four film at San Diego Comic Con.
It's understandable wanting to read stories about the Silver Surfer taking on Thor, the Thing and Hulk; those are clashes between titans. But fans also flock to Silver Surfer taking on more "street-level" heroes like Spider-Man in Silver Surfer #14.
You wouldn't think that the Silver Surfer just meeting or fighting Spider-Man for the first time would be that valuable (or be much of a fight), but the FMV of the most common grade on the CGC Census, an 8.5, is a solid $250.
Glide in to the Silver Surfer CPI here and check out how all of the books on the index are faring.
