Silver Surfer returns in 2022 for a new limited series that'll give the Marvel cosmic character a 'rebirth'. That's a loaded term in superhero comics lore, and the publisher has recruited arguably the character's most memorable creative team to make it happen: writer Ron Marz and artist Ron Lim.
That's right, the creative team behind the well-remembered early '90s run of the Silver Surfer ongoing title are returning for the five-issue Silver Surfer: Rebirth.
"Turns out you can go home again," Marz states in the announcement. "Silver Surfer with Ron Lim was literally my first job in comics. The first comic page I ever wrote was drawn by Ron when we were both kids. And now three decades later we get to go back there and slip right back into that same groove. It's so great to be wielding the power cosmic again."
That's right - Silver Surfer was Marz's comic book debut, transitioning from a career as a journalist to co-writing comic books with Jim Starlin (yeah, that Jim Starlin), then taking Silver Surfer over on his own.
In Silver Surfer: Rebirth, Marz and Lim will be jumping back into the '90s era of their original run to tell an in-continuity story about a mysterious individual stealing the Reality Gem and using it to, among other things, bring the dead hero Captain Marvel back to life.
To put a stop to the havoc wrought by the Reality Gem's mysterious new wielder, the one-time Galactus herald recruits none other than Thanos to find the Gem and untangle the mess its new bearer has made.
Marvel has turned to this formula - classic creators reuniting with Marvel characters they're known for - on several occasions recently, such as with X-Men Legends, Symbiote Spider-Man, and Ben Reilly: Spider-Man. Silver Surfer: Rebirth counts doubly for the trend, as Marz and Lim took over the Silver Surfer title in 1990 during another rebirth - the 'Rebirth of Thanos,' as the storyline is called.
"I am so thrilled to be penciling Silver Surfer: Rebirth," Lim says. "When Darren Shan, our editor, asked if I’d be interested in working on this with Ron Marz, I jumped at the chance. It is fantastic to be working with Ron again. It has been quite a while since we worked together, but it feels like hardly a day has passed. I’m having a blast getting to draw many of my favorite characters from our run. The story is full of surprises, familiar characters, and crazy cosmic action! I can’t wait for the readers to check out the book – hope they enjoy it as much as I enjoy drawing it!"
Lim has drawn the primary cover to Silver Surfer: Rebirth #1, with variants coming from Dan Jurgens/Brett Breeding, Peach Momoko, Claudio Castellini, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Alex Maleev, and Jim Cheung (a headshot sketch). Check out the ones released so far here:
Silver Surfer: Rebirth #1 covers
Marvel is in the midst of reprinting Marz and Lim's Silver Surfer run in a series of 'Epic Collections.' On shelves now are Silver Surfer: Thanos Quest, Silver Surfer: The Infinity Gauntlet, and Silver Surfer: Resurrection.
Silver Surfer: Rebirth #1 (of 5) goes on sale on January 19, 2022. Look for Marvel's full January 2022 schedule later this month on Newsarama.
Who could the mystery antagonist of Silver Surfer: Rebirth? It might be good to start with our list of the best Marvel cosmic villains out there.