Living through the 1960s was a wild ride. Coming off the "feel good '50s" with "Ike" in the driver seat, the '60s began in peace and prosperity. JFK was elected president and steered through the "Bay of Pigs" and the "Cuban Missile Crisis", while projecting the USA as a modern day "Camelot". After his assassination in 1963, the Vietnam War heated up. The Civil Rights movement gained widespread acceptance but Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed too. There were hippies, demonstrations, psychedelic drugs, riots, an explosion of Rock music, the "Summer of Love", Bobby Kennedy's assassination, astronauts racing to the Moon and finally Woodstock.
The comic book realm was not immune to the rapidly changing times and the merry madman at Marvel Comics churned out a fascinating string of socially relevant stories. Existential hero the "Silver Surfer" was obviously ahead of his time though. Riding a cosmically powered surfboard, the intergalactic wanderer was too deep even for those who "tuned in, turned on and dropped out" with LSD, as evidenced by the canceling of his first solo title after just 18 mystifying issues. Today the Surfer is legend and his earliest appearances are some of the hottest comics on the market.
Heat up your collection with this 1966 "Fantastic Four" issue #48, which marks the first appearance ever of the Silver Surfer. This white hot issue has been soaring in value over the past few years and the trend looks to continue. This better grade example has just been rated a very respectable (6.5) by leading certification service CGC, with an "Off-White to White Pages" notation on the grading label. The label credits the Surfer's creator Jack Kirby for art, along with Stan Lee for story and Joe Sinnott for art and also notes "1st appearance of Silver Surfer and Galactus (cameo last page), Inhumans and Watcher appearance".
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