The Silver Surfer #3 (1968) - Printings, Contents and Key Issues

Identification plate

Series: The Silver Surfer (Marvel, 1968 series)
Issue: #3
Publication date: December 1968
Key date: December 1968
On-sale date: September 17, 1968
Indicia publisher: Official Magazine Corp.
Price: $0.25
Pages: 68
Rating: Approved by the Comics Code Authority

Match the book in your hand against this plate before paying an edition-specific price.

Why this issue matters

From the editorial file First appearance of Mephisto, December 1968. Marvel's devil debuts in the Surfer's short-lived first solo series, which makes a low-print-run book the origin point for half a century of deals gone wrong.

The evidence

Claims here come from the story records for this issue, listed under Sources at the bottom of the file. Character hubs with full evidence tables are coming to this site.

Seq	Story	Type	Pages	Credits	Characters
0	The Power and the Prize!	cover	1	pencils: John Buscema; inks: Joe Sinnott; colors: Marie Severin	Silver Surfer [Norrin Radd]; Mephisto; Shalla Bal; Demons
1	-	table of contents	1	pencils: John Buscema, Gene Colan; inks: Joe Sinnott, Paul Reinman; letters: Sam Rosen	Silver Surfer; Mephisto
2	The Power and the Prize!	comic story	40	script: Stan Lee; pencils: John Buscema; inks: Joe Sinnott; colors: Bill Everett; letters: Artie Simek	Silver Surfer [Norrin Radd]; Shalla Bal; Mephisto (first appearance); Demons
11	Marvel Super-Hero T-Shirts; Merry Marvel Marching Society membership kit	promo (ad from the publisher)	1	script: ? (ad copy)	Spider-Man; Thor; The Thing; Captain Marvel [Mar-Vell]; The Hulk
12	Why Won't They Believe Me?	comic story	10	script: Stan Lee; pencils: Gene Colan; inks: Paul Reinman; colors: Bill Everett; letters: Sam Rosen	Watcher [Uatu] (narrator); Professor Crater; Zankor
16	-	letters page	2	pencils: John Buscema; inks: Joe Sinnott; letters: Sam Rosen	Silver Surfer

Plus 13 pages of advertisements and other matter across 15 sequences, as published.

Where to read it

Collection	Year
Astonishing Tales #31	1975	On eBay ›
Marvel Masterworks #15 ISBN 0-87135-631-7	1990	On eBay ›
Bring on the Bad Guys: Origins of the Marvel Comics Villains #[nn] ISBN 0-671-22355-0	1976	On eBay ›
Fantasy Masterpieces #3	1980	On eBay ›
Essential Silver Surfer #1 ISBN 0-7851-0271-X	1998	On eBay ›
Sensational Spider-Man #41	2007	On eBay ›

Reading the story costs a fraction of owning the issue. Both routes are on every file.

Before you buy

Check spine ticks and cover gloss in the photos; silver-age Marvels chip at the edges easily.
Look for tanning at the page edges and transfer stains on the inside covers.
Confirm the cover price against the plate; higher prices can mean a later or foreign printing.

Series context

‹ #23 of 18#4 ›

Sources

Grand Comics Database, issue record (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Found an error in this file? corrections@comicrecord.com