Random Happenstance

I think I had the whole run, minus one issue that I have now but still don't like, but I may have lost most of the Atlantis Attacks annuals over the years. So, I've been re-buying them here and there as I stumble across them, and set up a tag for them here as well; since they probably won't end up in the same box anytime soon. Today, chapter one! Even if we've checked out a couple others before. From 1989, Silver Surfer Annual #2, "How Sharper than a Serpent's Tooth..." Written by Steve Englehart, pencils by Ron Lim, inks by Keith Williams. Englehart and Lim were the regular Silver Surfer team at the time, and would be until Englehart left after #31, which also features Williams.

This issue cleverly uses the space-travelling Surfer, without having to drag him back to earth, again. While the Dreaming Celestial stirs restlessly on earth, the Surfer loses control of his board, after passing through a mysterious cloud of space dust. Using the power cosmic, the Surfer reconstitutes the Deviant Ghaur, who had been disincorporated some time back. (In Iron Man Annual #6, even though the editorial footnote says #7!) The Surfer is less than pleased with this turn of events, while Ghaur goes on about this being his godlike destiny. Ghaur attacks the Surfer, but soon realizes he's not at full strength (or is way out of his league...) and traps the Surfer momentarily and flees. Now, the Surfer knows full well Ghaur will almost certainly be up to no good as soon as he gets back to earth, but he had his own problems, in the form of a new Kree-Skrull War, that had dragged Zenn-La in.

Ghaur returns to earth, and heads straight for the underwater city Lemuria, where he frees long-time Sub-Mariner villainess, Llyra. He needs her help, because he's learned about something called the Serpent Crown...Meanwhile, the Surfer tries to transmit his thoughts to earth--something I'm not sure I've seen him try since--and his warning is seemingly received by Dr. Strange, Alpha Flight's Talisman...and the Dreaming Celestial.

The rest of the issue features, like the rest of the AA annuals, a hodgepodge of back-up features and the serialized recap "The Saga of the Serpent Crown," written by Peter Sanderson, pencils by Mark Bagley, inks by Keith Williams. (Did they do the whole serial? Maybe we'll see!) We may check out one of the back-ups here later, in our ongoing exposé of pirates being dicks.