The Silver Surfer and the Artist I Became

By Anthony Scarzafava

When my family moved from New Jersey to Staten Island, I was eight years old. The move opened up my world. I was allowed to make trips to the local grocery store, where, to my delight, there was a large rack filled with comic books.

That was the beginning of my lifelong obsession with superheroes.

Almost immediately, I started copying the characters in my drawings. I seemed to have a natural ability for it because people soon began asking me to draw their favorite heroes.

I was most fascinated by the solitary and romantic figures. Looking back, they were the characters who most closely reflected my life and personality.

The Silver Surfer was my favorite. He was possibly the most powerful character in the Marvel universe, but his story was heartbreaking. He sacrificed himself for the love of his life. To a ten-year-old boy, it was the perfect story.

The Vision and Black Bolt came in second and third.

The Vision was an android who longed to be human. Black Bolt was the leader of the Inhumans, but he could not speak freely because the power of his voice could destroy worlds.

Looking back, my connection to these characters makes perfect sense. I was a shy kid who spent hours alone in his room drawing and reading comic books.

That kid grew into an artist who has spent his life quietly working through his ideas and frustrations in basements, garages, and attics. I have often tried to explain to friends and family that this need to be alone with my work is not an affliction. It is simply who I am. I am happiest when I can shut out the world and lose myself in making art.

I keep a poster of the Silver Surfer in my studio. It reminds me of the person I was and the artist I became.

It could not have turned out any other way.