Back Issue #133 by TwoMorrows Publishing

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February 2022

No.133

Starring the 1990s Starman with JAMES ROBINSON & TONY HARRIS Featuring Star-Spangled Kid ★ Starjammers Lee & Kaluta’s Starstruck ★ 1980s Starman

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STARMEN

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CONAN AND THE BARBARIANS! Celebrating the 50th anniversary of ROY THOMAS and BARRY WINDSOR-SMITH’s Conan #1! The Bronze Age Barbarian Boom, Top 50 Marvel Conan stories, Marvel’s Not-Quite Conans (from Kull to Skull), Arak–Son of Thunder, Warlord action figures, GRAY MORROW’s Edge of Chaos, and Conan the Barbarian at Dark Horse Comics. With an unused WINDSOR-SMITH Conan #9 cover.

Celebrates the 40TH ANNIVERSARY of MARV WOLFMAN and GEORGE PÉREZ’s New Teen Titans, featuring a guest editorial by WOLFMAN and a PÉREZ tribute and art gallery! Plus: The New Teen Titans’ 40 GREATEST MOMENTS, the Titans in the media, hero histories of RAVEN, STARFIRE, and the PROTECTOR, and more! With a NEVER-BEFORE-PUBLISHED PÉREZ TITANS COVER from 1981!

SUPERHERO ROMANCE ISSUE! Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark’s many loves, Star Sapphire history, Bronze Age weddings, DeFALCO/ STERN Johnny Storm/Alicia Pro2Pro interview, Elongated Man and Wife, May-December romances, Supergirl’s Secret Marriage, and… Aunt May and Doc Ock?? Featuring MIKE W. BARR, CARY BATES, STEVE ENGLEHART, BOB LAYTON, DENNY O’NEIL, and many more! Cover by DAVE GIBBONS.

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HORRIFIC HEROES! With Bronze Age CREATOR-OWNED COMICS! Featuring histories of Man-Thing, the Demon, and in-depth histories of MATT WAGNER’s the Creeper, Atlas/Seaboard’s horrifying Mage and Grendel. Plus other indie heroes, and Ghost Rider (Danny Ketch) sensations of the Bronze Age, including rides again! Featuring the work of CHRIS COLLEEN DORAN’s A Distant Soil, STAN CLAREMONT, GERRY CONWAY, ERNIE SAKAI’s Usagi Yojimbo, STEVE PURCELL’s COLON, MICHAEL GOLDEN, JACK KIRBY, Sam & Max, JAMES DEAN SMITH’s Boris MIKE PLOOG, JAVIER SALTARES, MARK the Bear, and LARRY WELZ’s Cherry TEXIERA, and more. Man-Thing cover by Poptart! With a fabulous Grendel cover by RUDY NEBRES. MATT WAGNER.

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“Legacy” issue! Wally West Flash, BRANDON ROUTH Superman interview, Harry Osborn/Green Goblin, Scott Lang/Ant-Man, Infinity Inc., Reign of the Supermen, JOHN ROMITA SR. and JR. “Rough Stuff,” plus CONWAY, FRACTION, JURGENS, MESSNER-LOEBS, MICHELINIE, ORDWAY, SLOTT, ROY THOMAS, MARK WAID, and more. WIERINGO/MARZAN JR. cover!

SOLDIERS ISSUE! Sgt. Rock revivals, General Thunderbolt Ross, Beetle Bailey in comics, DC’s Blitzkrieg, War is Hell’s John Kowalski, Atlas’ savage soldiers, The ’Nam, Nth the Ultimate Ninja, and CONWAY and GARCIA-LOPEZ’s Cinder and Ashe. Featuring CLAREMONT, DAVID, DIXON, GOLDEN, HAMA, KUBERT, LOEB, DON LOMAX, DOUG MURRAY, TUCCI, and more. BRIAN BOLLAND cover!

BRONZE AGE TV TIE-INS! TV-to-comic adaptations of the ’70s to ’90s, including Bionic Woman, Dark Shadows, Emergency, H. R. Pufnstuf, Hee Haw, Lost in Space (with BILL MUMY), Primus (with ROBERT BROWN), Sledge Hammer, Superboy, V, and others! Featuring BALD, BATES, CAMPITI, EVANIER, JOHN FRANCIS MOORE, SALICRUP, SAVIUK, SPARLING, STATON, WOLFMAN, and more!

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TV TOON TIE-INS! Bronze Age HannaBRONZE AGE PROMOS, ADS, AND Barbera Comics, Underdog, Mighty Mouse, GIMMICKS! The aborted DC Super-Stars Rocky & Bullwinkle, Pink Panther, Battle of Society fan club, Hostess Comic Ads, DC the Planets, and Smokey Bear and Woodsy 16-page Preview Comics, rare Marvel Owl. Bonus: SCOTT SHAW! digs up custom comics, DC Hotline, Popeye Captain Carrot’s roots! Featuring the work Career Comics, early variant covers, of BYRNE, COLON, ENGEL, EVANIER, and more. Featuring BARR, HERDLING, FIELDS, MICHAEL GALLAGHER, WIN LEVITZ, MAGUIRE, MORGAN, PACELLA, MORTIMER, NORRIS, SEVERIN, SKEATES, PALMIOTTI, SHAW!, TERRY STEWART, STATON, TALLARICO, TOTH, and more! THOMAS, WOLFMAN, and more! (84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 (Digital Edition) $4.99

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THE KIRBY LEGACY AT DC! Explores Jack Kirby’s post-Fourth World Bronze Age DC characters! Demon, Kamandi, OMAC, Sandman, and Kirby’s Odd Jobs (Atlas, Manhunter, and more). Plus: the SIMON & KIRBY Reunion That Wasn’t! Featuring BISSETTE, BYRNE, CONWAY, GIBBONS, GOLDEN, GRANT, RUCKA, SEMEIKS, THOMAS, TIMM, WAGNER, and more. Demon cover by KIRBY and MIKE ROYER!

1980s MARVEL LIMITED SERIES! CLAREMONT/MILLER’s Wolverine, Black Panther, Falcon, Punisher, Machine Man, Iceman, Magik, Fantastic Four vs. X-Men, Nick Fury vs. S.H.I.E.L.D., Wolfpack, and more! With BOGDANOVE, COWAN, DeFALCO, DeMATTEIS, GRANT, HAMA, MILGROM, NEARY, SMITH, WINDSORSMITH, and more. Cover by JOE RUBINSTEIN. Edited by MICHAEL EURY.

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Volume 1, Number 133 February 2022 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Eury PUBLISHER John Morrow

Comics’ Bronze Age and Beyond!

DESIGNER Rich Fowlks COVER ARTIST Tony Harris COVER DESIGNER Michael Kronenberg PROOFREADER David Baldy

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A GALAXY OF STARMEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Who are the Starmen in your neighborhood? Find out in this special feature FLASHBACK: Star-Spangled Kid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 From a kid hero with an adult sidekick to Skyman, the saga of Sylvester Pemberton BEYOND CAPES: Starjammers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 The space-spanning X-Men spinoff, filled with dazzle and daddy issues PRO2PRO: Elaine Lee and Michael Wm. Kaluta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 They’re still Starstruck after all these years FLASHBACK: 1980s Starman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 The short-lived career of the post-Crisis Starman, Will Payton FLASHBACK: The History is the Hero: 1990s Starman Retrospective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 An in-depth overview of the fascinating saga of multiple Starmen and DC lore PRINCE STREET NEWS: Night of 1000 Stars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 A new cartoon by Karl Heitmueller, Jr. PRO2PRO: Talking Starman with James Robinson and Tony Harris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 A lavishly illustrated conversation with the writer and artist of the ’90s hit comic BACK TALK: Reader Reactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 BACK ISSUE™ issue 133, February 2022 (ISSN 1932-6904) is published monthly (except Jan., March, May, and Nov.) by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614, USA. Phone: (919) 449-0344. Periodicals postage pending at Raleigh, NC. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Back Issue, c/o TwoMorrows, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614. Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief. John Morrow, Publisher. Editorial Office: BACK ISSUE, c/o Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief, 112 Fairmount Way, New Bern, NC 28562. Email: euryman@gmail.com. Eight-issue subscriptions: $90 Economy US, $137 International, $39 Digital. Please send subscription orders and funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial office. Cover art by Tony Harris. Starman © DC Comics. Other characters © their respective companies. All Rights Reserved. All editorial matter © 2022 TwoMorrows and Michael Eury except Prince Street News, © Karl Heitmueller, Jr. Printed in China. FIRST PRINTING.

Starmen Issue • BACK ISSUE • 1

2013 Starman specialty illustration by Tony Harris. Courtesy of Heritage. TM & © DC Comics.

SPECIAL THANKS VERY SPECIAL Brian Augustyn THANKS Ed Catto Tony Harris Chris Claremont James Robinson Gerry Conway DC Comics Peter David Bill DeSimone Grand Comics Database Becky Harris Karl Heitmueller, Jr. Heritage Comics Auctions John Joshua Michael Wm. Kaluta Terry Kavanagh Paul Kupperberg James Heath Lantz Elaine Lee Luigi Novi Zack Smith Roger Stern Len Strazewski Bryan D. Stroud Roy Thomas Mikaal Tomas Toni Torres John Trumbull

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Interview with Bond Girl and Hammer Films actress CAROLINE MUNRO! Plus: WACKY PACKAGES, COURAGEOUS CAT AND MINUTE MOUSE, FILMATION’S GHOSTBUSTERS vs. the REAL GHOSTBUSTERS, Bandai’s rare PRO WRESTLER ERASERS, behind the scenes of Sixties movies, WATERGATE at Fifty, Go-Go Dancing, a visit to the Red Skelton Museum, and more fun, fab features!

MAD’s maddest artist, SERGIO ARAGONÉS, is profiled! Plus: TV’s Route 66 and an interview with star GEORGE MAHARIS, MOE HOWARD’s final years, catching up with singer B.J. THOMAS, LONE RANGER cartoons, G.I. JOE, and more fun, fab features! Featuring columns by ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, and MARK VOGER! Edited by MICHAEL EURY.

Meet JULIE NEWMAR, the purr-fect Catwoman! Plus: ASTRO BOY, TARZAN Saturday morning cartoons, the true history of PEBBLES CEREAL, TV’s THE UNTOUCHABLES and SEARCH, the MONKEEMOBILE, SOVIET EXPO ’77, and more fun, fab features! Featuring columns by ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, and MARK VOGER! Edited by MICHAEL EURY.

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Holy backstage pass! See rare, behind-thescenes photos of many of your favorite Sixties TV shows! Plus: an unpublished interview with Green Hornet VAN WILLIAMS, Bigfoot on Saturday morning television, TV’s Zoorama and the San Diego Zoo, The Saint, the lean years of Star Trek fandom, the WrestleFest video game, TV tie-in toys no kid would want, and more fun, fab features!

Sixties teen idol RICKY NELSON remembered by his son MATTHEW NELSON, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., rural sitcom purge, EVEL KNIEVEL toys, the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, Saturday morning’s Super 7, The Muppet Show, behind-the-scenes photos of Sixties movies, an interview with The Sound of Music’s heartthrob-turnedbad guy DANIEL “Rolf” TRUHITTE, and more fun, fab features!

An exclusive interview with Logan’s Run star MICHAEL YORK, plus Logan’s Run novelist WILLIAM F. NOLAN and vehicle customizer DEAN JEFFRIES. Plus: the Marvel Super Heroes cartoons of 1966, H. R. Pufnstuf, Leave It to Beaver’s SUE “Miss Landers” RANDALL, WOLFMAN JACK, drive-in theaters, My Weekly Reader, DAVID MANDEL’s super collection of comic book art, and more!

Dark Shadows’ Angelique, LARA PARKER, sinks her fangs into an exclusive interview. Plus: Rankin-Bass’ Mad Monster Party, Aurora Monster model kits, a chat with Aurora painter JAMES BAMA, George of the Jungle, The Haunting, Jawsmania, Drak Pack, TV dads’ jobs, and more fun, fab features! Featuring columns by FARINO, MANGELS, MURRAY, SAAVEDRA, SHAW, and MICHAEL EURY.

Our BARBARA EDEN interview will keep you forever dreaming of Jeannie! Plus: The Invaders, the BILLIE JEAN KING/BOBBY RIGGS tennis battle of the sexes, HANNABARBERA’s Saturday morning super-heroes of the Sixties, THE MONSTER TIMES fanzine, and more fun, fab features! Featuring ERNEST FARINO, ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW!, and MICHAEL EURY.

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NOW BI-MONTHLY! Celebrating fifty years of SHAFT, interviews with FAMILY AFFAIR’s KATHY GARVER and The Brady Bunch Variety Hour’s GERI “FAKE JAN” REISCHL, ED “BIG DADDY” ROTH, rare GODZILLA merchandise, Spaghetti Westerns, Saturday morning cartoon preview specials, fake presidential candidates, Spider-Man/The Spider parallels, Stuckey’s, and more fun, fab features!

HALLOWEEN ISSUE! Interviews with DARK SHADOWS’ DAVID SELBY, and the niece of movie Frankenstein GLENN STRANGE, JULIE ANN REAMS. Plus: KOLCHAK THE NIGHT STALKER, ROD SERLING retrospective, CASPER THE FRIENDLY GHOST, TV’s Adventures of Superman, Superman’s pal JIMMY OLSEN, QUISP and QUAKE cereals, the DRAK PAK AND THE MONSTER SQUAD, scratch model customs, and more!

CHRIS MANN goes behind the scenes of TV’s sexy sitcom THREE’S COMPANY— and NANCY MORGAN RITTER, first wife of JOHN RITTER, shares stories about the TV funnyman. Plus: RICK GOLDSCHMIDT’s making of RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER, RONNIE SCHELL interview, Sheena Queen of the TV Jungle, Dr. Seuss toys, Popeye cartoons, DOCTOR WHO’s 1960s U.S. invasion, and more!

Exclusive interviews with Lost in Space’s MARK GODDARD and MARTA KRISTEN, Dynomutt and Blue Falcon, Hogan’s Heroes’ BOB CRANE, a history of WhamO’s Frisbee, Twilight Zone and other TV sci-fi anthologies, Who Created Archie Andrews?, oddities from the San Diego Zoo, lava lamps, and more with FARINO, MANGELS, MURRAY, SAAVEDRA, SHAW, and MICHAEL EURY!

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by B r y a n

D. Stroud

Very much a product of the times, the Star-Spangled Kid, along with sidekick Stripesy, made his debut in Star Spangled Comics #1 (Oct. 1941). Just prior to the issue’s release, there was a three-page preview of the new feature in the pages of Action Comics #40 (Sept. 1941). The brainchild of writer (and Superman co-creator) Jerry Siegel with art by Hal Sherman, the Kid actually bore more of a resemblance to Bruce Wayne than Clark Kent. Sylvester Pemberton was a brilliant, wealthy, seemingly entitled young man in the lap of luxury who led a double life as the Star-Spangled Kid, fighting against fifth columnists and spies of the Third Reich with nothing more than his acrobatic and handto-hand combat abilities along with a souped-up car dubbed the Star Rocket Racer, driven by his family’s chauffeur and master mechanic, Pat Dugan, a.k.a. Stripesy. He even pulled a couple of tools from his belt in that first story. The obvious twist on the hero-andsidekick theme was that in this partnership, the youngster was the hero and the adult served as sidekick. The duo fought crime together in Star Spangled Comics up until issue #86 (Nov. 1948). They were also part of the roster of the Seven Soldiers of Victory, or “Law’s Legionnaires,” a super-team whose adventures began in Leading Comics #1 (Dec. 1941). Interestingly, the other members of the team including the Crimson Avenger, Green Arrow and Speedy, the Shining Knight, and the Vigilante, were, like the Kid and Stripesy, costumed crimefighters with no superpowers. That title ran until its Spring 1945 edition before giving way to funny-animal stories. [Editor’s note: A previously written Golden Age SSOV script was finally illustrated in the 1970s and was serialized in Adventure Comics. See BACK ISSUE #64 for the story.] As if they weren’t busy enough, the Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy also appeared in World’s Finest Comics beginning in issue #6 (Summer 1942) through issue 18 (Summer 1945). Ultimately, the patriotic pair went into cold storage at the end of 1948.

BRONZE AGE REVIVAL

The Kid’s next appearance was again in the company of the Seven Soldiers of Victory when the team was revived for the annual Justice League of America crossover event beginning in issue #100 (Aug. 1972). The story’s writer, Len Wein, shared the genesis of the revival in an introduction titled “Too Much of a Good Thing?” in Crisis on Multiple Earths vol. 3 (2004). Newly assigned to write JLA, Len recalled len wein talking it over with editor Julius Schwartz: “Oh, and one more thing,” © DC Comics. Julie added, ‘Your first issue? It’s to be issue #100. It’s the first part of the tenth annual JLA/JSA crossover. You might want to think about doing some-

With Stripesy, the Man Wonder Star-Spangled Kid and Stripsey reversed the adult hero/kid sidekick dynamic. Back cover to Star Spangled Comics #1 (Oct. 1941). Art by Hal Sherman. TM & © DC Comics.

Starmen Issue • BACK ISSUE • 5

Coming Out and Coming Back (left) Hal Sherman’s cover to 1941’s Star Spangled Comics #1 introduced the Kid and Stripesy. (right) Nick Cardy’s cover to 1972’s Justice League of America #100 introduced them anew—alongside their Seven Soliders of Victory allies. TM & © DC Comics.

thing special.’ So, I thought. Dear God, did I think. A story big enough to celebrate this comics milestone needed to be something more. And that’s when I remembered the Seven Soldiers of Victory. I don’t recall at this late date exactly where I had first read about the Law’s Legionnaires, as the Seven Soldiers were sometimes called, though I imagine it was probably Roy Thomas’ seminal fanzine Alter Ego. I did remember that the Seven Soldiers had only appeared together twice, both times in the pages of DC’s now long-defunct Leading Comics. “There they were, a third super-team, already owned by DC, just waiting for someone to give them their due. I called Julie and pitched him the idea. ‘You do realize you’re crazy, don’t you?’ he asked. ‘That’s an awful lot of characters to cram into a two-part story.’ ‘Then why don’t we make it a three-parter?’ I suggested. Julie didn’t have to think about it long. ‘Sure, why don’t we?’ “So, there I was, now faced with having to come up with a story that incorporated the entire membership of the JLA, as many members as possible of the Justice Society (I omitted a few for simplicity’s sake), and all eight members of the Seven Soldiers (read the story; you’ll understand). I even included all the JLA’s auxiliary members, like Metamorpho, Zatanna, and my old pal, the Elongated Man. Every Justice Leaguer made an appearance, even if it was only a cameo. “33*HEROES*33 – The Greatest Gathering of SuperStars Ever Recorded! the cover of JLA #100 exclaimed proudly. Who was I to say otherwise? I must have been out of my mind.”

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The appearance of the Star-Spangled Kid in the JLA tale wasn’t that auspicious, but did serve both to introduce readers to this new/old character after nearly a quarter-century absence and to explain that a battle between the Seven Soldiers of Victory and the Nebula-Man led to their being lost at various points in the mists of time. It wouldn’t be nearly as long until the readers saw the Star-Spangled Kid again.

SUPER SQUAD

The Kid fully bounded into the Bronze Age, appropriately enough, in the pages of the newly revived All-Star Comics #58 (Jan.–Feb. 1976), retaining the numbering sequence from the final issue in the Golden Age series. As can be seen on its cover, he’s wielding Starman’s cosmic rod. What gives? And what exactly is the cosmic rod? To answer the latter question, a short visit to Starman’s full reintroduction in the Silver Age is in order, contained in the pages of The Brave and the Bold #61 (Aug.–Sept. 1965), though it should be noted that he made his first Silver Age appearance in the annual JLA/JSA crossover in Justice League of America #29 and 30 in 1964. The B&B story contains a text feature by Julius Schwartz recapping Starman’s origin: “From his boyhood, Ted Knight had an absorbing interest in astronomy. Born to wealth, he was able to devote much time to his hobby, and eventually made a remarkable discovery. He found a way to utilize infra-rays from distant stars with his amazing gravity rod, which was first described as ‘an invention that overcomes the forces of gravity and launches bolts of energy” by radiating starlight.’”

Schwartz further explained how the gravity rod evolved into the cosmic rod: “During his years of retirement, Ted Knight continued to improve his gravity rod until he developed the highly superior cosmic rod, which draws its incredible power from the cosmic forces of the universe.” In fact, within this team-up tale with Black Canary, Starman presented her with a miniature version of the cosmic rod as a contingency weapon for battling the Mist, telling the Blonde Bombshell, “It draws its power from quasars, the greatest known source of energy in the universe!” At the story’s end, Black Canary returned the quasarpowered rod to Ted Knight. Returning to the Star-Spangled Kid: It seemed that Ted Knight was currently relegated to the sidelines with a broken leg and had decided that the cosmic rod shouldn’t sit idle with him, so he loaned it to the Star-Spangled Kid, who made good use of its powers to deal with the criminals of Earth-Two. While he seemed to be having the time of his life learning to use the powers (particularly flight) of the cosmic rod and mopping up criminals, it was soon established that the Star-Spangled Kid was very much a hero out of time. He briefly basked in his victory, but then realized that the only home he ever knew was over 20 years in the past. His former partner, Stripesy, had retired, leaving the Kid feeling very much alone, despite being taken in by the Justice Society of America and being part of a new sub-group dubbed the Super Squad, along with Robin and Power Girl. Writer and editor Gerry Conway had some specific ideas in reviving the Star-Spangled Kid, as he reveals to BACK ISSUE: “I wanted to bring back the AllStar book and the Justice Society, but I also wanted it to focus primarily on the younger members of the group, along with a handful of the older members in a guiding role. That was why I created Power Girl, as a strong, young female lead for the book. Robin, obviously… and the Star-Spangled Kid was the only original Earth-Two hero, as a member of the Seven Soldiers of Victory, who was a kid, literally. So, it was really kind of a no-brainer, even though I didn’t know that much about the character, but he was someone I could specify having as a new, young member of the All-Star [Super] Squad.” gerry conway As far as deciding to give Starman’s cosmic rod to the Kid, Gerry shares, “I don’t really recall my rationale, but it was probably along the lines of trying to give him a superpower that would connect with the power that Starman previously had to the Star-Spangled Kid. That would increase his viability as a superhero member of the group. It was probably just some random thought that I had. Roy Thomas, who had far more affection for the original JSA and original characters from the Golden Age than I did, really hated a lot of my choices. He was not happy that I just mixed and matched and picked things at random to accomplish my goals. It wasn’t a judicious, well-worked-out rationale. It was more, ‘This is how I Cosmic (Rod) Boy want to end up, how do I get there?’” (top) The Kid wields Starman’s cosmic rod on the Mike Grell-drawn Were there any plans to feature the original Starman in All-Star Comics? “I wasn’t planning on bringing Starcover of All-Star Comics #58 (Jan.–Feb. 1976), introducing the man back,” Conway says, “because I did a 1st Issue Special with an entirely new Starman. I created a different Super Squad and rebooting the JSA’s series. (bottom) A closeup of character and tied him to the Earth-One universe, and the young hero and his hand-me-down weapon, from issue #63. it had nothing to do with the original Justice Society Starman. It wasn’t part of my plan to do anything with TM & © DC Comics. Starmen Issue • BACK ISSUE • 7

The Sky’s the Limit (left) The Kid’s flying high, as Skyman! Splash to Infinity, Inc. #31 (Oct. 1986) by Roy and Dann Thomas, Todd McFarlane, and Tony DeZuniga. (inset) Roy, a Golden Age fan, borrowed the hero’s new name from this Ogden Whitney hero of yesteryear. (right) Sylvester dies at the hand of Mister Bones, wielded by the hands of Solomon Grundy, manipulated by the command of Jade, actually the Harlequin (whew!), in Infinity, Inc. #51 (June 1988). By Thomas, Mike Bair, and Bob Downs. TM & © DC Comics.

serving in the capacity of minding the store and dispatching members of Infinity, Inc. wherever they needed to go, seeing little action himself. This administrative role was deliberate, according to Roy, who said that he never intended for him to be a full-fledged active member of the Infinity team. The following year, in the pages of issue #51 (June 1988), came a shocking turn of events, when one of the oldest foes of the Justice Society of America, Solomon Grundy, was goaded into killing Skyman by the Harlequin, masquerading as Infinity member Jade. Roy Thomas came to regret this decision: “[It was] just a way to write him out of the series, because I felt it no longer needed him. But then, since the series was clearly ending, it was a bit gratuitous, and I’d just as soon I hadn’t done it. When I think of the anger I’ve felt at writers who kill off creations/ co-creations of mine, like some of DC’s travesty ‘big series,’ I wouldn’t be surprised if the ghost of my old friend Jerry Siegel would come down to haunt me.” Roy further mused that perhaps the StarSpangled Kid/Skyman wasn’t fully realized under his watch: “I’ll admit that I was never terribly interested in SSK as a character. He was just a device, really. I think SSK and Stripesy were a good series idea back in the day, but I was never wild about him as a JSAer. Nice costume, though. I think a lot more could have been done with him… but in

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Gerry’s All-Star Comics and in Infinity, Inc. he wasn’t even one of the ‘main characters,’ by my way of thinking. He deserved a writer who concentrated on him, or on him and Stripesy.” The Star-Spangled Kid may be no more, but his legacy was picked up later in an unlikely place. Courtney Elizabeth Whitmore, the stepdaughter of Pat Dugan, a.k.a. Stripesy, would discover the old cosmic converter belt among Dugan’s personal items and use it to become the new Star-Spangled Kid, eventually inheriting the cosmic rod, modernized into a cosmic staff, and ultimately changing her name to Stargirl. Pat Dugan even developed a suit of battle armor and dubbed himself S.T.R.I.P.E. in order to assist and help to protect his stepdaughter in her new role. Thus, the twin legacies of the Star-Spangled Kid and Starman live on in this new hero, whose abilities have earned her a place in the Justice Society of America and the Justice League of America—as well as a live-action television series on the CW network. Stargirl will doubtless continue to carry on the legacies in noble fashion. BRYAN STROUD is a longtime fan of DC Comics, particularly the Silver and Bronze Ages.

Like its cinematic counterpart, the X-Men universe in Marvel Comics is full of stars. Some them even travel the cosmos. This is especially true of a group of space travelers created by Dave Cockrum called the Starjammers. As part of our salute to starmen, BACK ISSUE will take a look at this ragtag group of space buccaneers. Don’t let Ch’Od eat the pages before you read this.

THE STARJAMMING BEGINS

James Heath

Legendary artist Dave Cockrum had pretty much made a name for himself in the early to mid-1970s with DC’s Legion of the Super-Heroes and helping Len Wein relaunch the X-Men in Giant-Size X-Men #1. When Chris Claremont became writer on the Uncanny X-Men regular series, Cockrum stayed with Marvel’s merry mutants until issue #107 (Oct. 1977). That issue was Lantz the full-fledged debut of a Cockrum creation that would become a beloved part of the X-Men Universe. He and Claremont took Cyclops and the gang “Where No X-Man Has Gone Before” when they met the Starjammers, who had made a brief cameo at the end of Uncanny X-Men #104. The Starjammers almost never came to be. Cockrum had wanted them to have their own series with a tryout in either Marvel Premiere or Marvel Spotlight. When those anthologies were unavailable, Cockrum showed Claremont his concepts and drawings. Claremont then asked for the Starjammers to appear in X-Men. Claremont even mentioned a Marvel Premiere story for the Starjammers in his interview with Margaret O’Connell in The Comics Journal #50. Yet, that Starjammers adventure never went beyond the proposal stages. Various sources including the aforementioned TCJ interview with Chris Claremont have stated that Claremont himself, knowing X-Men #107 was Cockrum’s last issue, had been unsuccessful in convincing him to not to put the Starjammers in that issue. This was because Claremont had felt Cockrum’s team of intergalactic rebels was a wonderful concept that he shouldn’t have just given away. However, Cockrum was impatient to see the Starjammers come to life on the comics pages. Cockrum did later hold over a creation from his return to X-Men for his creator-owned Futurians graphic novel. The character of Silkie was originally intended to debut in Uncanny X-Men #150. Yet, Marvel didn’t make a deal to the artist’s satisfaction. Uncanny X-Men #107’s “Where No X-Man Has Gone Before,” a title dave cockrum that is an homage to Star Trek, is part © Eliot R. Brown. of “The Phoenix Saga.” We see the X-Men go beyond Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, Salem Center, and New York in that comic. The band of mutants are transported into the Shi’Ar Empire in search of Erik the Red, who abducted Lilandra Neramani. Lilandra opposes

We Be Jammin’ X-Men #107 (Oct. 1977), the Starjammers’ first appearance. Cover by Dave Cockrum. TM & © Marvel.

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From Inner Space to Outer Space Just for fun: (right) Dave Cockrum’s iconic cover for Marvel’s The Micronauts #1 was (left) reimagined as a fantasy cover for a Starjammers comic by artist Ian Richardson. From the collection of John Joshua. Micronauts © Takara LTD/A.G.E., Inc. Starjammers © Marvel.

publish the story in a two-issue prestige format as befitted Dave Cockrum’s work. “I would have liked to have worked much more closely with Dave—as I was a huge fan of his work—but most of our communication was through Michael,” Kavanagh continues. “The storyline was mostly developed by Michael and me, but Dave always added his own unique elements. They always added to the fun of the story. I have loved the characters since their introduction. I mean, who doesn’t like space pirates?! It was an honor to contribute to their mythos. Michael requested a fun space opera with emphasis on fun. I did my best to give him what he wanted. I was a fledgling writer at the time, but Michael and Dave were consummate professionals who helped navigate me to the final story that they wanted.” Warren Ellis and Carlos Pacheco took Corsair and his crew through the cosmos in Starjammers (Oct. 1995– Jan. 1996) around the time “The Age of Apocalypse” and “Onslaught” dominated the main X-books. Upheaval in the Shi’Ar Empire leads the Starjammers to battle a being known as the Uncreated, with the future of the entire universe hanging in the balance. Corsair and his

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crew continued their cosmos buccaneering in a second Starjammers miniseries in 2004–2005 by Star Wars and Dune novelist Kevin J. Anderson and art by Alè Garza. Cadet Tolo Hawk must decide who the real enemy is when he takes on the Starjammers. This book was just one of many of the ragtag group of pirates’ appearances in post-Bronze Age Marvel books. The Starjammers and their galaxy-spanning exploits have become the stuff of legend for X-Men and science-fiction fans alike. Their comic-book sagas from the Bronze Age to the present will delight you, dear reader, whether you peruse your local comic shop’s back-issue bins or purchase digital copies of new Marvel tomes for your electronic devices. Don’t forget to thank Waldo for this recommendation. Dedicated to my beautiful and incredible wife Laura, empress of my heart; Jadis, Pupino, Odino, and our four-legged feline and canine Shi’Ar Imperial Guards who can take on all the X-Men; my nephew Kento, who has unleashed the power of the M’Kraan crystal; the late Dave Cockrum; and Chris Claremont, Terry Kavanagh, Peter David, and all the creators past, present, and future that allow Corsair and his fellow space rebels to continue their voyages. May the Phoenix Force always protect you. JAMES HEATH LANTZ is a freelance writer whose stories, essays, and reviews can be found online and in print at Sequart.org, Superman Homepage, his blog, and such publications as his self-published Trilogy of Tales and PS Artbooks’ Roy Thomas Presents Sheena Volume Three. James currently lives in Italy with his wife Laura and their family of cats, dogs, and humans from Italy, Japan, and the United States.

elaine lee WomeninComics.Wiki.

Starwomen They’re Still Starstruck Elaine Lee and Michael Wm. Kaluta

michael wm. kaluta

interview by

Zack Smith

Kyle Cassidy.

It was only a chance encounter at a restaurant in Manhattan, but it led to a galactic adventure that’s spanned the stage, audio, a half-dozen publishers, and more than 40 years of friendship and collaboration. Starstruck is one of those comics that’s almost impossible to describe. It’s profane, whimsical, intricate, cartoony, innocent, sexy, and most of all, completely itself. It’s Star Wars by way of Kurt Vonnegut and Robert Altman, exploring and subverting genres through unreliable narrators, decade-spanning storylines, and many, many puns. It’s been revised, reformatted, reissued, and revived multiple times, sometimes with new material added that gives new context to the old material. It’s never been promoted or hailed as much as such works from the same era as Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns, but for some fans and creators, it’s considered almost as influential.

And it continues to return and evolve, in comics, as audio adventures, and perhaps even more in the future. To get a sense of the history of Starstruck, on behalf of BACK ISSUE I spoke with its original co-creators, Elaine Lee (Vamps) and Michael Wm. Kaluta (The Shadow) about its origins as an Off-Broadway play, its journey to (and from) Marvel’s Epic imprint, and how the work has evolved over time. Most importantly, we talked about their friendship—one that, like their work, is still going strong all these years later. The following has been edited and condensed from several very chaotic Zoom calls. We would like to thank Kaluta for installing Zoom and figuring out how to use it and getting a new microphone to participate in this article. That’s a professional right there. – Zack Smith

Meet Galatia-9 and Brucilla, on the original Michael Wm. Kaluta cover art for the 1984 Starstruck graphic novel, published as Marvel Graphic Novel #13. Courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com). Starstruck TM & © Elaine Lee and Michael Wm. Kaluta.

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They Really Are Still Starstruck! From a 1990 Dark Horse run to revivals at IDW to an Artist’s Edition showcasing Kaluta’s illustrations, Elaine and Michael continue to periodically reunite to continue their Starstruck saga. Starstruck TM & © Elaine Lee and Michael Wm. Kaluta.

KALUTA: And it wound up becoming one of the spines of the story from way back. LEE: The only love story in Starstruck is a guy’s story. So that’s kind of interesting, I think. SMITH: Circling back to the beginning—how would you say your collaborative process has evolved since you first started doing the play, and the graphic novel…? LEE: Well, we started out working in the same room. KALUTA: When we’re into the next iteration or phase or whatever you call it, that’s something that was missing. Because I can hear Elaine in my head, but it’s much better to have her right there because I never really knew what she was gonna say. I always was surprised. She always kicks me further. LEE: Well, I had a child, and I eventually moved out of the city because it’s hard to raise a child in the city if you’re not wealthy. And Michael said, “I can’t believe you’re moving out of the city. In six months you’ll only be able to talk about wells and sump pumps.” That turned out to be only partially true. KALUTA: I only said that to be funny. LEE: You said it to be mean because you were mad at me! So, yeah, at a certain time, it became more that I

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wrote a script and sent it, but we never stopped the back and forth. We always talked things through. You know, sometimes I would say something like, “This is how I’m seeing it, but if you can do the same thing and make it better for you or easier for you in a different way, then I’m okay with that.” SMITH: But suffice it to say, you’re still working together, you’re obviously still friends, and you’ve got some plans for Starstruck in the future. LEE: We have some plans. There’s something going on that might take us into another medium that would be a lot of fun. But we’re just to the point where we’ve gotten sort of a deal memo. We’re in negotiation about it, so I can’t talk about that. Occasionally, Michael goes, “We really do need to finish what we weren’t able to finish before.” It’s kind of gotten to the point where—we can’t do Kickstarter, that was a nightmare and we’re not ever doing that again. But I’ve given Michael some pages for the first part of the next series, which should come out as six comics… if we get it done. I’ve sort of been, “Okay, when you can get these drawn, I’ll send you some more pages.” When we came into Epic, there was just a big creatorowned boom at the time and everybody was going, “Create your own books now!” My son [Brennan Lee Mulligan] and his artist [Molly Ostertag], they did the Strong Female Protagonist webcomic, and put out two graphic novels, but they did webcomics first, which they put out for free. Most of the comic-book companies that do creator-owned stuff, they want you to come with a completed project. They don’t want to pay you for it ahead of time, if you’re gonna own it. They want the rights to it if they’re paying for it. We’ve kept our rights all this time and we’ve been working together since 1980. So, we don’t see that happening. If another book happens it’ll be because we find time to finish it while doing other things. KALUTA: Or if I find a new psychopharmacologist! LEE: Adderall, baby! Pump it into your veins! KALUTA: Luckily for me, Elaine is the spine. Several spines, in fact. But if I get a little crazed and don’t know what to draw, it’s already laid out for me because Elaine’s there to point the way. And all I gotta do is fill in the other stuff. So, at this point, I want to go there. LEE: Right before COVID happened, I went down to visit Michael for a few days. And it was really nice because I was writing, and sometimes in my own house my life gets in the way. You know, people keep wanting me to do things. But I was down there, and Michael was drawing, and I was sitting in the other room writing, we were doing two completely different projects, but I thought, “Oh, this is great, Michael! I’m going to come down here once a month and we’re going to do this because it keeps us on the track!” SMITH: …and then COVID happened. LEE: And then COVID happened, and I haven’t seen Michael in over a year now. He has been worse about getting his vaccination appointment than I have— in another week and a half, I am good to go. But I need to come see you! KALUTA: We will. We’ll catch up. You’ll see. ZACK SMITH is an Eisner-winning comics journalist as part of Newsarama.com, where he’s written since 2006. He holds Master’s degrees in English and Journalism and wrote the acclaimed one-shot The Stars Below, available on Comixology.

Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art. – John Keats

by E d

Catto

Imagine creating a comic hero with a proud historical name, the everyman quality of Marvel Comics, and a unique fresh setting. It seems like a foolproof recipe for success. Instead, like a competent athlete overshadowed by a younger brother’s extraordinary success, the 1988 Starman’s fame was eclipsed. He would be relegated to the bargain boxes at the local comic shop and occasional guest appearances. But there was something wonderful and bright and optimistic about this 1988 Starman series. Like a glance up into a sky full of stars on a summer night, this comic was full of hope, wonder, and potential.

ANOTHER STAR IS BORN

Lucky Star Meet Will Payton, DC’s latest Starman! Detail from the cover of Starman #1 (Oct. 1988). Art by Tom Lyle. TM & © DC Comics.

While the name Starman has a long history, this incarnation of Starman was meant to be something new and different. In the first issue (Oct. 1988), editor Bob Greenberger provided two text pieces. “Star Light, Star Bright, Fourth Star I See Tonight” explained the history of the various Starmen that preceded this character. The second text piece, “The Rebirth of Starman,” ran on the inside back cover (!) and detailed how DC group editor Mike Gold was challenged at a managers’ retreat to create a hero from an existing name. “The retailers didn’t want to bet on the same thing,” Gold recalls to BACK ISSUE. “They wanted to give something new a try.” As Greenberger recounted, creating a new Hourman was of interest, but that name was already in use in Infinity, Inc. And so they moved on to Starman. The company-wide Invasion crossover series was also being planned, and there were natural synergies that could be leveraged with Starman. Greenberger also detailed how he recruited writer Roger Stern and artist Tom Lyle. The first issue got things rolling along quickly. Readers are introduced to a hiker who is found in the wilderness. It’s all very mysterious and creepy. Soon, the hiker, Will Payton, is on the run from the authorities, discovers his powers, and tries to sort it all out. His saving grace, in his evolution to becoming a superhero, is his sister Jayne. She’s what we would today call a fangirl. Jayne has a deep knowledge of how superheroes operate and has the skills to design his costume. Ed Konecny of Comics, Etc. has fond memories of Starman. “Unlike most characters at the time, there was no direct lineage to the last generation of hero,” Konecny tells BACK ISSUE. “Ted Knight [the original Starman] had long since been obscured by the Crisis [on Infinite Earths] events. Golden Age characters had lost their appeal, and on the rise were characters of ‘true grit.’ Amongst the strangeness of the late ’80s, a story about a lone hiker being found within a circle charred into the ground, and without a mark on him, smacked of aliens, and the title ‘Starman’ was still fresh from Jeff Bridges’ attempt to bring a character of the same name.” Starmen Issue • BACK ISSUE • 29

THE ‘STAR’ MAN’S SECRET ORIGIN OF STARMAN

Getting Star-ted Peeking into Starman #1: (top) Meet the Payton family! (middle) Will grabs his new super-threads. (bottom) Tom Lyle’s early costume designs, from the letters page. TM & © DC Comics.

brian augustyn Gage Skidmore.

Roger Stern’s involvement was fitting. Not only was he a top-notch writer, but the German word “stern” means “star.” So, in essence, he was a star man creating and writing Starman. “Roger Stern is absolutely brilliant,” recalls Mike Gold. “When people talk about his work—particularly about his Marvel stuff—everybody remembers it so fondly, and some of the stories were so critical to the continuity and were so well done and so well received.” “Here’s the Secret Origin of Starman: It all began in late September of 1987,” explains Roger Stern. “I had just finished plotting a Superman Annual and my first two Power of the Atom stories when I got a call from Mike Gold—then an editor at DC—who was wondering if I might be interested in writing a new series for him. Now, I’d known Gold since back in the day, when he was connected with the Chicago Comicon, and I thought that it would be fun to work with him, so I said, ‘Sure, what do you have in mind?’ He said that DC wanted to launch a new Starman comic, and that I would have carte blanche to create a wholly new superhero. Mike told me to start with the name and go from there. The only other direction I was given was to make him different from DC’s previous Starmen. “The name ‘Starman’ suggested a whole set of possibilities as to his powers. I decided that this Starman would be an ordinary man who suddenly has strange new powers and abilities thrust upon him. Through a sort of cosmic accident, he becomes a walking fusion reactor. He’s superstrong, but not infinitely so. He can fly at supersonic speeds. He can radiate blinding light and blistering heat.” Stern may have also been very much in the Superman mindset when he created Starman. “And, lifting a long-forgotten power from the Golden Age Superman, I gave him the ability to change his facial appearance,” reveals Stern. “In that way, Starman could have a different face from that of his civilian identity, so he wouldn’t need a mask.” Stern did have a challenge during the new hero’s development. “Okay, the powers are the easy part,” he says. “The more important thing is who Starman is, and what are the depths of his character. As I recall, I came up with the name Will Payton through the old tried and true method of flipping through a telephone directory and sticking my finger down on a page at random. That’s how I found the ‘Payton’ surname. The ‘William’ came from one of those ‘Name Your Baby’ books. And I decided to make him a young guy in his mid-20s, a creative type who avoids the nine-to-five rat race, to give him enough freedom of movement to lead a double life.

STARMAN AS EVERYMAN

Brian Augustyn, the series’ second editor, says, “One of the things I really enjoyed [about Starman] was the Silver Age vibe. It was not quite as intentional as Spider-Man. Marv [Wolfman] and Len [Wein] had done a similar job with [Marvel’s] Nova. I got that vibe. The heroics on top of the personal life.” Stern reveals that that was indeed the plan. “Anyway, the underlying idea of the series was to follow Will though his suddenly more complicated life, as he learns what it means to be a superhero,” Starman’s writer notes. “You know, the age-old question, ‘What can one man do?’ Well, Will Payton quickly learns that for him the answer is: ‘You can do plenty!’” “Starman had a nice throwback quality”’ adds Augustyn. “Without being anything but modern. Not drippily nostalgic, but it had the right vibe.” 30 • BACK ISSUE • Starmen Issue

“Immediately you could tell Will Payton was meant to be an every-person character,” recalls Ed Konecny. “He messed up, but was developing a good sense of his powers. He learned about his ability to mimic appearances and voices, fly, project energy, and create unfocused explosions. Will Payton also possessed a certain degree of invulnerability, a mistake that played up the science of the comic as a villain attempted to cut him using a knife made for fission, whereas Will’s powers were fusion-based.” That Marvel theme was a key part of the series. Stern contemplates if writing Starman was different from working on Marvel comics. “Not much, as far as I was concerned,” says Roger. “Tom [Lyle, Starman artist] and I were working ‘Marvel style.’ Tom would pencil the story from my plot, and I would then script it from his pencils. The major difference story-wise was that Starman lived in the DC Universe, and that reality was still finding its footing after the Crisis of Infinite Earths series.” The early stories focused on Will Payton grappling with his newfound powers, struggling to find a groove for his rudderless professional life, and interacting with family and friends. “At the time, Roger and Tom were powerhouses, and they were both doing a fabulous job,” says Augustyn.

THE SUPPORTING CAST

Stern may have borrowed the unofficial Marvel template to develop the supporting cast. He remembers: “Well, I wanted to have Starman associate with different people than Will Payton did. The only exception was Will’s sister Jayne, who was the nerdy superhero fan. She was, after all, the one who gave him his first costume. And I did my best to give them a warm brother/sister relationship, despite their differences. They were only two years apart in age, but Will was the artistic, creative type, who had worked with rock bands, whereas Jayne was the science whiz who wound up teaching mathematics to kids in junior high. Their mother, Marie, was a hard-working single mom who wanted the best for her kids. And while she was proud of them both, she kept after them to wise up and find better-paying work.” Beyond the Payton clan, “Will had a handful of friends like his musician buddy, Phil Easton, and Carol Simon, his old co-worker—and possible romantic interest—from their ad agency days,” Stern relates. “There were many more stories that could have been told about those two, but we never got the chance.” Starman also featured an outer circle of supporting players, like Arizona Highway Patrolman Glenn Wharton and his wife, Silvia. “I introduced the Whartons into the series because a straight-shooter like Starman needed a contact in law enforcement,” Stern explains. “Starman also needed someone with the scientific credentials to help him understand his powers, so I imported Dr. Kitty Faulkner from the Superman titles. Kitty provided Starman with both a contact at S.T.A.R. Labs, and a superpowered ally through her other identity as Rampage.”

GO WEST, YOUNG MAN

Originally, DC heroes lived in fictionalized versions of big cities (Metropolis, Gotham City, etc.). Soon, other cities were featured in the superhero mythologies. For example, Hawkman’s Midway City evoked Chicago (even though they started out by fighting an alien monster at New Jersey’s Lincoln Tunnel). Starman’s geographical setting was unique. “As I recall, Mike Gold suggested that the series be set in a real locale, rather than one of DC’s fictional cities,” says Stern. “Since I had relatives living in Arizona, I knew a few things about the area. Plus, have you ever seen the Arizona state flag? It has a big

honkin’ star in the middle of it. It just seemed right that Starman would hang out there. “And since we’re talking about Arizona, I should mention an odd little error connected with Starman,” continues Stern. “Will Payton and his family lived in a suburb of Phoenix, of course. But in DC’s Who’s Who, he’s listed as living in Tucson, which is totally wrong. I’m sure that Tucson is a perfectly nice city, but Will didn’t live there. We never even mentioned Tucson in any of the stories I wrote. And it’s a mistake that keeps getting repeated, whenever there’s a new edition of Who’s Who!” Editor Brian Augustyn admired the realism and research that Tom Lyle put into his artwork, even though one time it had unintended consequences. When one of Roger Stern’s scripts specified a parking lot of a local convenience store, “Tom went out of his way to get references,” recalls Augustyn. “Tom had drawn this convenience store from reference and included the logo. It was spot-on. And that sparked a call from the legal department. “We didn’t get into a huge amount of trouble…”

The Stars Behind Starman Writer Roger Stern and artist Tom Lyle, as introduced on the text page of Starman #2. TM & © DC Comics.

Starmen Issue • BACK ISSUE • 31

Star Power (left) Starman unofficially became “Star-Spangled Love Stories” on this touching last page to the final issue, #45 (Apr. 1992). Script by Roger Stern, art by John Calimee and Roy Richardson. (right) Will Payton’s moment in the… well, you know. From Eclipso: The Darkness Within #2. Story by Keith Giffen and Robert Loren Fleming, art by Bart Sears, with Mark Pennington, Randy Elliott, and Ray Kryssing. (below) Kupperberg recycled in Takion some of his ideas intended for a Starman reboot.

The idea for the reboot was straightforward: REFLECTIONS ON A STAR Although his body had been destroyed in the battle Roger Stern reflects to BACK ISSUE on the success with Eclipso, his essence would have survived, and of the Starman series. “Well, since the book is no would be reconstituted. It happens all the time in longer being published, I wouldn’t say that it was comics, after all. After they worked on the reboot a too successful,” Stern jokes. “Starman was probably bit, the word came down from on high: “James the most Marvel-like series I wrote for DC. Robinson is developing Starman.” Unfortunately, the powers-that-were “But DC history—and the theme of this didn’t seem to understand it or know edition of BACK ISSUE—has shown us how to promote it. In fact, considering that there’s always another ‘Starman’ how little promotion the series ready to shine… and that old Starmen received, it’s a minor miracle that don’t always fade away…” says Eury. it lasted as long as it did.” “As it was unavailable, we decided Nonetheless, it remains, well, to work on something new,” says a bright spot with its writer/ Kupperberg. Not wanting to leave creator. “The readers who did find good ideas on the table, Kupperberg it, seemed to like it,” Stern observes. would take the Starman reboot “And I’m personally pretty happy ideas and pour them into a new with the stories that Tom [Lyle] hero. Since it was big and cosmic, and I produced. Aside from the paul kupperberg they decided to tie it into the ’80s technology pictured in the Fourth World mythology. Takion series, the stories don’t seem © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons. debuted in his own 1996 series dated at all. At least not to me. “as an avatar of the Source Wall.” While it ran Your mileage may vary.” only seven issues in late 1996, the character was included in later Fourth World series. “[John] Byrne picked it up, and it was used by Walter [Simonson],” ED CATTO is a marketing and startup strategist, with remembers Kupperberg. Starman fans can only a specialty in pop culture. imagine what a rebooted series would have been like. As founder of Agendae, Ed is Starman eventually did reappear. James Robinson, dedicated to helping brands in his Starman series, found a clever way to revive and companies innovate and grow. As part of the faculty at the character and give him an important role in the Ithaca College’s School of Business, dense Starman mythology he developed, as explored Ed teaches entrepreneurial in depth in this issue. In fact, it was Starman’s sister courses and one unique class Jayne, who appeared in Robinson’s Starman series first, focusing on comic conventions complete with a huge reveal designed to fake out and and Geek Culture. Ed’s also an surprise longtime readers. illustrator, having won the two Since then, the Will Payton version of Starman has Pulp Factory Awards, and an rejuvenating reappeared from time-to-time, most recently in the entrepreneur, brands like Captain Action. Justice League series.

38 • BACK ISSUE • Starmen Issue

“With conscience-deprived heroes indistinguishable from their adversaries, the Dark Age was typified by implausible, steroid-inspired physiques, outsized weapons (guns, knives, claws), generous blood letting and vigilante justice.” – Mark Voger, The Dark Age: Grim, Great & Gimmicky Post-Modern Comics

by B i l l

DeSimone

…With one notable, contrasting exception: Starman, created by James Robinson and Tony Harris. Robinson and Harris created a story unique to the moment of the ’90s. Thematically and visually, their Starman offers an alternative to the clichés of the Dark Ages, from the style and physiques of the main players to the supporting cast of low-profile characters as allies and enemies. They acknowledge, but don’t get derailed by, company crossovers and continuity. Years before Grant Morrison did it in his Batman R.I.P. run, Robinson connected previously inconsistent bits of stories using the Starman name through his then-current (1990s) sensibility. For Harris’ part, if Batman: The Animated Series was Dark Deco, what he did here was Stars Deco. Starman, the series, ran for over 80 issues, with the penultimate arc, “Grand Guignol,” tying all but one of the previous plotlines together. Background stories branched off into Annuals, Specials, and short stories, with a few company crossovers added in. Robinson wrote them all, so there is coherence, a thread connecting all the appearances. There are no throwaway lines; lines that don’t seem to fit actually pay off in later issues. Robinson uses Golden Age and Silver Age stories and characters as inspiration for “new history”: retelling events and relationships to tie into his current story, as well as creating characters that feel Golden Age-ish, but are completely new. Robinson used not only the characters’ history, but his own history as a fan to inform the overall story, making history the hero of the 1990s Starman.

THE STORY

I Don’t Want to Be a Star Following its “Zero Hour” spinoff Starman #0, came the electrifying Starman #1 (Nov. 1994). Cover by Tony Harris. TM & © DC Comics.

The narrative of the series followed the adventures of Jack Knight, reluctant inheritor of the Starman legacy, who grows into the role and makes it his own. Jack is the son of Ted Knight, the original Golden Age Starman. After various physical and mental crises, Ted had decided to pass the Starman role to his other son, David. When David is murdered, Jack takes on the role; first to avenge David, but also to convince, maybe coerce, his dad to use his scientific genius for bigger purposes. From Starman #3 (Jan. 1995): JACK: I want you to be Edison, pop. The next Edison. You’ve played around with your science… squandered it, inventing cosmic-powered weapons for fighting silly, sad villains. You should have been inventing cosmic-powered cars and heating and… ecologically safe devices for mankind. Superheroes. Supervillains. It’s all self-propagating kid stuff. A chance for grown men to put their underwear on outside their tights. You’ve wasted a lot of your life with all that, Dad. I don’t want you to waste any more of it. You begin developing your cosmic science in better wiser ways… and I’ll carry on being Starman. Not by going out on patrol, though. That’s what cops are for. But if I’m needed… if I see a wrong being committed, I’ll don the sheriff’s star again. TED: …You have a deal. Admittedly, Robinson spends a lot more pages on Jack’s end of the deal than Ted’s, but this passage does reflect the attitude Jack tries to affect, that superheroing may be silly but someone needs to do it. Not always successfully, but it’s his consistent attempt that makes him unique as a ’90s hero. And he does grow into the role as he experiences the events of the series. Not necessarily in story order: • He avenges his brother by killing David’s murderer, then gets drugged and raped by the murderers’ sister. • He reconciles with his brother after his death, not just as a psychological metaphor, but through an extra-natural interaction explained by the end of the series. Starmen Issue • BACK ISSUE • 39

Golden Age All-Stars Writer James Robinson began working with DC’s earliest superheroes in the 1993–1994 four-issue prestige format miniseries The Golden Age, breathtakingly illustrated, as shown here, by Paul Smith. Page 2 of issue #1 (Sept. 1993) in original art form, courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com), and the published page lushly colored by Richard Ory. TM & © DC Comics.

• He allies with reformed villains like the Shade, Solomon Grundy, and Jake “Bobo” Benetti, then has to fight de-reformed villains like the Shade, Solomon Grundy, and Jake “Bobo” Benetti; then re-allies with them… or not. It’s complicated. • He meets the original Golden Age Justice Society members, including rejuvenated ones like Alan Scott, the Green Lantern/Sentinel; normally aging ones like his dad and Wesley Dodds, the Sandman; and the deceased ones, and not via time travel. • He is mentored by members of the original Society, and in turn mentors their legacy heroes. • He meets, works, and occasionally fights with the 1990s Justice League, some New Gods, Captain Marvel, Batman, Hellboy, and Ultra the Multi-Alien, but in his most desperate fight his allies are a non-powered family of cops and a handful of low-powered, low-profile heroes: the Elongated Man, Black Condor, Adam Strange, the new Phantom Lady, and an extra, non-blood-related Starman or two. • He meets immortals, reincarnations, spirits, psychics, and magicians. Did I mention he wanted his dad to pursue science? • He travels back in time to meet Superman’s father on Krypton, overshoots his point of origin to go forward in time to find an ally from his present time jeopardizing existence, gets back to his present time, then travels back in time again to ensure that his father meets his mother—and if that wasn’t enough to wrap his head around, he can’t figure out how to get back to his present. • His rape resulted in a child. Let’s just say he ultimately wins the superpowered custody battle and takes full responsibility for raising his son, which leads to… • He finds love, loses love, and then must decide how being Starman affects regaining that love. • He passes his name and tech legacy on to the next generation and walks away, never to be seen again. Not in terms of publishing, but in continuity: Since Starman #80 (Aug. 2001), the Jack Knight character has not been used in-story by DC. Jack’s story is told in arcs within in the series. The timeline from Starman: Secret Files and Origins #1 (Apr. 1998) puts about half of the events in chronological story order, not reading or publication order, because many of the events are revealed outside of Jack’s current timeline. The related adventures outside the series aren’t necessary to follow the plots, but they fill in gaps between the issues. Setups and backstories are presented in individual episodes between the arcs, such as the “Times Past” chapters and the annual “Talking with David” issues, which then “back fill” the chronological timeline. Robinson wrote in the text page of Starman #0 (Oct. 1994): “…we’re going to have an irregular series of single tales loosely grouped together under the banner of TIMES PAST… when they appear, they’ll focus on different moments/events/singular occurrences in Opal City’s history and the surrounding Turk County… They’ll feature guest artists and be little sojourns away from Jack’s adventures in the present. Any excuse to get back to my history books.” As a reader, you can enjoy these issues as a break in the action. But if you pay attention to them, you see where Robinson foreshadows events in the current and future storylines. David Goyer, in his introduction to the 1999 trade paperback Starman: Times Past, wrote: “The tales are narrated by the Shade, Opal City’s immortal scoundrel—a former villain who may or may not have turned over a new leaf. Our entry point into the stories is the Shade’s own journal-pages that we, and Jack himself, are now privy to…” 40 • BACK ISSUE • Starmen Issue

Goyer continued, “What seemed unique to me (at least in terms of contemporary comic-book writing) was the way in which James was using the past to foreshadow the future… James has dropped countless hints and oblique references into these Times Past stories, which makes reading them all the more fun. If you’re not interested in the big picture, then hey, enjoy them for what they are—wonderful snapshots of bygone days. If you are interested in the big picture, then strap yourself in and keep your eyes peeled—for the past is not necessarily as benign or dead as we might wish it to be.” The “Talking with David” issues did not get their own separate collection. These are visits from David, after his murder, usually with Jack, occasionally with others. They fill in much of the family dynamics between the Knights, and as David explains: “…I try to forewarn him of things… when I feel I should…” During the series, there is no explanation as to how David is communicating after his murder. For the reader, it is a metaphor for coming to terms with the death of a loved one; interactions that could have occurred between brothers. Eventually, the in-story explanation involves a curse first hinted at in a scene on a rooftop in issue #2 (“Funny smell. The sea. Salty. And …limes? Caraway seed?”) and an ally of Ted Knight’s from the Golden Age. As with “Times Past,” we can look at these as snapshots within a bigger picture. The reconciliation that comes from these talks makes you wish for a shared adventure between them when they were all alive, which is delivered in the final arc, “1951” (#77–79, May–July 2001). This arc gives the unfortunate David his “moment in time” and is a critical point in the life of the Starmen after 1951. In his introduction, Goyer also wrote: “In the world of STARMAN, the past informs the present in a very real way. I can’t think of another comic book where history plays such an important role…” It’s not just the in-story history of the characters. Robinson’s own history as a fan plays a big role as well.

ROBINSON ON STARMAN, BEFORE STARMAN

In the introduction to All-Star Comics Archives vol. 4 (1998), Robinson wrote: “I’ve been asked many times where I get the inspiration for my ongoing STARMAN comic. Why do I choose to dwell on this lost era in comics to draw so much inspiration? The answer to that lies in my comic-book reading as a kid… I chanced upon a JLA adventure guest-starring the Justice Society… This was heresy to all I knew as lore—and needless to say was wildly exciting… My first JSA/JLA adventure was the one that culminated in the death of Larry Lance, the husband of the Golden Age Black Canary. How that storyline began, however, was with Starman rising up to meet some astral threat in battle. True, Starman didn’t fare too well, but his costume and powers were enough that I was utterly intrigued. It was the start of something for me, to be sure, although there was no way of knowing back then quite how much of a something was starting…” Robinson again, from the text page of Starman #0 (Oct. 1994), comparing Starman to the Flash, Green Lantern, and the other DC legacy heroes: “With STARMAN, however, we have a name and a Golden Age heritage that have been left pretty much untouched. People are familiar with the character and his powers and his green and red costume, and yet they’re not. In fact, I’d brazenly hazard a guess that I developed the character of Ted Knight more within the pages of THE GOLDEN AGE miniseries than was ever done before. And that’s not saying much… although he was never a first-rung hero, his powers are far, far greater than that of the acrobatic masked men that comprised about half the 1940s super-hero roll-call…”

Video Killed the Radio Star Robinson’s Golden Age Starman inspirations include: (top left) the Astral Avenger’s team-up with Black Canary in The Brave and the Bold #61 (Aug.–Sept. 1965, cover by Murphy Anderson), the first of two issues featuring this combo; and (top right) Starman as one of the dozens (!) of heroes in Len Wein’s three-part centennial celebration in Justice League of America. Shown here is JLA #101 (Sept. 1972), Part Two of the saga, with a Nick Cardy cover. (bottom) A pivotal moment— and a beautifully drawn page—from JLA #73 (Aug. 1969), including the Golden Age Starman and transitioning Black Canary from Earth-Two to Earth-One. Written by Denny O’Neil, drawn by Dick Dillin and Sid Greene. Courtesy of Heritage. TM & © DC Comics.

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interview by

J o h n Tr u m b u l l

Jack Knight wasn’t your usual superhero, and Starman wasn’t your usual comic book. In the sea of books that debuted in the early ’90s comics boom, Starman was unique. It established a heritage for the name where none existed before, tying the five unrelated Starmen DC had previously published together into one heroic dynasty. It gave us the new fictional playground of Opal City. Moreover, Starman let us see the DC Universe in a whole new way, as we discovered the pop-culture passions of the characters that inhabited it. We learned that the villain Copperhead collected Bakelite radios, that ’80s Starman Will Payton was part of the KISS Army, and that Batman’s favorite Woody Allen movie was Crimes and Misdemeanors. Our guide on this journey was Jack Knight, son of the Golden Age Starman from the Justice Society, a collectibles dealer who wanted nothing to do with superheroing, going into the family business against his better judgment. Jack Knight was a character who spoke to me and many other readers during his 80-issue run from 1994–2001, and it was a pleasure to finally speak with James Robinson and Tony Harris, the writer and artist who started it all. This interview is compiled from separate phone conversations with Robinson and Harris in June 2021 and copy-edited by myself and James Robinson. – John Trumbull

A STAR(MAN) IS BORN

JOHN TRUMBULL: James, how did your involvement with Starman start? Did you have a particular attachment to that character, or an interest in the Golden Age characters in general? JAMES ROBINSON: Actually, it was neither. It was me really desperately wanting a monthly comic. At the time, the Will Payton Starman was limping towards cancellation, and so I came up with an idea for Will Payton, not realizing that they were planning to kill him off. And then at the same time, I looked at Starman as a character, and I realized there’ve been all these incarnations of Starman, and yet there was nothing that linked any of them. There was no sense of the lineage in the way there was with the Flash or the Atom, or any of the others. The most there was,

Starmen Issue • BACK ISSUE • 53

was the Will Payton meets David Knight story, which is in a couple issues of the Will Payton Starman. [Starman vol. 1 #26–27, Sept.–Oct. 1990.] And this was also at a time when comics at DC were sort of changing a little bit, because they were beginning to have a bit more of a mature feeling, while still retaining some of the innocence they had earlier to that… I’m thinking things like Batman: Year One, Matt Wagner’s Demon, Gaiman’s Sandman, and Chaykin’s Blackhawk. Now, comics seem so mature, I wonder who their audience is, but back then, there were still books that sort of were all ages in that you could read them when you were relatively young and then get something out of them as you were older. Then, a bit later you had the advent of Vertigo and while there were some fantastic books coming out of Vertigo, it was very much an adult line, and as a result, I felt that that DC Comics kind of decided they didn’t need as much of that sense of maturity in their superhero titles... and that mix of maturity and innocence I had enjoyed as a fan seemed to ebb, and the books started to be feel little bit less sophisticated. At least that’s how I felt. I’m sure others would beg to differ. And at the time in DC’s lore, Ted Knight was off in Valhalla [with the JSA] fighting the Norse gods, so there was no way that another cosmic rod could be built. That cleared the field for Will Payton in the comics. So by the time they killed Will Payton I was like, “Oh, my God, I could do Starman now!” And Archie Goodwin,

Seeing Stars (top) Starman writer and co-creator James Robinson. (bottom) Original Starman artist and co-creator Tony Harris (left) with Jason Adams (and the cosmic staff) at HeroesCon 2006 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Robinson photo © DC Comics. Harris photo courtesy of Becky Harris.

54 • BACK ISSUE • Starmen Issue

who I had done The Golden Age with, knew I wanted a book, [and] was on the lookout for something for me as well. I’d come up with an idea for Captain Comet earlier on that had been squelched, so I was trying to find the right property. And when I found out that they killed Will Payton off and cancelled Starman, Archie secured me Starman to do as a new character, and that was when the idea of Jack Knight and David Knight and everything fell in place for me. TRUMBULL: What were your initial ideas to revamp Will Payton? ROBINSON: I wanted it to be edgier and more down to earth and have more of a noir feel. I know that obviously the sun is a star, and so the term “stellar energy” is meaningless. It’s really solar energy. So obviously there’s the real physics, but I still felt that artistically, the fact that Will Payton would never do much at night when the stars are out just felt odd to me. I wanted to inject more of a sense of noir, and because he was always out in the Southwest, that “Western Noir” feel… the movie Red Rock West with Nicholas Cage being a good example. I wanted to give Will Payton’s adventures a more uneasy feel, so everything didn’t look so clean. That was the initial general feeling. It was more a tone I wanted to set than any great story ideas. TRUMBULL: Was there any point when you said, as you were developing the series, “Hey, I’ve got this David Knight character right here”? Did you ever consider using David as the protagonist, or was he always just going to be the sacrificial lamb? ROBINSON: I was going to try and form more of a lineage even with the Will Payton stuff. But when Ted Knight returned to the DC Universe, having a blood link between him and the latest Starman, I thought was better and stronger. And then obviously I wanted to start with this dramatic death, which eliminated David Knight. It feels like a bit of a trope now, but as a younger writer, I just thought that it was a great way to start it. But it did make Jack clean and fresh and a new character. TRUMBULL: And how did Tony Harris come into the picture? ROBINSON: We were looking at different artists, trying to find the right person. And I thought very strongly that it had to be somebody that understood and enjoyed drawing shadows and darkness. So actually at the time, that eliminated about three quarters of the artists [available] because so much of the artists back then did stuff that was bright and open. So finding available artists that enjoyed drawing shadows became quite the manhunt. I had been aware of Tony through being friends with the Gaijin Studio guys [Author’s note: An Atlanta-based art studio with Tony Harris, Cully Hamner, Adam Hughes, Brain Stelfreeze, and others]. So I had met these guys at conventions. I’d met Tony. He hadn’t done very much at the time, but I remember seeing and being impressed with— he did three issues of Nightbreed, the Clive Barker book, that stuck in my head. I brought him up to Archie, and Archie liked him too, and so he came on board. TRUMBULL: Tony, where were you in your career at that point? TONY HARRIS: I had been doing work for the independent market for Now and Innovation and First Comics and Nightmare on Elm Street stuff and Twilight Zone and Doc Savage and just a lot of anything that I could get, basically. That was a time when there was just a ton of small publishers and they all paid page rates. That time had not died yet in the industry. At that time, the way things were done pretty much were, you spent your time in the trenches working for the indie market until you had

Art Deco-opolis (top) Harris’ exquisite Opal City captivated the reader’s eye from the very first Starman installment, Starman #0 (Oct. 1994). (bottom) From Starman Secret Files and Origins #1 (Apr. 1998), an in-depth look at the architecture of Jack Knight’s home city. TM & © DC Comics.

enough published work or you were noticed to actually take your portfolio to the Big Two and then cross your fingers, and s*** in one hand and wish in the other. [laughs] And it’s a different time. You had to go to shows [comic-cons]. There was no internet, so you couldn’t reach out to people digitally. So I did that for a while, and I was at San Diego Con one year with the Gaijin crew. I met James Robinson and we hit it off immediately. He was doing Firearm with Cully Hamner at Malibu. He said that he had Archie Goodwin’s ear at DC. And James pitched me his idea and asked me if I was into it, and I immediately was just enthralled. Not just at that, but at the idea of being able to work at the Big Two. I had done a little bit of inking at that point and a short story in Green Lantern Corps Quarterly, but no penciling work yet. I got my first work at DC as an inker. So I said, “Yeah, I’m into it.” And James and I went our separate ways and he said he would keep me updated. Then life came knocking and I went through a really rough period where I don’t care to go into the particulars of it, but my personal life just kind of fell apart, and I ended up having to leave Gaijin Studios after a year and moved back to Macon, Georgia, in with my fellow comic-book artist and my original mentor, Craig Hamilton. And I didn’t want to go back to my parents, and he gave me a place to stay until I could get on my feet. In the interim, I lost touch with James, but then somehow, I got wind that he was moving on with the project and assumed that I just was not interested anymore. And he was going to ask Cully Hamner, his Firearm partner and my studio partner, to come in and take the art over. And I just flipped out and I was like, “Oh God, hell no! No, no, no, no, no, no, no!” And I did whatever I could to—again, no internet—I did whatever I could and called whoever I could to try to reach out and find James again. And I did. And I was like, “Please, do not give this away to somebody else. I want to do it.” And so James and I re-hooked up, and I recommitted to the work. I started doing some character designs, and I came up with a look I thought was cool and gave that to James, and then we turned in the official pitch to Archie, and he said yes. I don’t even think they made us jump through any hoops. I think they were so blown away with James’ idea. I had to tweak my designs a little bit, but I got lucky right off the bat, and I hit on something. The right people came together at the right time in their lives, and I don’t want to call it luck, but just something fires. And I firmly believe that that’s what happened with me and James. I can’t explain it any other way. I’ve done a lot of other stuff since, and I’ve had a very successful career over 30 years now, and I’ve done a lot of stuff that I’m very proud of, but Starman remains this mystery to me. TRUMBULL: The book also got a high-profile launch, spinning out of the “Zero Hour” crossover. ROBINSON: I guess so, but actually there was more to it than that. Starman was due to come out, “Zero Hour” or not. We’d done two, maybe three issues of the book. And then they came up with “Zero Hour” and retroactively folded our book into that narrative. But we came first by quite a good while, actually. Starmen Issue • BACK ISSUE • 55