Finished Entire Run of Starman. My Feelings on the Series.

[MutoMikey]

I don't know why, but I feel compelled to write this and post it.

Tonight, not just 30 minutes ago, I finally finished reading the entire run of James Robinson's incredible Starman series. Wow. This has quickly become a jewel of my vast comic book collection. It's hard to find the words when it comes to describing my feelings on this series. I'll just start from the begginning.

Back in April, I made myself go out and buy the first volume of a series I had long meant to get into and/or read. Starman. I was a little worried I'd be wasting my money on something else I'd be dissapointed with. Wrong! I was drawn in by Tony Harris's subtle yet very detailed artwork and James Robinson's almost natural dialogue. Needless to say, I ran out and bought the next volume. Still loving and savoring every page.

It took me a couple of weeks to get the next volume; money was tight for me at the time, being 17 and still in highschool, every penny went into the gas tank and my weekly buy pile. But I did get the third volume a day before my summer vacation and read it on the back porch overlooking the beach. Once again, I yearned for the next volume, so much that went to every book store in Myrtle Beach until I found it.

I only had to buy one volume off of the net but now have the entire series on my bookshelf.

Throughout the series, I felt so connected to Jack Knight through his mannerisms and hobbies that I became personally involved in the story. I felt like Robinson was right me as Jack Knight. Yeah, strange and dorky at the same time.

The evolutions of characters like The Shade and Mikaal were so seemless and so interesting that I found myself just as interested in them as I was the main character, Jack.

All in all, this series's structure and James Robinson's writing style throughout have really influenced my writing style and taste in comic books. For years I've wanted to be a writer of the comic book variety but really thought I was a hack writer of the style. But upon reading this and taking in the series as a whole, I see that a superhero comicbook can be so much more than what I usually read and see today. It's really strengthened my resolve to pursue that goal even more. Right now I'm in my freshman year of college striving for a degree in journalism hoping that it will give me a doorway or two to that carreer. I haven't been to a comic book convention YET, and I've been reading comics since I was three! But when I do, if Mr. Robinson is there, I would love to shake his hand and thank him for kickstarting my resolve to write comics.

Now, I'm sure no one else felt the same way I did about Starman, but, I want to know what other people think of it seeing as I don't have many friends who actually read comics and those that do haven't read the series yet.

[patrick r]

I hear ya. I love Robinson's Starman. I bought the entire run of singles and quickly found myself drawn into the story and loving characters I had never read about before.

This is seriously on my top two list of all time comic greats. It felt like a close family member moved away when I finished the series. I'm getting nostalgic just thinking about it.

[Mr. Why]

No question that Starman is of the best comics have to offer. I felt the art suffered after Harris left, and the story in space went on a little too long, but overall it was one amazing journey. I just finished the run myself, about a week ago and I yearn for another epic of comics to affect me as positively as this one has.

[Zero Hunter]

Starman is one of my favorite runs of any book ever. It was a great story and you could tell that Robinson had a game plan going in with a start middle and end, and that always makes for a great read.

If you haven't gotten a hold of the Shade mini series I would recomend that too. Gives a nice little look into his past. That and the few Times Past issues that they didn't include in the trades.

[rick]

Certainly one of the best comic series of the last 20 years, Starman was exciting and innovative while at the same time being completly wrapped up into the very concept of generational heroes.

It's just a great comic book.

[ultramandingo]

..........whatever happend to that Robinson guy ?


James Robinson - Writer: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) (screenplay) (as James Dale Robinson)
... aka LXG

nevermind .

[Alex L]

The only nitpick I have with Starman is the sometimes-awkward dialogue.

I run across sentences where I stop and think, "people don't talk that way!"

But otherwise, yes, it's a great series and I dig out the trades to re-read it quite often.

[Corrina]

The only (and it's a small one) nitpick I have is that I think he can't write a romance that well. Didn't quite get Jack & his lady love.

But that's such a small niggle compared to the greatness of the whole series.

[Sean Whitmore]

The only (and it's a small one) nitpick I have is that I think he can't write a romance that well. Didn't quite get Jack & his lady love.

But that's such a small niggle compared to the greatness of the whole series.

I felt the same about Jack and Sadie. It skeeved me out when she revealed her true identity and intentions, and even though Jack didn't hold it against her, I did.

But I don't agree that Robinson wasn't good at portraying romance. Mason O'Dare and Charity were a great example of a "meet cute" relationship, what we saw of Mikaal and his boyfriend was very sweet, and the Dodds were a great married couple.


SEAN

[Shellhead]

I wanted to love this series, but I only liked it, and for the time being, gave up on buying all the trades. Where I last left off, Jack was getting ready to head into space.

The writing is pretty good, but there are times when I feel like Robinson became too self-conscious about making Jack seem cool. And aside from the covers, the artwork generally ranged from mediocre to kind of bad. And I really disliked the way that several heroes were sacrificed in that one issue just to make the new Mist seem really dangerous. I did enjoy Shade and the O'Dares, and even the city itself had a definite personality. It's unfortunate that the teamup with Batman took place during the Batdick era.

[Sir Tim Drake]

The only nitpick I have with Starman is the sometimes-awkward dialogue.

I run across sentences where I stop and think, "people don't talk that way!"

Robinson had an annoying habit of bolding the wrong words in his sentences. When reading Starman, I try to ignore his emphases as much as possible.

That is one of my few minor complaints about the series, which, overall, was one of the best mainstream comics of the past twenty years. But Tony Harris deserves some credit as well as James Robinson. Besides being an excellent artist all-around, Tony draws architecture better than almost any cartoonist, and he turned Opal City into a truly distinctive setting.

[Aubergine~!]

Jack Knight is quite possibly the best protagonist in superhero comics. Ever.

[MutoMikey]

I read recently in some article here on CBR that Robinson was returning to the character in the near future. Is there any truth to that? And has anyone noticed Jack and the Shade in the crowd during Black Canary and Green Arrow's wedding? Pretty cool. (100th post)

[CBikle]

It was/is a very good series and did well in spite of going against DC's post Zero-Hour policy of marginalizing/eradicating the golden and silver-age characters in order to reintroduce new characters with the same name, but with updated/modernized appearances, origins and personalities.

Robinson did a great job of reintroducing old DCU characters in a respectful and entertaining way as to make them appealing to old and new readers and the few changes he did include seemed interesting and natural as opposed to being there for shock-value (as was the norm in comics at that time).

[Babylon23]

Starman is one of the few titles that kept me reading comics in the 90's. Without it I might have quit. It was certainly one of, if not the only highlight to emerge post Zero hour.

[niall mc cann]

Love Robinson's Starman, though i haven't read it all yet.

Definitely great stuff, (speaking from what I've read).

[Retrodork]

Hmm...I'll have to go back and look at Ollie and Dinah's wedding because though I didn't notice the Shade, I thought I saw Jack there as a guest.
Yes, this series was indeed a great one. I got into it late, just shortly before 'Grand Guignol' and went back to buy all the trades. Amazon has them all pretty cheap, so it wouldn't be a strain for any collector wanting to scarf them up.

[KSBrennan]

Anyone thinking about picking up the trades for Starman might want to wait until this is released.

http://www.amazon.com/Starman-Complete-Saga-HC-Vol/dp/1401216994/ref=pd_bbs_sr_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1195230145&sr=8-7

It should have all those pesky missing issues.

[Matt K]

I actually just got this run myself recently and I'm up to Grand Guingol #7 so I'll post my reaction some time next week (but man was this good).

[Adam Ziggy]

Starman's pretty much my favorite comic series ever. I just loved that there was a series where it was okay to have characters spend a couple pages talking about who their favorite painters were or discussing old musicians from the 50's.

Robinson and Harris also really gave Opal City and everyone that lived there unique personalities that set them apart from any other city or cast in comics. I mean they made the Shade one of the coolest and most complex characters we'd seen in a long time. That's an accomplishment.

The best part was they showed that same level of care and attention to detail with just about every character in the series. The issue where Jack and David have dinner with the old JSA members had some great characterization and even though each of them only have about 2 pages dedicated to them you they still come across as full characters. And what other comic would take the time to show us Copperheads hobby of collecting transistor radios?

The plotting was amazing too. I was blown away by Grand Guingol and how just about every plot thread and every issue tied into the larger story in some way. Plus, Starman gave us Bobo Benetti, and Bobo is awesome.

[Billage]

How many of you Starman fans have read Robinson's classic The Golden Age?Now that was a beauty.

There's a big HC coming out next year of this,might check it out.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

I left around the same time as Tony Harris left, when the series kinda lost its footing following the death of Archie Goodwin. That was a real blow to the comic.

However, I finally did finish the story years later in TPB. Robinson does give it all a great finish, even if the loss of Harris made it bittersweet. Granted, Ex Machina made it all good.

[rick]

For fans of Robinson's Starman and the Golden Age, I also want to throw in a recommendation for his wonderful four issue Vigilante mini-series from the mid-1990's with art by Tony Salmons.

It's a rough and rather brutal tale about the rise of Las Vegas in the 1940's, and the undying hatred between real life gangster, Bugsy Seigel, and DC's cowboy great.

I don't think it has ever been collected, but it is well wroth searching the back issue bins for.

[stealthwise]

The last two volumes made me cry like a school-girl bitch. Several times.

[SPAfreak]

What I thought was amazing was the level of care with which Robinson plotted small hints at what would only come to fruition fifty or sixty issues later. Starman was, like Sandman and Lucifer, a seventy-five issue maxi-series that was carefully plotted. It was a magnificent achievement that included a great story, wonderful characters and a deep love and respect for all the work that came before it. Starman is truly one of my favorite comics.

[SPAfreak]

For fans of Robinson's Starman and the Golden Age, I also want to throw in a recommendation for his wonderful four issue Vigilante mini-series from the mid-1990's with art by Tony Salmons.

It's a rough and rather brutal tale about the rise of Las Vegas in the 1940's, and the undying hatred between real life gangster, Bugsy Seigel, and DC's cowboy great.

I don't think it has ever been collected, but it is well wroth searching the back issue bins for.

Noted. And thank you.

[Billage]

For fans of Robinson's Starman and the Golden Age, I also want to throw in a recommendation for his wonderful four issue Vigilante mini-series from the mid-1990's with art by Tony Salmons.

It's a rough and rather brutal tale about the rise of Las Vegas in the 1940's, and the undying hatred between real life gangster, Bugsy Seigel, and DC's cowboy great.

I don't think it has ever been collected, but it is well wroth searching the back issue bins for.

Always wanted to get into that character,thanks.

[Matt K]

I finished the series last night and it was amazing. Personally I think this was the best comic book series I've read (better than Sandman, Watchmen and V for Vendetta). I think part of it that while those series are good, they are for a lack of better terms based in fantasy. Starman to me is a more personal story and thus more relateable. The characters seemed like real people which is half the reason I love this series.

Another thing I loved was how great James wrote the couples in this series. I loved the Dibneys and it is truly a shame what happens soon afterwards. The scene where Ralph rushed back to the hotel room in the start of Grand Guingol was very well done. The other couples, especially Wesley and Dian, were written as realistic couples and not just Superhero and his significant other (who is only significant for being rescued).

The greatest thing about this series was how fighting took such a back seat to the character interactions. I loved the Superman-Starman issue. It was such a poignant moment when they were talking about parents and being a Superhero. The other great thing was how everything came together with Grand Guingol. It really tied together the entire series in such a great way, especially the Jon Valor stuff.

At this point I'm kind of starting to ramble but this is one of my favorite piece of fiction and my favorite comic book anything. If anyone could answer (and I'll edit if this had already been answered):
1) Did the Dibneys do anything else after this before Identity Crisis (besides Classified)?

2) Is Black Condor still around or Bobo or Mikaal?

3) Has anything come out since with the Shade?

[ducklord]

1) Did the Dibneys do anything else after this before Identity Crisis (besides Classified)?

2) Is Black Condor still around or Bobo or Mikaal?

3) Has anything come out since with the Shade?

1) Not that I can recall (aside from a HORRIBLE issue of, um, Gotham Knights?). Kind of a pity, really.

2) Black Condor II, alas, got himself kilt real good in Infinite Crisis #1. Considering that he could've easily evolved into what Black Condor III seems to be, that's also something of a pity. Bobo and Mikaal are currently in limbo, which is probably for the best, all things considered.

3) Shade is also MIA, although I believe he may have briefly shown up in a JSA issue or two when Obsidian was going nutsy-cuckoo. If I had to guess, I'd say that writers don't want to be responsible for messing up what Robinson did with the character.

Mike

[will_butler]

Starman, along with Hitman and Ostrander's The Spectre are exactly the kinds of books that DC should be putting out. Give a writer who really cares about a character the opportunity to do a finite run with an honest-to-God character arc, don't force a ton of pointless crossovers, and when the author has told the character's story, end the book. Those are among the reasons that Vertigo has had so many beloved series: people who care telling a mature story with a beginning, middle, and end.

Will

[dupersuper]

Do the trades have the Shade story in Showcase when he turned down Neron? That was sweet.