"Comics...the final frontier. These are the stories of the character(s) 'Starman'. Their sixty-year legacy: to explore strange new plotlines. To seek out new readers, and new levels of circulation. To boldly go where...."
Sorry about that - good thing I can always count on a split infinitive to snap my train of thought back in line.
I know what you're all thinking (yeah, me too) - Fred must have been awfully precognitive to come up with this one, since it foreshadowed James Robinson's 'Starman' run by almost twenty years. No, not the parenthood angle, although who can tell with the new Hypertime monkey wrench thrown into the mix. I'm talking about the idea of integrating all characters who have used the 'Starman' name into a single narrative, kind of like what Neil Gaiman did with 'Sandman'.
I wonder if Fred can ask for royalties for this.
From left to right, then: the original Starman debuted in 1941 wielding a 'gravity rod' that harnessed the powers of the stars to let him do pretty much anything he wanted; the one-shot wonder Starman appeared in DC's 'First Issue Special' series as an invading alien soldier deserting his homeworld in order to defend the Earth against his own people; the Steve Ditko (yay!) Starman was an alien sentenced to death by his sister, who coveted the throne they were both in line for; and finally, Star Boy, from the 30th century Legion of Super-Heroes, who could make things really heavy, man.
I'm still waiting for Robinson to integrate the Jeff Bridges movie from a few years back.
- NP
