What’s this? Three more in the “one vote” pile from this post ? Let’s see what we’ve got this time:
Starstruck (Marvel/Epic 1985-1986)
A reminder to folks new to these lists, that I was counting creator-owned books released under Marvel’s “Epic” imprint as part of the “indies” movement since they were mostly distinct from Marvel’s standard output. I mean, despite the fact Marvel’s editorial hand sometimes came down on them .
As to Starstruck itself, it began life at a stage play written by Elaine Lee, with costume and set design by William Kaluta and Charles Vess. It was a sci-fi comedy/adventure with a largely-female cast, set during a power struggle in a divided galaxy. Translating the project to comics, Lee and Kaluta serialized a prequel story in Heavy Metal , which were retooled into a graphic novel from Marvel. After that Lee and Kaluta produced a six issue comic book series through Epic.
After this it gets a little confusing, at least to me, the Guy Who Never Read This But Should Have. It appears the graphic novel was reprinted in altered/expanded form in a Dark Horse comic book mini-series in 1990-1. According to the Wikipedia entry , it also includes part of the first comic book issue from Epic.
In 2009-10 it appears the material was remastered and reprinted again, in a 13-issue series from IDW. This series was reprinted in its entirety in both hardcover and softcover, and this is like the Definite Edition of this story, if you ever decide to seek it out.
I remember the IDW reprints selling quite well for us at the previous place of employment. According to the Wiki more story is planned, so hopefully that’s something that will actually happen.
Steelgrip Starkey (Marvel/Epic 1986-1987)
Another one of those darned Epic titles, this one with the subtitle on the cover “…And The All-Purpose Power Tool.” Which I don’t know was officially part of the title or not, since I don’t have a copy here to check the indicia.
But this was a comic I had at least some mild interest in, as the main writer/artist of the book was Alan Weiss (inks by James Sherman), whose art in other comics I’ve read stuck out to be as being, well, different from your standard superhero fare. A little more detailed, more expressive, less “generic muscled body in spandex,” that sort of thing. For whatever reason, I never got around to picking it up, and look, I’m sorry this ’80s overview is turning into a parade of “Mike’s Missed Opportunities,” but what can I tell you, I can’t read everything.
Anyway, Val Mayerik pops in to share penciling duties for a couple of issues, and interestingly, in the section on the title in the Amazing Heroes 1985 Preview Special , Mike Kaluta (remember him?) was also namedropped as an artist on the series, though far as I can tell via the Comics Database, he doesn’t appear. (Also, Elaine Lee (remember her?) does some coloring here.)
Also “borrowing” from this preview entry is a description of the book, in that it’s a “modern American folk tale” in which Starkey, and his amazing tool only he can operate, find themselves in a series of adventures. Which, you know, okay, I’ll read that. I mean, I should have read it back in the ’80s when it was coming out, but look, I was still in high school, I wasn’t rolling in cash at the time. Though I suppose once I started working for a comic shop I could have snagged those, but I was trying to fill back numbers of Cerebus so that took priority. …Amazing all these things I could have had if only I’d taken more advantage of that store’s deep stock. Ah well.
Far as I can tell, the series has never been reprinted, making it another of those lost series awaiting rediscovery in a back issue bin or dollar box somewhere.
Strange Days (Eclipse 1984-1985)
I’ll tell you what, though, when I saw that cover of Strange Days as a 15-year-old kid wandering around ye olde comic shoppe, that was a book I had to have. That weird face in the background, those obnoxious colors…it was a comic that dared you to buy it, and friends, I took that dare.
And the stories inside…”Paradax” by Peter Milligan and Brendan McCarthy, looked almost nominally like it should have been a superhero story, but it was just so peculiar, with splashy colorful art that made it look so unlike its flat-colored mainstream cousins. Maybe I wasn’t 100% sure what was going on, but oh goodness that art caught my eye. More so with “Freakwave” by the same fellas, where I feel like maybe I still need to give it another read and make sure I have it down.
And of course there was Johnny Nemo, the stylish sci-fi private detective by Milligan and Brett Ewins, plus other short features primarily with some combination of Milligan, McCarthy, and Ewins.
Much (all?) of the Millgan/McCarthy material gets reprinted in a 2013 hardcover Best of Milligan and McCarthy from Dark Horse. There is a two-issue Paradax series from Vortex that appears to be new material. There is a three issue series, also from Eclipse, of Johnny Nemo Magazine with new stories by Millgain and Erwin, and I feel like the character also appears somewhere else. If he does, then he’s reprinted in the 2014 Complete Johnny Nemo hardcover from Titan.
Okay, good series, worth taking a look, with visually stunning art and certainly peculiar stories.
• • •
Next installment…the last of the single vote entries? Maybe so! Things will only speed up after this (for you, it still takes me forever to type up this stuff) so we’ll get to the mysterious #1 vote-getter soon! And for whom did I vote? We’ll find out soon enough!
All Rights Reserved Book Blog