Written by James Robinson
Art by Tony Harris
1996
Published by DC Comics
Starman is a series that holds the odd, an somewhat unglamorous, lineage of having been one of the first comics to experience multiple positive reviews in the pages of Entertainment Weekly (a magazine owned by the same company that owns and publishes DC Comics.) Although EW (as it obnoxiously refers to itself) is now regularly mentioning comic books to readers probably more interested in the length of Lindsay Lohan's clitoris, Starman, as they saw, done been there-a few times at that.
Whether the name-check helped the book or not would require a level of research that would destroy the morale of even the most soulless statistician, Starman remains one of the strongest pieces of work DC has put out in years: although the nature of the character is neither as innovative nor ground-breaking as fans (and EW) put it when the book appeared, it still remains one of the rarest pieces of comic fiction--a whole-hearted embrace of the super-hero genre steeped in nostalgia that is both intelligent and entertaining to a reader of any age. This first collection (still in print) contains the beginning of James Robinson's re-imagining of the character (a hold-over from the 40's,) bringing the reader into the story alongside the character himself--a young man who refuses to wear his fathers spandex, and agrees to the life after only the most tragic circumstances. By the close of the book, Jack Knight (Starman's son) has grudgingly taken his fathers mantle and brought it into the 20th century. Tony Harris' art takes a bit to get used to in these environs (his dark blacks and heavy lines are traditionally found in more adult books), but by the end, it's impossible to imagine these characters looking like anything else.
For whatever reason, many of the Starman collections have fallen out of print, making it difficult for any new readers to jump on board--a sad fate, considering this is one of those comics that could be enjoyed by just about anyone whose sense of wonder remains intact.
-Tucker Stone, 2006
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