Previously: When we left off in our look at the brief but brilliant superhero career of Jack “Starman” Knight, the gentle giant Solomon Grundy had sacrificed his life to save Jack’s and repay the debt incurred by his accidental killing of the Star-Spangled Kid, and Jack had met and fallen in love with a woman […]
Last Time: Our coverage of James Robinson and Tony Harris’s STARMAN series has continued unabated, ending last time with the series’ big promotional push of 1997. However, as the series entered into the 30s, big changes were afoot that would push the series in a surprising direction: Jack’s next continued adventure was “Infernal Devices,” which […]
Previously: It’s been all Starman, all the time around these parts in recent weeks, as we’ve turned our attention to James Robinson and Tony Harris’ landmark 1990s legacy hero, Jack Knight. At about two years into the series, the book was really hitting its stride. Let’s get back to it, shall we? STARMAN’s second year […]
Going to postpone our Ms. Marvel coverage one more week, so I can talk about one of the more enjoyable convention experiences around, Gallifrey One in Los Angeles, the nation’s largest annual DOCTOR WHO convention. I can’t think of a better way to kick off my 2013 convention season then by spending the weekend at […]
For Those Who Came In Late: In recent weeks, we’ve been exploring the wonder that was James Robinson and Tony Harris’ STARMAN series, arguably the best comic book of the 1990s. Last time, we took a closer look at the art of Tony Harris, saw the first of the recurring favorite features “Talking With David” […]
“There is a city. A glorious and singular place. Old and yet pristine. Ornate and yet streamlined. A metropolis of now and then and never was… And so Opal City stands glorious and singular.” I was hooked on James Robinson’s Starman from the first page. How could I not be with an introduction like this? […]
Last time, we were introduced to Jack Knight, youngest son of original Golden Age Starman Ted Knight, who has reluctantly taken up the name and role of Starman (if not the costume), following the murder of his older brother David by their father’s longtime enemy the Mist. With the help of his father’s Cosmic Rod, […]
Not to sound like Grandpa Simpson, but back in my day, discussion of comics in a university setting was a fairly rare thing. I was fortunate at the University of California to have studied under a forward-thinking professor of English named Frank McConnell who taught WATCHMEN, V FOR VENDETTA, SANDMAN and THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS […]
We’re going to interrupt our Ms. Marvel coverage this week, to show a few sneak peeks of one of my favorite weeks of the year: Toy Fair. Every February, toy companies from around the world gather in Manhattan to show off what they’ve got planned for the next year, and hopefully place their products in […]
The year was 1941. National Comics was in a boom period like no other, practically owning the comic-book industry thanks to their unprecedented one-two punch of Superman and Batman. After some three and a half years of success, the company decided to put a big promotional push behind a new character, and even anoint it […]
A new month brings a new theme here at Blastoff, and a new banner from our wonderful Artist-in-Residence Elena Casagrande! This one’s pretty special, as it celebrates one of our all-time favorite comics here at Blastoff, James Robinson’s STARMAN! Click the image to see it at full size!
“Hang on. This is about to get weird.” Close your eyes and imagine yourself falling down a dark and chilly hole in the earth. Strange lights flash off the walls and alien scents fill your nostrils. You open your mouth to scream, but all that emerges is a faint whisper. You’ve tumbled into […]
Back in 1979, Marvel, like every other entertainment producer, was still feeling the effects of STAR WARS’ massive success. Science fiction was hot in a big way, and everybody wanted a piece of it. Marvel themselves was already producing a monthly STAR WARS comic, but that wasn’t enough. For new ideas, new Marvel head honcho […]
