Customer Reviews

Love it! Just love it! - By: Greywolf, 09 Dec 2008
I've been reading superhero comics since before the Fantastic Four took their fateful trip through the radiation beltsin 1961 & can safely say that I've seldom read a series that's given me as much enjoyment as James Robinson's amazing 1990s 'Starman' series that starts with this volume & continues through several more.
Starman was a minor superhero who'd been kicking around the DC universe for more years than you could shake a power rod at. He'd never made the big league,in spite of several re-inventions over the years. Then along came James Robinson.
The early issues see Robinson introduce a new Starmanin the form of Jack, youngest son of the original Starman, Ted Knight. Jack is a hip, leather-jacketed collector & seller of pop-culture artefacts. He has no interest whatsoeverin joining the spandex brigade. Robinson then crafts a brilliantly evolving talein which this most reluctant of heroes becomes super, while still steering clear of dayglo tights.
What Robinson offers usin Jack Knight is a fully rounded portrait of a totally believable, & immensely likeable, central character. He is witty, irreverant & surprises himself & us when called upon to be courageous. Through this & subsequent volumes, Jack travels through alternate realities; meets up with some of DC's more familiar costumed crowd; argues with, & grows to appreciate, his father; hangs out with his brother's ghost; & ultimately finds ... well, you should read it to find out. And you really should read it. In his own way, Robinson shows himself to be as talented a writer as other modern greats like Alan Moore & Frank Miller. Yes, really, he's that good.
The Starman saga is as richly fulfilling, affecting & enjoyable a tale as you'll find anywherein the superhero genre, made doubly satisfying because James Robinson was actually allowed to bring it to a proper, planned conclusion, a very rare thingin comics. But you've got this & several more volumes of sheer brilliance to enjoy before you get to that conclusion. If you're discovering Starman for the first time, I envy you. You've got a heck of a ridein store.