Golden Age Starman Archives Volume 1

Rating:
Summary: Better than most Golden Age work
Review: I choose my DC Archives carefully. While they are beautiful editions, and Amazon makes them very affordable, I just can't justify the price for story and art that, in the case of their Golden Age material, is mediocre at best. My interest in James Robinson's revival of Starman led me to purchase this Archive volume, and I can say that it is well worth it. This 200-plus page hardcover reprints Adventure Comics #61-76, from 1941-42, by Gardner Fox and Jack Burnley. The stories are fine from a historical perspective, as they give the reader a sort of prequel to the Robinson series. Some comics historians may scoff at that statement, but it's true. The Golden Age Starman, for the most part, just filled a space on the comic rack. He was put to somewhat better use in the Silver Age with the advent of Earth-2, and the later years would bring completely different versions of the character... but nothing special. Robinson, however, fully developed the character and made him work, even if he had to pull Starman's son to center stage and integrate the other versions to do it. So in the grand scheme of things, these early stories only serve to provide a framework for greater things to come. Still, they are enjoyable. The real attraction of these classic stories, however, is Burnley's artwork. The man had a good grasp of anatomy and composition, far more so than his contemporaries. It's comparable to Alex Raymond and is a pure delight. This is some of the best Golden Age art you will ever see.

Rating:
Summary: Better than most Golden Age work
Review: I choose my DC Archives carefully. While they are beautiful editions, and Amazon makes them very affordable, I just can't justify the price for story and art that, in the case of their Golden Age material, is mediocre at best. My interest in James Robinson's revival of Starman led me to purchase this Archive volume, and I can say that it is well worth it. This 200-plus page hardcover reprints Adventure Comics #61-76, from 1941-42, by Gardner Fox and Jack Burnley. The stories are fine from a historical perspective, as they give the reader a sort of prequel to the Robinson series. Some comics historians may scoff at that statement, but it's true. The Golden Age Starman, for the most part, just filled a space on the comic rack. He was put to somewhat better use in the Silver Age with the advent of Earth-2, and the later years would bring completely different versions of the character... but nothing special. Robinson, however, fully developed the character and made him work, even if he had to pull Starman's son to center stage and integrate the other versions to do it. So in the grand scheme of things, these early stories only serve to provide a framework for greater things to come. Still, they are enjoyable. The real attraction of these classic stories, however, is Burnley's artwork. The man had a good grasp of anatomy and composition, far more so than his contemporaries. It's comparable to Alex Raymond and is a pure delight. This is some of the best Golden Age art you will ever see.

Rating:
Summary: Mixed bag of writing; spectacular artwork
Review: In the early 1990s, three comic books invariably found their way to the top of my pile: John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake's "Spectre," Matt Wagner, Steven T. Seagle, and Guy Davis's "Sandman Mystery Theatre," and James Robinson's "Starman." Knowledgeable readers will note that these three titles were all books that featured strong ties and characters from the "Golden Age" of DC Comics.

Years later, DC has released Archive Editions collecting the Golden Age adventures of each of these characters. I read the Spectre a few years ago, just finished the Starman, and just purchased the Sandman. I thought the Spectre was a lot of fun, and I am looking forward to reading the Sandman. But I am here to review Starman.

Starman was pretty typical of "mystery men" at this time. Ted Knight is a rich playboy with aversion to work by day, who naturally is the tough as nails Starman by night. He has a relationship with Agent Woodby Allen in his Starman guise. As Ted Knight, he dates (sort of), Allen's niece Doris Lee. Whenever Starman is needed, hypochondriac Ted fakes some illness and splits. Naturally, Doris is more smitten with Starman than poor Ted. Pretty standard stuff for the era. And, many of these stories were written by go-to-guy, Gardner Fox.

And yet, there are some notable differences. First, Starman's origin wasn't particularly well developed. In one panel of expository dialog, we learn that Ted, evidently quite the scientist, developed the "gravity rod," a small wand that collects energy from the stars, and allows the bearer to do, well, anything really. Certainly not the elaborate origins of Superman, Flash, Green Lantern, et al. Indeed, it was decades before the hows and whys of Starman were parsed in any meaningful way. Second, unlike the charmingly (or not, depending on your tastes) cartoony artwork of most super-heroes at the time, Starman's artwork was strangely realistic, thanks to the stunning line work of artist Jack Burnley.

In the end, Starman was a mixed bag. Gardner Fox did some solid scripts, but he was doing better at the time, and did much better in the sixties. Part of Starman's problem is that, as a clearly sci-fi hero, he spent a good deal of time dealing with some fairly conventional menaces, mostly powerless gangsters, Axis saboteurs, and the like, rather than super-villains. Thus, there was weird blend of sci-fi and crime fiction that only worked about half the time. When there were more conventional sci-fi actioners, everything clicked. A terrific example is a villain called the Unknown stealing a time machine, and bringing back future technology to commit his crimes. That story works particularly well. A second great example is the first Mist story, the villain who became Starman's arch nemesis (particularly delightful if you read Robinson's series in the 90s). This story featured invisible criminals lead by the mad scientist, the Mist, a man whose body appeared to be a human head atop a gaseous cloud. The story works, despite its crime setting, because it features a sci-fi hero versus a sci-fi villain.

That having been said, I couldn't help but role my eyes at some of the logic of the plots. Fox handled sci-fi pretty well, but there were times I wondered if he'd read any science. In one case, the gravity rod runs down because Starman has used all the power. But because its daytime, he can't collect any more energy from the stars. I'm pretty sure that the stars energy hits the earth constantly. And anyway, the sun is a star itself. I'm not sure why the rod would not collect energy on a constant basis. And there is the matter of Starman's mask NOT covering his face. Doris couldn't recognize him as Ted Knight why?

Whatever may be said of the stories, Burnley's art is the real draw (pardon the pun). His excellent line work, his attention to detail, his ability to communicate action and motion is all superb by any standard. Regardless of any illogic in the plots, the artwork kept me going, and was always a joy to behold.

In the end, "The Golden Age Starman Archives" are a mixed bag. It's not hard to see why the character never clicked the way Superman did. Nonetheless, it's pretty solid; from the perspective of the art, it's outstanding.



Rating:
Summary: Five Stars for Starman Archives
Review: The popularity of the modern day Starman comic has prompted DC to publish a Starman Archive Edition ahead of many other books we might have expected, e.g. Dr. Fate or Spectre. The modern-day Starman is the son of the 1940s hero, who is the (ahem) star of this collection. The book is steeped in the tradition of the Golden Age of Comic Books. Collectors and others who obsess about DC comic continuity will find this volume indispensable. The less fanatic will just find it is a sensational read.

Rating:
Summary: Five Stars for Starman Archives
Review: The popularity of the modern day Starman comic has prompted DC to publish a Starman Archive Edition ahead of many other books we might have expected, e.g. Dr. Fate or Spectre. The modern-day Starman is the son of the 1940s hero, who is the (ahem) star of this collection. The book is steeped in the tradition of the Golden Age of Comic Books. Collectors and others who obsess about DC comic continuity will find this volume indispensable. The less fanatic will just find it is a sensational read.