Star*Reach 1Fabulous Find Star*Reach 1

Fabulous Find: Star*Reach # 1

DECEMBER 12, 2014 BY GREG TURNER LEAVE A COMMENT

This week for my Fabulous Find, I’m shining the light on Star*Reach # 1. It’s from Star*Reach Productions and it’s dated April 1974. As far as I know, Star*Reach Productions was Mike Friedrich, and Mike Friedrich was Star*Reach Productions. But please correct me if I’m wrong. So what is Star*Reach? A regular comic? An underground comic? A fanzine? Good questions,  just what is Star*Reach? Well, Friedrich himself coined a new genre, as he called Star*Reach a “ground level comic book”. The first issue is chocked full of goodies, comic stories that wouldn’t fit into the Comic Code ruled major comics, like Marvel and DC Comics, but not nearly a raw and earthly as the typical underground comic and printed in black and white on newsprint.

The cover to this first issue is done by Howard (Howie) Chaykin. Take a peek:

Star Reach # 1   1974

Star Reach # 1   April 1974

It’s a pretty nice package and only cost 75 cents back in 1974. I believe the book was eventually reprinted, featuring the Jim Starlin back cover, as the new front cover, and cost more.

The book opens with an editorial by Friedrich explaining why Star*Reach has come about, then jumps right into a terrific story written and drawn by Jim Starlin, entitled; “The Birth Of Death”. It’s eight (8) pages long and has a bit of a twist ending for those of you that enjoy that type of story. It features God, the angel Lucifer, as well as, mankind, plus features the “origin” of Death!

Next up we get the story entitled; “Death Building” also written and drawn by Jim Starlin. It’s seven (7) pages long and also features the character, Death. In fact Jim Starlin plays a cameo part in the story. It’s got a neat ending that I won’t give away here. Buy the book! You can find copies on eBay for not much money,

The next two (2) strips/stories are written and drawn by Steve Skeates. They are each two (2) pages long and frankly, it’s “not my cup of tea”. Obviously I’m not a fan of Skeates’ art style. The first is called “Fish Myths” and the second; “Suburban Fish”, and both are about fish!

Next up is a nice story entitled; “A Tale Of Sword & Sorcery” written by Ed Hicks and drawn by Walt Simonson. It runs twelve (12) pages and it’s worth the read, at least in my opinion. The last eleven (11) pages even offer a “flip book” like half inch strip running at the bottom of the page, and I do mean running!

This brings us to the cover featured story. It’s simply entitled; “Cody Starbuck” and it’s written and drawn by Howard Chaykin and introduces the comic reading world to the title character. The story runs sixteen (16) pages and is the longest story in the comic. This first Starbuck story introduces the reader to a galaxy where two great empires had toppled due to a great war. All that now remains are groups of people was fall into four (4) categories, 1) traders, 2) missionaries, 3) mime troupes and 4) pirates. Cody Starbuck is one of the last category!

The story opens with action as Starbuck is fighting to free a woman who has been kidnapped and held for ransom. It seems that his services have been hired by a wealthy individual to free his fiancee. The fact that the individual is paying Starbuck ore than the cost of the ransom is ironic, but he’s proving a point. Starbuck is successful and returns the girl to Lord Gideon. WHile there he encounters the man, William Trachmann, who was responsible for costing Starbuck his commission and thus driving him into a life of piracy.

It turns out that Trachmann is up to no good and with help kills Lord Gideon and he sends an assassin to kill Starbuck. At the last moment, Starbuck is warned of the threat and manages to do away with the assassin, after he finds out who sent him. Starbuck rushes back, duells Trachmann and saves the girl, Evangeline, again. They both repair to Starbuck’s ship, the Limerick Rake and the first episode ends.

The comic itself has one (1) more strip and it’s also written and drawn by Jim Starlin. It’s entitled; “The Origin Of God!” and with just four panels on that page, clearly shows God’s origin!

And, as I mentioned above, the back cover is also drawn by Jim Starlin, but since it involves some nudity, I won’t show it, but it features Death and two of his hand maidens. All on all, a very nice package, and as I said, it only cost seventy-five cents on the newsstands. I highly recommend it to collectors of work by Starlin and Chaykin. The series ran only eighteen (18) issues and was published from April 1974 through October 1979.

The character of Starbuck made a return appearance in Star*Reach # 4, dated March 1976. He was also cover featured that issue. As a bonus, here’s that cover, as well:

Star Reach # 4   1976

Star Reach # 4  March 1976

After that appearance in Star*Reach # 4, Star*Reach Productions publish as Cody Starbuck one-shot in full color, dated July 1978.  Here’s that cover too:

Cody Starbuck One Shot 1978

Cody Starbuck One Shot July 1978

Personally, I don’t think the cover on this book is a good as the fist two appearances, though Chaykin drew all three.

So what happened to the character then? Well, also in 1978, Chaykin put out a portfolio, featuring an illustrated sleeve and six black and white lithos. Then in 1980, he put out a second portfolio. This time in color with a black & white illustrated sleeve. This portfolio contained four color plates. Here’s the illustrated sleeves of both those portfolios:

Cody Starbuck 1980 Color Portfolio

Cody Starbuck 1980 Color Portfolio

Cody Starbuck 1978 B&W Portfolio

Cody Starbuck 1978 B&W Portfolio

And finally Starbuck had a five (5) month run in Heavy Metal Magazine. the five episodes ran in Heavy Metal volume 5 #2, through Heavy Metal volume 5 #6,  from May 1981 through September 1981. So if you want to collect the whole Cody Starbuck run, you now have the necessary information to track down all of his appearances to date. Happy hunting!

And that brings us once again to the end of this week’s Fabulous Find. I hope you come back next week for a new RETRO REVIEW and again in two weeks for another Fabulous Find. Stay warm and I hope your Holiday season is wonderful!

Be seeing you …

Share it: Jim Starlin’s single page origin of god and his short origin of death originally appeared in the first issue of the 1974 series Star Reach. Star Reach published its own Greatest Hits in 1979. The reason I like  this Starlin,could have over did as a big 22 page event,but comically choose to it in page.He did the story three panels,with it’s simplity made it brilliant.

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StarReach01-4-49 StarReach01-4-49 The Origin of God by Jim Starlin

Jim Starlin, The origin of god!, 1974

As i collecting and archiving my favourite comic illustrator and story teller’s files, i guess i have to post some. Jim Starlin is a genious. Never has comics printed a more simple origin story

Jim Starlin’s single page origin of god and his short origin of death originally appeared in the first issue of the 1974 series Star Reach. Star Reach published its own Greatest Hits in 1979.In 1974, Jim Starlin was at the peak of his creative powers and a sky-rocketing comicbook superstar. When fellow comicbook creator Mike Friedrich founded his "ground-level" (not quite mainstream, not quite underground) comicbook company Star*Reach--and it's flagship title, also called Star*Reach--Starlin was there contributing high-quality graphics and provocative stories the likes of which he couldn't possibly do in Captain Marvel or Warlock. 16 of the 52 pages of Star*Reach #1 (Spring 1974) were filled with Jim Starlin's opinions/flights of fancy concerning drugs, death, and religion. Here's a sampling of Starlin unleashed: "...The Birth of Death!" and "The Origin of God!".Starlin was most likely on something,but whatever that was,it gave us crazy comic books.

But in 1984, Eclipse reprinted six issues of highlights from that series as Star Reach Classics.The stories were reprinted in color,which didn't hurt a thing,so much for fans complaining about colorized versions vs black and white. We recommend that series for fans of classic 70s science fiction. For one, it’s in stock far more than the original issues. Plus, Eclipse printed it on high quality paper, a really nice production. Bonus: you can get most of them for just a couple dollars a piece.

h1

before Watchmen: Star*Reach Classics #1

June 20th, 2012

Posted by david brothers

I want there to be some kind of cute narrative behind my discovery of Star*Reach Classics 1 like there is for my introductions to Michelinie and McFarlane’s Amazing Spider-Man 316+317 (my first comics) and Miller’s Sin City: The Big Fat Kill 5 (my first adult comic), but there isn’t one. It was just a book I pulled out of a quarter bin six or seven years ago that I thought was really weird-looking and awkward and therefore must-reading.

I grabbed it for a couple of reasons. I knew and liked Jim Starlin’s work, especially his Adam Warlock-related stuff. I also knew of Neal Adams’s work, though I don’t think I’d had any direct experience with it beyond covers. I’m pretty sure I knew of Dave Sim, too, but I didn’t know thatCerebus was actually an important comic. It looked like a stupid talking animal parody book. So, hey, a quarter? For a book featuring art by one dude I knew I liked, one guy I figured I was supposed to like, and one guy whose name kept popping up? Why not? It turns out thatStar*Reach Classics is a weird little time capsule of a comic, some of it great, some of it… strange.

Even though the vast majority of my experience with Starlin comes from reading Marvel comics, even today, I still have this really firm image of what I think his shtick is. There will be a battle between equal numbers, dialogue that’s as much a call-and-response speech as a conversation, amazing starscapes, ankhs, and at some point a close zoom on an eye. Sometimes the eye reveals the universe, sometimes the eye reveals a screaming skull. That’s Starlin in my head. It’s sort of funny how these things build up over the years and we place guys in these boxes. Sometimes it’s wrong. Sometimes it’s right.

“…The Birth of Death!” delivers, in terms of what I expect out of Starlin. “…The Birth of Death!” is a bedtime story delivered by a kid’s Uncle Mort (hey, something about that name…). Starlin remixes the Christian creation story, documenting the creation of angels, humans, immortals, and finally Death. As I was rereading this, I realized that it reminded me of nothing but “Night on Bald Mountain” from Fantasia. They both have that kinda dark and gloomy but still majestic and horrible feel.

I really like how Starlin draws the story. Instead of the bedtime story just being a framing sequence, with Uncle Mort’s words transitioning to captions instead of word balloons, Mort stays in the story every step of the way. His face, or parts of his face at least, is attached to every panel in the story. It’s a technique I don’t think I’ve ever seen before, but very cool. His expressions, from anger to awe, really sell the story, which is heightened in a space opera/high fantasy kind of way. Mort’s sneers and wrinkles elevate a basic story into something else.

I really like how Starlin renders God, too, as a pair of eyes (with ankhs, skulls, and the infinity symbol) floating in crowded space. It’s original and abstract enough to get across the idea of an ever present higher power. Some vague nudity in this one:

I think it’s notable that Starlin’s version of Death hangs out with two topless Conan the Barbarian looking chicks and holds some kind of weird squid-thing that he refers to as “the Dark Thing” in his hand. Starlin’s Death has the same kind of overwrought nobility that Dr Doom bears, but a physicality more fitting for a pulp hero. He’s the kind of villain that would drink wine out of a goblet, throw that goblet against the wall, and then casually bury an axe in a hero’s skull. He looks like he writes poetry about murders between murders, is what I’m saying.

In the end, of course, Uncle Mort is revealed to be Death, and the child he’s reading to is dead. A Longfellow poem and a pale child’s body close out the story.

There’s another story by Starlin in this one, “Death Building.” Was it Matt Fraction who said that the rise of Jim Starlin was the point when nerds discovered acid? Something to that effect, at least. Here’s the bottom two tiers from the first page of “Death Building”:

And here’s the last tier from the last page:

One thing that used to bug me about Starlin was that it seemed like he was always going back to the same well. I eventually got it. It’s not that he was out of ideas or whatever it was I used to think. It was more that he was interested in a specific thing, and working out his feelings about that on the page. Or maybe he was working out the various angles of that specific thing. I don’t want to assume anything about his feelings. Regardless, Starlin has spent a lot of time examining existence, from death to power to destiny and back again.

I like seeing people working out their thoughts in public. I’ve done a lot of it here, obviously. It’s like watching someone rub their chin and mull over a point in person. Starlin married his conundrum to his artwork, and the results are pretty great. It’s not going back to the well at all. It’s trying to solve a puzzle by recreating that puzzle in several different configurations.

There are a few stories in this issue. Starlin has another one-pager called “The Origin of God!” (I love that he uses punctuation in his titles so, so much) that’s just four panels long and pretty solid. Dave Sim supplies the four-page “Cosmix,” which is about suicide, criticism, and art, and still doesn’t manage to be interesting or particularly good. It has a last-minute stinger that isn’t really earned at all. (I just started watching Black Mirror, and the “Welcome To The Twilight Zone” moment in “Cosmix” is similar to a twist in the (pretty solid) second episode, but with a bit less brutal irony, maybe.)

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December 22, 2013

Jim Starlin’s Origin of God and Birth of Death!

By Mars Will Send No More

StarReach01-4-50

Jim Starlin’s single page origin of god and his short origin of death originally appeared in the first issue of the 1974 series Star Reach. Star Reach published its own Greatest Hits in 1979.

But in 1984, Eclipse reprinted six issues of highlights from that series as Star Reach Classics. We recommend that series for fans of classic 70s science fiction. For one, it’s in stock far more than the original issues. Plus, Eclipse printed it on high quality paper, a really nice production. Bonus: you can get most of them for just a couple dollars a piece.

Starlin here gives us some of his finest 70s illustration, artistically superior to his more famous work on Captain Marvel, and on par with his best Warlockstories. If you enjoy these, you will enjoy Starlin’s Darklon the Mystic from that same time period. Diversions of the Groovy Kind hosts some pages from Warren’s Eerie magazine where you can read part of Darklon in black and white. Or, you can drop a dollar on a back issue by Pacific Comics that reprints the complete Darklon story in color.

Collector’s Guide:

- From Star Reach Classics #1; Eclipse, 1984.

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Posted 11th February 2014 by Joseph Gilbert Thompson

But in 1984, Eclipse reprinted six issues of highlights from that series as Star Reach Classics. We recommend that series for fans of classic 70s science fiction. For one, it’s in stock far more than the original issues. Plus, Eclipse printed it on high quality paper, a really nice production. Bonus: you can get most of them for just a couple dollars a piece.

Starlin here gives us some of his finest 70s illustration, artistically superior to his more famous work on Captain Marvel, and on par with his best Warlock stories. If you enjoy these, you will enjoy Starlin’s Darklon the Mystic from that same time period. Diversions of the Groovy Kind hosts some pages from Warren’s Eerie magazine where you can read part of Darklon in black and white. Or, you can drop a dollar on a back issue by Pacific Comics that reprints the complete Darklon story in color.

Collector’s Guide:

– From Star Reach Classics #1; Eclipse, 1984.

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StarReach01-4-43

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Birth Name:        James P. Starlin

Birth Date:          9 October 1949

Birth Place:         Detroit, Michigan

Nationality:         American

Write:    y

Pencil:   y

Ink:        y

Art:        y

Alias:     Steve Apollo

Notable Works: Batman

Captain Marvel

Cosmic Odyssey

Dreadstar

Infinity Gauntlet

Marvel Graphic Novel

Warlock

Awards: Full list

Subcat:  American

James P. "Jim" Starlin (born October 9, 1949)[1] is an American comic book writer and artist. With a career dating back to the early 1970s, he is best known for "cosmic" tales and space opera; for revamping the Marvel Comics characters Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock; and for creating or co-creating the Marvel characters Thanos, Drax the Destroyer, Gamora and Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu.

Biography

Personal life

In the 1960s, Jim Starlin served as an aviation photographer in the US Navy in Vietnam.[2] [3] During his off duty time, he drew and submitted various comics. After leaving the Navy, he sold two stories to DC Comics.[4]

Early career

After writing and drawing stories for a number of fan publications, Jim Starlin got his break into comics in 1972, working for Roy Thomas and John Romita at Marvel Comics. Brought in by fellow artist Rich Buckler,[5] Starlin was part of the generation of artists and writers who grew up as fans of Silver Age Marvel Comics. At a Steve Ditko-focused panel at the 2008 Comic-Con International, Starlin said, "Everything I learned about storytelling was [due to] him or Kirby. [Ditko] did the best layouts."[6]

Starlin's first job for Marvel was as a finisher on pages of The Amazing Spider-Man. He then drew three issues of Iron Man, that introduced the characters Thanos and Drax the Destroyer.[7] He was then given the chance to draw an issue (#25) of the "cosmic" title Captain Marvel.[8] Starlin took over as plotter the following issue, and began developing an elaborate story arc centered on the villainous Thanos, and spread across a number of Marvel titles. Starlin left Captain Marvel one issue after concluding his Thanos saga.

Concurrently in the mid-1970s, Starlin contributed a cache of stories to the independently published science-fiction anthology Star Reach. Here he developed his ideas of God, death, and infinity, free of the restrictions of mainstream comics publishers' self-censorship arm, the Comics Code Authority. Starlin also drew "The Secret of Skull River", inked by frequent collaborator Al Milgrom, for Savage Tales #5 (July 1974).

After working on Captain Marvel, Starlin and writer Steve Englehart co-created the character Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu,[9] [10] though they only worked on the early issues of the series. Starlin then took over the title Warlock,[11] starring a genetically engineered being created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in the 1960s and re-imagined by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane in the 1970s as a Jesus Christ-like figure on an alternate Earth. Envisioning the character as philosophical and existentially tortured, Starlin wrote and drew a complex space opera with theological and psychological themes. Warlock confronted the militaristic Universal Church of Truth, eventually revealed to be created and led by an evil evolution of his future–past self, known as Magus. Starlin ultimately incorporated Thanos into this story. Comics historian Les Daniels noted that "In a brief stint with Marvel, which included work on two characters [Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock] that had previously never quite made their mark, Starlin managed to build a considerable cult following."[12]

In Fall 1978,[13] Starlin, Howard Chaykin, Walt Simonson, and Val Mayerik formed Upstart Associates, a shared studio space on West 29th Street in New York City. The membership of the studio changed over time.[14]

Death and suicide are recurring themes in Starlin's work: Personifications of Death appeared in his Captain Marvel series and in a fill-in story for Ghost Rider; Warlock commits suicide by killing his future self; and suicide is a theme in a story he plotted and drew for The Rampaging Hulk magazine.

Starlin occasionally worked for Marvel's chief competitor DC Comics and drew stories for Legion of Super-Heroes and the "Batman" feature in Detective Comics[15] in the late 1970s.

1980s

Starlin co-created the supervillain Mongul with writer Len Wein in DC Comics Presents #27 (Nov. 1980).[16]

The new decade found Starlin creating an expansive story titled "the Metamorphosis Odyssey", which introduced the character of Vanth Dreadstar in Epic Illustrated #3. From its beginning in Epic Illustrated, the initial story was painted in monochromatic grays, eventually added to with other tones, and finally becoming full color. The storyline was further developed in The Price[17] and Marvel Graphic Novel #3 [18] and eventually the long-running Dreadstar comic book, published first by Epic Comics,[19] [20] and then by First Comics.[21]

Starlin was given the opportunity to produce a one-shot story in which to kill off a main character. The Death of Captain Marvel became the first graphic novel published by Marvel itself.[22] Starlin and Bernie Wrightson produced Heroes for Hope, a 1985 one-shot designed to raise money for African famine relief and recovery.[23] Published in the form of a comics "jam," the book featured an all-star lineup of comics creators as well as a few notable authors from outside the comic book industry, such as Stephen King, George R. R. Martin, Harlan Ellison, and Edward Bryant. In 1986, he and Wrightson produced a second benefit comic for famine relief. Heroes Against Hunger featuring Superman and Batman was published by DC and like the earlier Marvel benefit project featured many top comics creators.[24] Starlin became the writer of Batman and one of his first storylines for the title was "Ten Nights of The Beast"[25] in issues #417 - 420 (March - June 1988) which introduced the KGBeast. Starlin then wrote the four-issue miniseries (Aug.-Nov. 1988) drawn by Wrightson.[26] and the storyline "", in Batman #426-429 (Dec. 1988 – Jan. 1989),[27] in which Jason Todd, the second of Batman's Robin sidekicks, was killed. The death was decided by fans, as DC Comics set up a hotline for readers to vote on as to whether or not Jason Todd should survive a potentially fatal situation.

Other projects for DC included writing The Weird drawn by Wrightson and Cosmic Odyssey drawn by Mike Mignola.[28] Starlin wrote and drew Gilgamesh II in 1989 before returning to Marvel.

Later career

Back at Marvel, Starlin began scripting a revival of the Silver Surfer series. As had become his Marvel norm, he introduced his creation Thanos into the story arc, which led to The Infinity Gauntlet miniseries and its crossover storyline.[29] Here, Starlin brought back Adam Warlock, whom he had killed years earlier in his concluding Warlock story in Avengers Annual #7 and Marvel Two-in-One Annual #2 in 1977. The Infinity Gauntlet proved successful and was followed by the sequel miniseries Infinity War and Infinity Crusade.

For DC he created Hardcore Station in 1998.

In 2003, Starlin wrote and drew the Marvel Comics miniseries . The series starred Thanos and a multitude of Marvel characters, and subsequently, Starlin was assigned an eponymous Thanos series. Starlin then worked for independent companies, creating Cosmic Guard (later renamed Kid Cosmos) published by Devil's Due and then Dynamite Entertainment in 2006.

Starlin returned to DC and, with artist Shane Davis, wrote the miniseries Mystery in Space vol. 2, featuring Captain Comet and Starlin's earlier creation, the Weird.[30] In 2007–2008, he worked on the DC miniseries Death of the New Gods[31] and Rann-Thanagar Holy War, as well as a Hawkman tie-in that became the latest of many stories to have altered the character's origins over the previous two decades.[32] He wrote the eight-issue miniseries Strange Adventures in 2009[33] and in 2013, became the writer of Stormwatch, one of the series of The New 52 line, beginning with issue #19.[34]

Other work

Starlin co-wrote four novels with his wife Daina Graziunas (whom he married in October 1980):[35] Among Madmen (1990, Roc Books), Lady El (1992, Roc Books), Thinning the Predators (1996, Warner Books; paperback edition entitled Predators); and Pawns (1989, serialized in comic book Dreadstar #42-54).

Awards

1973: Won the "Outstanding New Talent" Shazam Award, tied with Walt Simonson[36]

1974: Nominated for the "Superior Achievement by an Individual" Shazam Award

1977: Nominated for the "Favourite Comicbook Artist" Eagle Award

1978:

Won the "Favourite Single Story" Eagle Award, for Avengers Annual #7: The Final Threat

Won the "Favourite Continued Story" Eagle Award, for Avengers Annual #7 / Marvel Two-in-One Annual #2

Nominated for the "Favourite Artist" Eagle Award

Nominated for "Best Comic" British Fantasy Award, for Avengers Annual #7: The Final Threat

1979: Nominated for "Best Comic" British Fantasy Award, for Among the Great Divide (The Rampaging Hulk #7), with Steve Gerber and Bob Wiacek

1986:

Won the "Best Long Story" Haxtur Award, for Dreadstar

Received the Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award, jointly with Bernie Wrightson

1992:

Won the "Best Script" Haxtur Award, for Silver Surfer #1-5

Nominated for the "Best Long Story" Haxtur Award, for Silver Surfer #1-5, with Ron Lim

1993:

Nominated for the "Best Script" Haxtur Award, for Deeply Buried Secrets (Silver Surfer #12)

Nominated for the "Best Short Story" Haxtur Award, for Deeply Buried Secrets (Silver Surfer #12), with Ron Lim

1995:

Nominated for the "Best Short Story" Haxtur Award, for Daredevil/Black Widow: Abattoir, with Joe Chiodo

Nominated for the "Best Cover" Haxtur Award, for Breed #6

2005: Received the "Author That We Loved" Haxtur Award

August 2014: Inkwell Awards Special Ambassador (August 2014 – present)[37]

Bibliography

Comics work includes:

DC

Adventures of Superman Annual #1 (writer, 1987)

Batman #402 (artist, 1986); #414-430 (writer, 1987–89)

, miniseries, #1-4 (writer, 1988)

Cosmic Odyssey, miniseries, #1-4 (writer, 1988–89)

Countdown to Final Crisis #5 (artist, 2008)

DC Comics Presents #26-29, 36-37 (writer/artist, 1980–81)

Death of the New Gods, miniseries, #1-8 (writer/artist, 2007–08)

Detective Comics #481-482 (writer/artist) (1981)

The Flash (Firestorm backup stories) #294-296 (artist, 1981)

Gilgamesh II, miniseries, #1-4 (writer/artist, 1989)

Hardcore Station #1-6 (writer/artist, 1998)

Heroes Against Hunger (writer, 1986)

Kamandi #59 (OMAC backup story) (writer/artist 1978)

Mystery in Space, miniseries, #1-8 (writer/artist along with Shane Davis, 2006–07)

New Gods, vol. 3, #2-4 (writer, along with Paris Cullins, 1989)

Rann-Thanagar Holy War, miniseries, #1-8 (writer, 2008–09)

Richard Dragon, Kung-Fu Fighter #2 (artist, along with Alan Weiss) (1975)

Strange Adventures, miniseries, #1-8 (writer/artist among others, 2009)

Superboy (Legion of Super-Heroes) #239, 250-251 (writer/artist as "Steve Apollo", with co-author Paul Levitz) (1978–79)

Superman

The Computers that saved Metropolis, one-shot (artist, 1980)

Superman, vol. 2, #139 (artist, 1998)

Sword of Sorcery #5 (artist, 1973)

The Warlord (OMAC backup stories) #37-39 (writer/artist 1980)

The Weird, miniseries, #1-4 (writer, 1988)

Marvel

Amazing Adventures, vol. 2, #17 (Beast feature, 2-pages only) (artist, 1973)

Amazing Spider-Man #113-114 (artist, 1972); #187 (artist, 1978)

Astonishing Tales (Ka-Zar) #19 (artist, along with Dan Adkins, 1973)

Avengers #107 (artist alog with George Tuska, 1972); Annual
 * 1) 7 (writer/artist, 1977)

Book of the Dead (Man-Thing), miniseries, #3 (artist, 1994)

Captain Marvel #25-34 (full art); #36 (3-pages only) (writer/artist, 1973–74)

Captain Marvel, vol. 2, #11, 18 (artist, 2000–01)

The Cat #4 (along with Alan Weiss) (artist, 1973)

Conan the Barbarian #64 (artist, 1976)

Daredevil #105 (artist, along with Don Heck, 1973)

Daredevil/Black Widow: Abattoir (graphic novel) (writer, 1993)

Deadly Hands of Kung-Fu #1-2, 15 (writer/artist, 1974–75)

Doctor Strange #23-26 (writer/artist, 1977)

Dracula Lives #2 (artist along with Syd Shores, 1973)

Dreadstar #1-26 (writer/artist, 1982–86)

Epic Illustrated #1-9 (Metamorphosis Odyssey); #14, #15 (Dreadstar), #22, #34 (writer/artist, 1980–86)

Fear (Man-Thing) #12 (artist, 1973)

Ghost Rider, vol. 2, #35 (artist, 1979)

Giant-Size Defenders #1 (9-pages only), #3 (artist, 1975)

Heroes for Hope (writer/back cover artist, 1985)

Incredible Hulk vol. 2 #222 (artist, 1978)

Incredible Hulk and the Thing: The Big Change (graphic novel) (writer, 1987)

Infinity Gauntlet, miniseries, #1-6 (writer, 1991)

Infinity War, miniseries, #1-6 (writer, 1992)

Infinity Crusade, miniseries, #1-6 (writer, 1993)

Infinity Abyss, miniseries, #1-6 (writer/artist, 2002)

Iron Man #55-56 (artist, 1973)

Journey into Mystery (vol. 2) #1, 3 (artist, 1972–73)

Marvel Fanfare #20-21 (writer/artist, 1985)

Marvel Feature #11-12 (artist, 1973)

Marvel Graphic Novel #1 (The Death of Captain Marvel), #3 (Dreadstar) (writer/artist, 1982)

Marvel Premiere (Doctor Strange) #8 (artist, 1973)

Marvel Preview (Thor) #10 (artist, 1977)

, miniseries, #1-6 (writer/artist, 2003)

Marvel Two-in-One Annual #2 (writer/artist, 1977)

Master of Kung-Fu #17, 24 (1974–75)

Punisher: P.O.V, miniseries, #1-4 (writer, 1991)

Rampaging Hulk #4 (writer/artist, 1977), #7 (Man-Thing feature) (artist, 1978)

Savage Tales #5 (penciller, 1974)

Shadows & Light #2 (Doctor Strange feature) (writer/artist, 1998), #3 (Werewolf By Night feature) (writer, 1998)

Silver Surfer, vol 3, #34-48, 50 (writer, 1990–91)

Silver Surfer: Homecoming original graphic novel (writer, 1991)

The Silver Surfer/Warlock: Resurrection #1-4 (writer/artist, 1993)

Spaceknights #1-5 (writer, 2000–01)

Special Marvel Edition (Shang-Chi) #15-16 (then changes title to Master of Kung Fu) (1973–74)

Strange Tales (Warlock) #178-181 (writer/artist, 1975)

Thanos #1-6 (writer/artist, 2003–04)

Thanos Annual #1 (writer, 2014)

Thanos: The Infinity Relativity (graphic novel) (writer/artist, 2015)

Thanos: The Infinity Revelation (graphic novel) (writer/artist, 2014)

Thanos vs. Hulk, miniseries, #1-4 (writer/artist, 2015)

The Thanos Quest, miniseries, #1-2 (writer, 1990)

Thor, vol. 2, #37 (artist, 2001)

Warlock #9-15 (writer/artist, 1975–76)

Warlock and the Infinity Watch #1-31 (writer, 1992–94)

X-Factor Special: Prisoner Of Love (writer, 1990)

Other publishers

'Breed: Book of Genesis #1-6 (miniseries) (writer/artist) (Malibu Comics, 1994)

'Breed: Book of Ecclesiastes #1-6 (miniseries) (writer/artist) (Malibu Comics, 1994–95)

'Breed: Book of Revelation #1-7 (miniseries) (writer/artist) (Image Comics 2011)

Cosmic Guard #1-6 (miniseries) & Kid Kosmos (graphic novel) (writer/artist) (Devil's Due Publishing, 2004–05,07)

Creepy #106, 114 (artist) (Warren Publishing, 1979–80)

Dreadstar #27-32 (writer/artist); #33-40 (writer) (First Comics, 1986–89)

Eclipse Magazine #1 (writer/artist) (Eclipse Enterprises, 1981)

Eerie #76, 79, 80, 84, 100 (Darklon The Mystic feature) (writer/artist); #101, 128 (artist) (Warren Publishing, 1976–82)

Heavy Metal (vol 3) #4 (writer/artist) (HM Communications, 1979)


 * 1) 5 (artist) (Dark Horse, 2003)

Michael Chabon Presents The Amazing Adventures Of The Escapist #1 (writer/artist) (Dark Horse, 2004)

Star*Reach #1-2 (writer/artist) (Star*Reach Productions, 1974)

Supreme: The Return #2 (artist) (Awesome, 1999)

Unity 2000 #1-3 (miniseries, #4-6 were not published) (artist) (Acclaim, 1999–2000)

Vampirella #78 (artist) (Warren Publishing, 1979)

Wyrd the Reluctant Warrior #1-6 (miniseries) (writer/artist) (Slave Labor Graphics, 1999)

Covers only

Amazing Adventures (vol. 2) #27 (Marvel Comics, 1974)

Avengers #120, 135 (Marvel Comics, 1974–75)

Captain Marvel (vol. 2) #17-18 (Marvel comics, 2000)

Captain America #162 (Marvel Comics, 1973)

Comic Book Artist #18 (Twomorrows Publishing, 2002)

Daredevil #107 (Marvel Comics, 1974)

The Defenders #110 (Marvel Comics, 1982)

Dreadstar (1994 series) #1-2 (Malibu Comics, 1994)

FOOM #9 (Marvel Comics, 1975)

Green Lantern #129, 133 (DC Comics, 1980)

Incredible Hulk (vol. 2) #217 (Marvel Comics, 1977)

Iron Man #68, 100, 160, 163 (Marvel Comics, 1974–82)

Jonah Hex #12 (DC Comics, 1978)

Jungle Action (vol 2) #3 (Marvel Comics, 1973)

Justice League of America #178-180, 183, 185 (DC Comics, 1980)

Man-Thing #2 (Marvel Comics, 1974)

Marvel Preview #13-14 (Marvel Comics, 1978)

Marvel Super-Heroes #33, 47 (Marvel Comics, 1972–74)

Marvel Team-Up #27 (Marvel Comics, 1974)

Marvel Two-In-One #6 (Marvel Comics, 1974)

Marvel's Greatest Comics #39, 41 (Marvel Comics, 1973)

The Mighty World of Marvel #2-20, 22, 24, 26 (Marvel UK, 1972)

Miracleman #4 (Eclipse Comics, 1985)

Rampaging Hulk #5 (Marvel Comics, 1977)

Super-Villain Team-Up #6 (Marvel Comics, 1976)

Thanos #7 (Marvel Comics, 2004)

Collections

Hardcover:

DC Comics Classics Library

A Death In The Family, 272 pages, September 2009, DC Comics, ISBN 9781401225162

Death of the New Gods, 256 pages, September 2008, DC Comics, ISBN 978-1401218393

Dreadstar: The Beginning, 230 pages, May 2010, Dynamite, ISBN 978-1606901199

Dreadstar: The Definitive Collection, 376 pages, September 2004, Dynamite, ISBN 978-0974963808

Marvel Masterworks

Captain Marvel vol. 3, 288 pages, April 2008, Marvel Comics, ISBN 978-0785130154

Marvel Masterworks: Warlock vol. 2, 336 pages, July 2009, Marvel Comics, ISBN 978-0785135111

Marvel Premiere Classic vol. 43: The Death of Captain Marvel, 128 pages, January 2010, Marvel Comics, ISBN 978-0785146278

Marvel Premiere Classic vol. 46: The Infinity Gauntlet, 256 pages, July 2010, Marvel Comics, ISBN 978-0785145509

Marvel Premiere Classic vol. 47: Silver Surfer: Rebirth of Thanos, 224 pages, July 2010, Marvel Comics, ISBN 978-0785144786

Infinity Gauntlet Omnibus, 1248 pages, July 2014, Marvel Comics, ISBN 978-0785154686

Softcover:

Avengers vs. Thanos, 472 pages, March 2013, Marvel Comics, ISBN 978-0785168508

Cosmic Guard (Kid Kosmos), 132 pages, April 2008, Dynamite, ISBN 978-1933305028

Cosmic Odyssey, 200 pages, September 2009, DC Comics, ISBN 978-1563890512

Dreadstar: The Definitive Collection

Volume 1, 192 pages, August 2004, Dynamite, ISBN 978-0974963815

Volume 2, 188 pages, September 2004, Dynamite, ISBN 978-0974963822

Death of the New Gods, 256 pages, August 2009, DC Comics, ISBN 978-1401222116

Essential Doctor Strange volume 3, 616 pages, December 2007, Marvel Comics, ISBN 978-0785127338

Essential Marvel Two-In-One

Volume 1, 576 pages, November 2005, Marvel Comics, ISBN 0-7851-1729-6

Volume 2, 568 pages, June 2007, Marvel Comics, ISBN 978-0785126980

Essential Rampaging Hulk volume 1, 584 pages, May 2008, Marvel Comics, ISBN 978-0785126997

Infinity Abyss, 176 pages, March 2003, Marvel Comics, ISBN 978-0785109853

Infinity War, 400 pages, April 2006, Marvel Comics, ISBN 978-0785121053

Infinity Crusade

Volume 1, 248 pages, December 2008, Marvel Comics, ISBN 978-0785131274

Volume 2, 240 pages, January 2009, Marvel Comics, ISBN 978-0785131281

The Life of Captain Marvel, 256 pages, October 1991, Marvel Comics, ISBN 978-0871356352

Thanos: Epiphany, 144 pages, August 2004, Marvel Comics, ISBN 978-0785113553

Warlock: The Complete Collection, 328 pages, February, 2014, Marvel Comics, ISBN 978-0785188476

Portfolios

Camelot 4005 (seven black-and-white and one colour plates) (Bob Hakins, 1978)

Insanity (six black-and-white prints) (Middle Earth, 1974)

Metamorphosis Odyssey (four colour plates) (S.Q. Productions, 1980)

Retrospective

Book: Starlin, Jim. Joe Pruett, ed., designer. The Art of Jim Starlin. IDW/Desperado. 2010. 1600107702.

Notes

Web site: [https://www.facebook.com/jim.starlin.94?fref=ts Jim Starlin]. Facebook. October 10, 2012. Note: Birth date is listed as October 19 at Web site: Miller. John Jackson. John Jackson Miller. Comics Industry Birthdays. Comics Buyer's Guide. June 10, 2005. December 12, 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5trAbNQWw. October 29, 2010.

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/booknews/comics/article/44040-space-opera-with-teeth-jim-starlin-s-dreadstar.html Space Opera With Teeth: Jim Starlin's 'Dreadstar'

http://www.tcj.com/reviews/the-art-of-jim-starlin-a-life-in-words-and-pictures/ The Art of Jim Starlin: A Life in Words and Pictures

. Adelaid Comics and Books. Retrieved March 25, 2014.

"Gangway, World! Madcap Marvel Marches Merrily On!" (Marvel Bullpen Bulletins page in Sgt Fury and his Howling Commandos
 * 1) 104 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated November 1972)

Starlin, in Web site: CCI: The World of Steve Ditko. Comic Book Resources. August 5, 2008. Seth. Jones. October 10, 2012. May 14, 2011. http://web.archive.org/web/20110514101525/http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=17603. no.

Book: Sanderson, Peter. Peter Sanderson

. Peter Sanderson. Gilbert. Laura, ed.. 1970s. Marvel Chronicle A Year by Year History. Dorling Kindersley. 2008. 158. 978-0756641238. "In [Iron Man #55], scripted by Mike Friedrich, plotter and penciler Jim Starlin introduced a miniature mythos of his creations..

Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 159: "In March [1973], the first of artist Jim Starlin's many sagas of the Marvel heroes' wars against Thanos began."

Book: Cooke, Jon B.. Comic Book Artist Collection: Volume 3. TwoMorrows Publishing. 2005. 6–7. Everybody was Kung Fu Watchin'! The Not-So-Secret Origin of Shang-Chi, Kung-Fu Master!. 1-893905-42-X.

Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 161: "Capitalizing on the popularity of martial arts movies, writer Steve Englehart and artist/co-plotter Jim Starlin created Marvel's Master of Kung Fu series. The title character, Shang-Chi, was the son of novelist Sax Rohmer's criminal mastermind Dr. Fu Manchu."

Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 168: "Adam Warlock returned in a new series, taking over Strange Tales for four issues...The original Warlock comic book would return with issue #9 in October [1975]."

Book: Daniels, Les. Les Daniels

. Les Daniels. Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World's Greatest Comics. Harry N. Abrams. 1991. 162. 9780810938212.

Cooke, Jon B. "Simonson Says The Man of Two Gods Recalls His 25+ Years in Comics" Comic Book Artist #10 (Oct. 2000) TwoMorrows Publishing p. 25

Book: Nolen-Weathington. Eric. Modern Masters, Volume 8: Walter Simonson. January 29, 2012. 2006. TwoMorrows Publishing. 1-893905-64-0. 34.

Book: Manning, Matthew K.. Dougall. Alastair, ed.. 1970s. Batman: A Visual History. Dorling Kindersley. 2014. 130. 978-1465424563. ...and another Batman adventure by writer/layout artist Jim Starlin and finisher P. Craig Russell..

Book: Manning, Matthew K.. Dolan. Hannah, ed.. 1980s. DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. 2010. 978-0-7566-6742-9. 188. Artist Jim Starlin displayed his penchant for portraying powerful cosmic villains with the debut of Mongul, a new threat to plague Superman's life, in a story written by Len Wein..

http://www.comics.org/series/29264/ The Price

http://www.comics.org/issue/35950/''Marvel Graphic Novel #3 (Dreadstar)

[Tom DeFalco|DeFalco, Tom]

http://www.comics.org/series/2650/Dreadstar

http://www.comics.org/series/3262/Dreadstar

DeFalco "1980s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 207: "This title by Jim Starlin was the first of a new series of Marvel Graphic Novels. Running between forty-eight and ninety-six pages, these paperback books were an attempt to compete with the European-style graphic albums."

DeFalco "1980s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 223: "Horrified by the plight of starving children in Africa, writer/artist Jim Starlin and illustrator Bernie Wrightson convinced Marvel to publish Heroes For Hope. It was a 'jam' book...and all of Marvel's profits were donated to famine relief in Africa."

Manning "1980s" in Dolan, p. 219: "Plotted by Jim Starlin, with dramatic designs by Bernie Wrightson...Heroes Against Hunger featured nearly every popular DC creator of the time."

Manning "1980s" in Dolan, p. 233: "Using the Cold War as their backdrop, writer Jim Starlin and artist Jim Aparo crafted the four-part storyline 'Ten Nights of the Beast'."

Manning "1980s" in Dolan, p. 234: "Writer Jim Starlin took the Dark Knight into the depths of Gotham for the four-issue prestige format Batman: The Cult...with horror artist Bernie Wrightson."

Manning "1980s" in Dolan, p. 235: "Written by Jim Starlin, with art by Jim Aparo and haunting covers by Mike Mignola, 'A Death in the Family' proved a best seller with readers in both single-issue and trade paperback form."

Manning "1980s" in Dolan, p. 235: "Writer Jim Starlin and artist Mike Mignola teamed up for a sci-fi miniseries that spanned the [DC Universe]."

Manning, Matthew K. "1990s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 254: "Written by Jim Starlin, and with pencils by George Pérez and Ron Lim, The Infinity Gauntlet was born."

Cowsill, Alan "2000s" in Dolan, p. 327: "[Mystery in Space] returned for an eight-issue run featuring Captain Comet, and was written by Jim Starlin and drawn by Shane Davis. It also contained a back-up strip starring the Weird, written and drawn by Starlin."

Cowsill "2000s" in Dolan, p. 331: "Writer and artist Jim Starlin helmed this eight-part series as a mysterious force brought destruction to the inhabitants of the Fourth World."

Web site: Jim Starlin: Hawkman - The Special and Beyond?. Steve. Ekstrom. July 31, 2008. Newsarama. http://www.webcitation.org/658oykS2l. February 1, 2012. no. February 1, 2012.

Web site: Exclusive DC Preview - 'Strange Adventures #1'. March 4, 2009. Newsarama. http://www.webcitation.org/658pR2zpE. February 1, 2012. no. February 1, 2012.

Web site: Jim Starlin's New 52 Stormwatch: 'Revamp of a Revamp'. Vaneta. Rogers. February 12, 2013. Newsarama. https://web.archive.org/web/20141008085920/http://www.newsarama.com/10920-jim-starlin-s-new-52-stormwatch-revamp-of-a-revamp.html. October 8, 2014. no.

[Jim Shooter|Shooter, Jim]

Web site: 1973 Academy of Comic Book Arts Awards. Comic Book Awards Almanac. https://web.archive.org/web/20131212133728/http://www.hahnlibrary.net/comics/awards/shazam73.php. December 12, 2013. no.

Web site: Ambassadors. n.d.. Inkwell Awards. https://web.archive.org/web/20150723184237/http://www.inkwellawards.com/?page_id=413. July 23, 2015. no.

External links

Jim Starlin at Mike's Amazing World of Comics

Jim Starlin at the Lambiek Comiclopedia Jim Starlin at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators

"Jim Starlin Returns to Known Space", Comic Wire, Comic Book Resources, November 16, 2000

"The Cosmic Code Authority Speaks!", Comic Book Artist #18, TwoMorrows Publishing, April, 2002

Jim Starlin interview, Adelaide Comics and Books (2003). WebCite archive

Review: The Art of Jim Starlin: A Life in Words and Pictures, Comic Book Resources, November 9, 2010