Starman #44 (March, 1992)
"Star Shadows, Part Three: Dark of the Moon!"
Writer - Len Strazewski
Penciller - John Calimee
Inker - Roy Richardson
Letterer - Bob Pinaha
Colorist - Tom McCraw
Editor - Paul Kupperberg
Cover Price: $1.25
We're officially past the midway point of the dark journey that is #BestEventEver... if you squint a bit, you might just be able to see some light at the end of that there tunnel...
All joking aside, this has been a really fun event to take part in. I really want to (once again) extend my thanks to the community for allowing me in with their moon-faced reindeer games.
An updated listing of all the participants will be allllll the way at the bottom of this piece, and will be finalized once... well, everything's final!
--
Picking up where we left off, Lobo has soundly pounded Starman into the ground... and Eclipso has made his presence felt. What he doesn't realize is that he just made Lobo's bounty-hunt all that much easier in the process!
Before we know it, we've got ourselves a three-way-dance. Lobo cinches Eclipso in a headlock for a little while... Eclipso breaks free and diamond-zaps Starman. It's all quite riveting. They briefly stop fighting and stare at one another... this would be the point in an indie wrestling match where the crowd would applaud. Starman pleads with Bruce to fight the darkness... Lobo promises there will be some fraggin' going on.
And the fight resumes. Lobo continues to kick butt, because that's kinda what Lobo does. Eclipso is pelted into a crater, and Payton gives chase. At this point, Bruce Gordon is briefly able to break through the darkness, and speak. He reveals to Will that Eclipso has been manipulating the two of them to bring them together... as, if there powers combine... they can produce black light! He also explains why Lobo might be after his hide. It's that Lords of Chaos thing from the Phantom Stranger mini (1988), but you already knew that. Anyhoo, they decide to team-up against their common foe.
It's not long before Gordon's face returns to its mooney visage... and before Lobo comes a'calling. It's pretty neat... Lobo pulls a headlight off the ol' spacehog to light the way. Starman sucker punches him, then gives him the nyah-nyah treatment... showing just how ugly this character can be. I mean, he's downright homely.
Starman continues cheapshotting Lobo... knocking the headlamp out of his hands. In the total darkness the combined forces of Will and Eclipso shine some light in Lobo's direction. Lobo calls Starman a "hippie"... and I'm not sure I've ever seen a hippie with a mullet. Maybe a leftover hippie who joined the work force or something... business in the front and all'at.
Starman and Lobo resume their tussle. Will hurls a blast at Lobo, who sidesteps it! The deflection causes the light to hit Eclipso... rendering him into a pile of smoking dust! Welp, that's good enough for Lobo, the turtle just wanted Eclipso offed. The Main Man grabs the tatters of Eclipso's tunic as proof and hops on his headlightless hog to claim his credits.
Once Lobo's outta sight (dy-no-mite) Eclipso pops his head out of his hidey-hole. Ya see, this was all a ruse to get Lobo gone. Will naively suggests they take care of their initial business... and Eclipso's all "stupid boy, don't trust Eclipso", because, duh.
He blasts Will with his diamond-eyes (you like dub-step?) before revealing his true intentions. He is going back to Earth to, get this, get Kitty Faulkner? Wha---?
The issue ends with Starman collecting himself and going Earth-bound himself... though, with a threat as big as Eclipso, he knows he's going to need some powerful help. Don't look at the next cover lest the power-ful guest-star be spoiled.
--
Welp, it was a fight scene. Not much to discuss here, right?
Wron... er, no... that's right, actually. Just a fight.
I guess to differentiate it from, ya know, all other book-length battles, we can mention that Will and Eclipso had to briefly put their differences aside to take down a common foe. Hmm, now that I read that back, that doesn't really differentiate this from the rest.
Um, pulling a fast one making Eclipso appear to be dead was... a good idea, I guess. Not mindbendingly original, but a good enough way to take the stupidly-powerful Lobo off the stage. Can't think of another way they could've done that. 1992 Lobo was not to be messed with... I don't see him "doing the job" for Will Payton in the penultimate issue of his series. Hey, I set up a sentence in such a way that I could use the word "penultimate", how 'bout that? Here's hoping I used it right!
Um, other than that... Eclipso (duh) turns on Will. Tsk, tsk... c'mon Will this is the, er... penultimate... issue of your series, you really oughta be smarter than that by now. His plan of heading back to Earth... ehh, really feels like we're taking the long way around here, though, I suppose he had to leave Earth in the first place to Eclipso-up. I dunno, this whole thing feels a bit time-filly.
The art is back under the pencil of John Calimee... and it's, ya know... pretty uneven. It looks like he's got a keen eye for Lobo... but his Starman and Eclipso feel a bit "off". Very flat.
Overall... it's a fight scene. If you like fight scenes (and Lobo) you'll probably like this. If not... this bugger's safe to skip.
--
Letters Page:
--
Interesting Ads:
--
The Darkness Continues...
you is here y'all
Starman #43 (February, 1992)
"Star Shadows, Part Two: Blue Moon"
Writer - Len Strazewski
Artist - Vince Giarrano
Letterer - Bob Pinaha
Colorist - Tom McCraw
Editor - Paul Kupperberg
Cover Price: $1.00
The road to #BestEventEver rolls on through Starman #43!
--
This chapter opens with the Main Man himself, Lobo lazily spilling his beer in his lap while listening to some alien crooners at what looks like an intergalactic airport lounge. The barkeep offers him another drink... with a tail sticking out of it, which he sucks down and expresses his appreciation with a mighty belch.
Welp, one of the only thing Lobo likes more then beer and burping is fighting... so that comes next. He beats the snot out of the sad little band. Seems like an overreaction to not digging their tunes, but it's Lobo, whattaya gonna do?
As he stands over the beaten... and tied-in knots, band, Lobo takes a moment to appreciate his work. At this point he is tapped on the shoulder. Well, ya don't do that to the Main Man and expect to get away with it, do ya? Lobo turns around with a mighty swing... which misses! Ya see, the shoulder-tapper is no more than a tiny turtle using his cane for reach.
Lobo does what most of us do when confronted by a persistent turtle, he kicks the little bugger around the room. When he comes to a complete stop, his little hand pokes out of his shell with a fistful of credits. Well, now you're speaking Lobo's language! The turtle presents Lobo with a money-making opportunity... one which requires he visit Earth. His target is Eclipso, a man so troublesome he's got a one-billion credit price on his head!
Lobo's down with the gig, and hops on his spacehog to track his bounty. Once he's out of sight, the turtle's body crumbles into dust. From it rises an ethereal blue form... who goes off planet to confer with an ethereal green form (and later several more). Ya see, these li'l clouds are the Lords of Chaos... and they've got a rather sizable bone to pick with ol' Moonface from his failings during the Phantom Stranger miniseries, which we've talked about in the past.
We rejoin Lobo just about where we ended last issue... with a bit of a sideswipe of Starman and Gordon's solar jet. Lobo doesn't take kindly to anyone who "learned to drive on Uranus", and so... a fight is on! Lobo pretty much wipes the floor (figuratively, of course) with poor Will Payton.
The fight rages onto the Moon, where Bruce Gordon is hanging back in the solar jet doing the whole "changing into Eclipso" thing. As luck would have it, he remembered to pack not only his Black Diamond, but also his cute li'l Eclipso duds and cap!
Eclipso watches as Payton and Lobo beat the hell out of each other, and shares a bit of exposition with us. He looks at Starman as his "perfect opposite"... okay, stands to reason. He also reveals that he intends to use Will as a "living battery"... a vessel in which he can house energy. Okay, fair enough. As this goes down, Will finally goes "nova" on Lobo, blasting him full-on with a hyooge bolt... which doesn't even singe the Main Man's hair. In fact, he seems tickled... even refers to Will as, get this... Starbaby!
Lobo continues to thrash our man, however, before he can land a "killing blow", Eclipso interjects... with a blast of dark energy from his Black Diamond. The chapter ends with Eclipso... making a threat? I dunno... here, you decide.
--
Well, this was a lot better than last issue... in just about every way possible!
We get ourselves a bit of action here with a pretty nice fight between Starman and Lobo... this issue kinda hits the "sweet spot" between action and drama... which, lemme tell ya, kinda goes away for the second half (the next two issues) of the story. I know Lobo can be a sore subject for some, but I've always kinda dug him. I don't think I could read more than one Lobo story in a row... but, I think every now and again it's pretty neat for him to show up. That said... this is one weirdly-written Lobo.
I think it's pretty funny that Bruce Gordon just happened to have his Eclipso outfit stashed away in the solar jet... so weird, but it's comics, so we'll allow it. I thought it was a pretty cool callback to the Phantom Stranger mini... which I still haven't finished, but recall digging what I have read. I'm just a sucker for anytime one story calls back to another.
The art here was by Vince Giarrano, who is an absolute breath of fresh air after the odd mismash we saw in Part One. Giarrano's interpretations of Starman, Lobo, and Eclipso were all on-point, and, I thought it was really cool that he used a sorta-kinda Mignola-esque (Mignolian?) style when flashing back to the Phantom Stranger bits with the Lords of Chaos (Mignola drew that 1988 mini). Great stuff... makes me wish Giarrano would have done a ton more comic work... but, if you've seen his current art... which is ridiculously amazing, it's probably clear why he's doing what he's doing.
Overall, a damn sight better than Part One... and, for my money, probably the best chapter of this story. Worth checking out.
--
Letters Page:
--
Interesting Ads:
--
The Darkness Continues...
you is here y'all
Starman #42 (January, 1992)
"Star Shadows, Part One: Sun Spots!"
Writer - Len Strazewski
Pencillers - John Calimee & Andrew Smith
Inkers - Roy Richardson & Alan Kupperberg
Letterer - Bob Pinaha
Colorist - Tom McCraw
Editor - Paul Kupperberg
Cover Price: $1.00
As mentioned yesterday, the most recent (as of this writing) Cosmic Treadmill is part of a collaborative effort Reggie and I took part in alongside several bloggers and podcasters to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of what might be referred to as the #BestEventEver, Eclipso: The Darkness Within.
The issues we covered for the occasion were the lead up to the even proper, which occurred in the final four issues of Starman (volume 1). Now, being a fella who is still tied to the task of providing daily discussions, reviews, whatever it is I do here... I figure I may as well cover the Starman issues here as well, leading up to the blogs "Big" contribution to the event, which will hit on Friday. It's been awhile since I've done the whole "companion piece" blog bit... so let's get to it!
By the by, keep scrolling past our "Interesting Ads" for links to the other great sites involved with #BestEventEver... all June long!
--
The issue opens with Starman, Will Payton in all manner of facial disarray. He is with gal pal Carol Simon... who now knows of his dual identity. Everything suddenly becomes clear to her... Will would blow off assignments and vanish from time to time, not because he was a flake, but because he is a super-hero! She embraces him, and he pulls away... his face continues to change, and his body begins to overheat... also, we're about to learn that there might just be another lady occupying his heart.
Perhaps one who works for S.T.A.R. Labs... where Will heads with the quickness! Speaking of whom, we catch up with Kitty Faulkner as she meets with her new associate Bruce Gordon. She just so happens to be reading over some Starman-related data when the man himself bursts through the wall... now wearing the visage of an old man.
When Will awakens he finds himself on an examination table. Kitty explains what had just happened, and introduces him to Bruce. I gotta mention, Bruce has a very ugly mullet for the first half of this issue. Will sits up, at which time, Bruce attaches a... I dunno, plug (?) to his face. Will don't dig that, and yanks out the plug.
Kitty attempts to diffuse the situation by listing Dr. Gordon's credentials... and also, transforming into the monstrous Rampage! She does so by pressing a button on an amulet around her neck... which Bruce Gordon invented for her! Maybe dude ain't all that bad after all. I still wouldn't trust him, but whattaya gonna do?
At this point Will and Bruce make nice, and they exchange origin stories. We've already seen Starman's, out camping, struck by a blast of something or another, and woke up a time later with strange and super powers. Bruce recounts his time "dealing with" Eclipso, and wraps his sad story with the revelation that his "dark half" has been destroyed. Likely story, pal...
With Will's trust earned, Bruce posits that he can conduct tests if they travel into an environment without any interference... which is to say, outer space! Will is cool with it, and agrees.
But not before pulling Kitty Faulkner aside to spill the beans on both his secret identity and his true feelings for the Doc. They lock lips to commemorate the event. How nice.
With the hanky panky out of the way, Bruce loads into his Solar Jet and readies for launch. Will acts as his, I dunno... propulsion unit... and flies them to the Moon... along the way, they (literally) run afoul of the Main Man himself, Lobo!
... and, oh yeah, Bruce Gordon changes into Eclipso. [to be continued...]
--
Looks like we start with a bang! Hmm, where was that sarcasm button again...?
Honestly, a pretty underwhelming start to Starman's final story arc. I thought it was pretty neat that Will and Kitty get to share their true feelings for one another, but that was probably the only "high point" for the issue. Otherwise it's kinda talky, and table-setty. I suppose I can't hold that against them... but it's still not terribly interesting. Boilerplate origin stuff... with a sometimes-mulleted Dr. Bruce Gordon. Whatayagonnado?
And, the art... it's inconsistent, and ya know... kinda rough. In researching for the Cosmic Treadmill episode, we learned that John Calimee is pretty self-depreciating insofar as his artistic style during this time. He didn't like it... and, from what he says, many of the fans agreed with that sentiment. I can't say that I hated it... but didn't much care for it either...
How's that for riding the fence?
Anyhoo, I suppose I can tell ya... the action will ramp up over the next few issues. Despite the slow start here, I couldn't tell ya to avoid it outright. If you are so inclined, you're gonna be stuck getting your fingers dirty in the bins... this bugger hasn't been collected nor made available digitally.
--
Letters Page:
--
Interesting Ads:
--
The Darkness Continues...
