Comic Info
Comic Name: Starman (Volume 2)/Stars & S.T.R.I.P.E./All-Star Comics 80-Page Giant/JSA: All-Stars
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: James Robinson/David S. Goyer/Geoff Johns
Artist: Peter Snejbjerg/Steve Yowell/Craig Hamilton/Chris Weston/Lee Moder/Steve Sadowski/David Ross/Tony Harris/John McCrea
# of Issues: 18
Release Date: 2010
Starman (2) #58
Reprints Starman (2) #47-60, 1,000,000, Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. #0, All-Star Comics 80-Page Giant #1, and JSA: All-Stars #4 (October 1998-October 2003). Jack, Mikaal, and Mother Box generated hologram of Ted Knight are headed to the stars in search of Jack’s love Sadie’s missing brother Will Payton…also known as Starman. Now Jack is seeing the stars and tripping time when their trip goes awry, and the ship end up both in the future with the Legion of Superheroes (and another Starman) and in the past where Jack meets Superman’s father Jor-El. Teaming with Adam Strange, Jack and Mikaal face Mikaal’s past and then find themselves in an effort to liberate a planet from a tyrant’s rule.
Written by James Robinson (with co-plotting from David S. Goyer) and additional writing by Geoff Johns on Stars & S.T.R.I.P.E. #0 (January 1999), Starman Omnibus—Volume 5 continues DC’s collection of Robinson’s massively popular Starman series. The issue also contains Starman stories from Starman’s spinoff series Stars & S.T.R.I.P.E. and shorter stories from JSA: All-Stars #4 (October 2003) and All-Star Comics 80-Page Giant #1 (September 1999). Some of the issues in the collection were previously collected as Starman: A Starry Knight and Starman: Stars My Destination.
I do love Starman and do find it a fun series. What is interesting about Starman is the DC mythology tied to the series. Here Starman deals with both the Starman of the ’80s, his father’s past, the alien Starman Mikaal, Prince Gavyn…another alien Starman, and the Starman of the future in the all-grown-up Starboy. It is a fun run with a lot going on as the multi-issue arc mostly focuses on Jack’s trip to the stars which is a rather grand and long run.
Starman (2) #60
With the star trip, there are a lot of fun stops with other characters. We get multiple version of Starfire and a trip to Krypton (where Starman and his crew influence a young Jor-El to send Kal-El to Earth). There are appearances by Adam Strange and other star based characters including Green Lanterns, Omega Men, and New Gods.
With the space story however, you do lose a lot of what I enjoy about Starman and that is his interaction with people in Opal City. I love the layers that Robinson has created in Starman’s world and I wish there had been more of that world. Robinson occasionally revisits Opal City throughout the space journey, but it left me hungry for Jack to return home rather than satisfy my appetite. I am just as anxious as Jack by the end of the journey for him to return to Opal City (but what happens there will have to wait until Starman Omnibus—Volume 6).
It is nice to have the back-up stories in the Starman book but they kind of throw you off since they aren’t really in continuity with the rest of the stories (also artistically). They are however necessary for the most part to understand future issues (especially the introduction of Courtney Whitmore…who becomes a very important figure in Jack’s life).
Starman Omnibus—Volume 5 is a worthwhile venture for fans of old DC. This isn’t a standalone book and if you are starting on Starman, start with Starman Omnibus—Volume 1. The series is a bit dated because it is very period set (check out ’80s Jack in Stars & S.T.R.I.P.E. #0…sadly he’s also dated as the “modern” grundgy Starman). Starman Omnibus—Volume 5 is followed by Starman Omnibus—Volume 6.
