Is Starman really as good as people say it is and will it pass the test of time or is it outdated? Was it only good because it added depth to a superhero character rather than just telling action tales.

I feel like the hype around it is from mostly people that read the initial run from the 1990s. I guess what I’m trying to say is sometimes it seems certain comics are more famous for their role in comic book history and how they helped changed the genre.

If it helps, I read Starman for the first time via trades between Christmas 2003 and Christmas 2004, and I thought it was great. I’ll admit I didn’t fully get into it at first: I thought the first story was good, but not great. The Hawaiian t-shirt story, however, started to change my mind. By the time I got to “Talking with David, ‘96″ (the pirate one) and “Sand and Stars,” I was hooked.

Two years ago I had finally had enough of hearing about the Watchmen by Alan Moore so I finally decided to check it out. I loved the book and I love Alan Moore as much as the next comic reader, but I couldn’t help feel a little disappointed. It was a good read but I think all of the constant references in other reviews had me going in with the bar set too high.

Believe it or not, I actually felt the same way the first time I read it. I’ve yet to read it in its entirely again, but the more I’ve thought about it and re-read portions of it, the more I’ve realized that Watchmen played with the superhero genre and the comics medium on a level that few comics have done since.

Now V for Vendetta, there’s a Moore classic that clicked with me right away on the first read.

I’ve just read the first two stories in one big chunk and I liked them. I wasn’t blown away, but they were solid, with good world-building and pacing, mostly good dialogue and very good art. I’m usually not a fan of the photo-referenced trend, but McNiven and Larroca both stepped up to the plate and hit solid triples, if not home runs. Larroca had some clunky moments, but some awfully imressive moments, as well.

I found much of Guggenheim’s Spidey dialogue to be funnier than Slott’s, which was surprising, and the subplots in both stories are interesting, with lots of great things to be explored and expanded upon. There’s a lot going on in these books and they don’t feel at all decompressed, which is nice.

The villians: I like Mr. Negative and am curious how his story is going to play out, but I was less interested in Menace. I would have appreciated finding out a bit more about him, but they are obviously setting him up as an unfolding mystery along with Jackpot and that’s alright with me.

All in all, enjoyable stuff, with Slott’s issues just slightly better than Guggenheim’s but not by much. I’ve only read the Daredevil story from Bob Gale, which was fun, and I’ve never read anything from Zeb Wells, so they’re both going to have something to prove. I like Phil Jimenez’s art, but I love Chris Bachalo and feel his quirky style is going to mesh well with Spidey. Once I’ve sampled all the writers, I’ll likely switch to trades for budgetary and space reasons.

Of course, I would love for them to realease the collections as paperbacks first, then 12-13 issues in oversized hardcovers later for those who are interested. I am not a fan of the premiere hardcovers.

Thoughts on the experiement so far?

To quote myself, “I guess what I’m trying to say is sometimes it seems certain comics are more famous for their role in comic book history and how they helped changed the genre.”

I guess I should provide an example. Two years ago I had finally had enough of hearing about the Watchmen by Alan Moore so I finally decided to check it out. I loved the book and I love Alan Moore as much as the next comic reader, but I couldn’t help feel a little disappointed. It was a good read but I think all of the constant references in other reviews had me going in with the bar set too high.

When I went back to look at articles and reviews, they all said things like, “Watchmen was a watershed moment in comics”, or “it change comics by adding a human element to the characters”, or even ridiculous statements like, “the story of Rorschach was groundbreaking because it added a ‘conspiracy theory’ element that helped paved the way for comics and television shows such as the X-Files.”

Basically, to get the full impact of the Watchmen, I would have had to be reading comics before the first issue came out in order to fully appreciate it. Well, I think I was nursing my mom’s tit when it first came out. But at least I was able to enjoy the story.

In conclusion, I would like to go back to Starman. Sam Gafford wrote in the same article after the run for Starman ended…

“And now the time has come to say goodbye to Jack Knight and all his friends. To bid adieu to the city of Opal. To the enigmatic and quizzical Shade. To the gallant O’Dares. To the alien Starman, Mik. To the many characters, places, and events that made Starman unique and one of the few titles that I actually couldn’t wait to receive every month. After all, it is not often when one has been present for the creation of a new mythology. In the film Excaliber, Merlin quiets the celebratory knights who have brought all England under Arthur’s rule with a shout and a demand for respect as one day they will be able to tell their children that “they were there… with Arthur . . . on that day.” We were here with James and Jack and Ted and David and Solomon Grundy and Shade and all the rest. And even though we might not boast of it to our children, we can feel a bit of that pride knowing that we were a part of something special. Would that it happened more often.”

Yeah, well I wasn’t there. But hopefully the Omnibus won’t be a waste of 50 bucks.

Hey, I also noticed the Starman Omnibus is slated for June at Amazon instead of May. But hopefully it will be worth the wait. Is Starman really as good as people say it is and will it pass the test of time or is it outdated? Was it only good because it added depth to a superhero character rather than just telling action tales. I feel like the hype around it is from mostly people that read the initial run from the 1990s. I guess what I’m trying to say is sometimes it seems certain comics are more famous for their role in comic book history and how they helped changed the genre. As Sam Gafford wrote about Starman at popmatters.com, “Starman heralded a revival of superhero characterization away from the dark, ‘grim and gritty’ legacy and back to the root concept of heroism. It helped redefine the idea of modern superheroes with its strong grounding in DC history and modern sensibilities.” But how will it read now without the historical context?

Thirdly, I just watched a David Lynch film and read an article about the film Donnie Darko. I think the comic book world needs more creators that are the comic equivalent to the aforementioned director and film. Grant Morrison can’t hold it down by himself forever. How cool would a comic be with a Donnie Darko vibe.

Well, time for me to make like a fetus and head out.

1. The Order: Man, I am bummed that this gem is cancelled. Such a interesting book, with an adult take on superheros. It figures that it didnt catch on. Can we move this to the MAX line and keep it around for another hundred issues? Or at least a season two?

I don’t know if he’s just trying to save face or anything, but Matt Fraction said that ending The Order was purely his own creative decision, and had nothing to do with the sales.

On a Kitson’s interview, the title wasn’t selling enough for Marvel to justify leaving Kitson on the title, seeing as they are paying a lot money for him because he’s exclusive. Instead of getting a new artist on the title, Fraction decided to end it.

That’s a bummer, because while Kitson has been a big part of what I enjoy about The Order, I don’t think that it was worth tanking the book rather than continuing with a different artist. But I can understand, if Fraction was worried about getting an artist who wouldn’t work with the book, or if he was just enjoying the collaboration and didn’t think his heart would be in the book without Kitson onboard.

While it may not be a mistake for Fraction, though, I do think it’s a shame for us readers, who are losing one of the top three books Marvel is putting out right now.

1. The Order: Man, I am bummed that this gem is cancelled. Such a interesting book, with an adult take on superheros. It figures that it didnt catch on. Can we move this to the MAX line and keep it around for another hundred issues? Or at least a season two?

I don’t know if he’s just trying to save face or anything, but Matt Fraction said that ending The Order was purely his own creative decision, and had nothing to do with the sales.

On a Kitson’s interview, the title wasn’t selling enough for Marvel to justify leaving Kitson on the title, seeing as they are paying a lot money for him because he’s exclusive. Instead of getting a new artist on the title, Fraction decided to end it.

1. The Order: Man, I am bummed that this gem is cancelled. Such a interesting book, with an adult take on superheros. It figures that it didnt catch on. Can we move this to the MAX line and keep it around for another hundred issues? Or at least a season two?

I don’t know if he’s just trying to save face or anything, but Matt Fraction said that ending The Order was purely his own creative decision, and had nothing to do with the sales.

2. Catwoman: I’m still loving this book. Best book at DC, hands down.

3. Iron Fist: Orson Randall & the Green Mist: Fraction is just bringing the quality with every book he writes these days.

4. Batman & The Outsiders: I bought this as a lark, but it was really fun. I had some problems with the characterization of Green Arrow, but overall a fun action book with pretty art. This might get added to my pull list.

5. Umbrella Academy

I also liked Checkmate and Mighty Avengers, and would have liked Angel after the Fall, except the pencilling on that book brings it down a few notches. Its really hard to read at points.

1) Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps HC (Still no love for this book, guys?!). Some ideas would be real lame if it weren’t for Geoff Johns. He could write every book for DC (and Brubaker could write every book for Marvel, for that matter) and I couldn’t be happier.

It’s only the first five chapters of the story, and for hardcover price? That’s so not worth it it’s crazy. DC really needed to do the Annihilation model for this, and the first Conquest book did in fact come out a few weeks ago with about ten parts of story packed into it.

DC could have easily done one hardcover for the main Sinestro Corps story, along with the one hardcover for the companion material (which comes out next month and does seem worth the price). Or hell, Sinestro Corps is so popular that they really should have just done a Planet Hulk-sized hardcover and fit both the main story and the accompanying material in there. Collecting it the way they did is a major screw-over to the fans.

What Randy said and what Martin said. It isn’t my interest that’s the issue, it’s the format and the price. Eventually, I will read it. Eventually.

I see what everyone means by the format (I would definitely prefer an entire single volume with loads of extras). I put it on my list for the story alone which is one of the few good things DC did right in 2007.

martin, are you saying fables is due to end on #75?

Nope, but Willingham seems to be heading for a major shake-up involving the war with the Adversary. So a big part of the book may be coming to an end.

But as far as I know, no end-date for Fables is planned. And while I’m a guy who likes his books (especially his Vertigo books) to have endings, honestly, I’m OK with the open-ended nature of Fables. It’s never had a major misstep, and only a few minor ones.

And Randy, Time Pilot? Seriously?

Hey, now… I had some fondness back in the day.

Of course, after buying it, I immediately progressed to the fifth (final) stage and realized that I might never play it again. Whoops.

Unlike Joust, which is awesome and totally worth the $5 to get on XBox Live.

2. Zorro — Am I wrong in thinking Matt Wagner’s obvious greatness is not fully recognized?

Wagner is indeed one of the greats… which is what made Zorror a rare misfire for me. I’ve liked almost everything he’s done, and loved most of it, so I was surprised to be left so flat by Zorro.

3. Checkmate — Naysayers should note that Bruce Jones hasn’t officially been deemed new writer beyond the next arc (that I’ve seen). Can I hold out hope for Ostrander?

You can, but I’m pretty sure Jones is the new writer up until the inevitable cancellation. But if Ostrander somehow came onboard, I’d definitely start reading.

I take it that no one has The Spirit on their top 5 or even top 10 list for this week, meaning that people here aren’t impressed with the new writers for the series? Oh well, I was meaning to drop some titles lately.

Honestly, I just didn’t even give it a chance. I was interested in reading Darwyn Cooke’s Spirit, I don’t have much interest in reading almost anyone else’s. Most of the rest of the Panteon dug Spirit #13, the “jam” issue with a variety of top talent, but it didn’t rate above an “eh” for me, confirming that it was Cooke (and J. Bone & Dave Stewart), not the character, that held my interest.

Shame about Rucka leaving Checkmate. I do hope Ostrander will take over as the new writer, assuming it’s not cancelled before he gets the chance, as I like his Suicide Squad.

1. Grendel: Behold the Devil
2. Zorro — Am I wrong in thinking Matt Wagner’s obvious greatness is not fully recognized?

3. Checkmate — Naysayers should note that Bruce Jones hasn’t officially been deemed new writer beyond the next arc (that I’ve seen). Can I hold out hope for Ostrander?

4. Immortal Iron Fist and the Green Dance of Lifey Death — Can this get any cooler.

5. Umbrella Academy — Certainly following in the footsteps of quirky super-heroics like Hellboy or Doom Patrol but still, great series, I enjoyed it from beginning to end. Charming characters. Gabriel Ba seemed like a perfect choice on the art. I want more.

6. Showcase Presents Green Lantern volume 1 — An impulse buy on a snowy day for $9.99. Worth every penny. Horribly hokey in some regards (”Oh I hope I can get a date with Carol Ferris…*sigh*”), but it’s hard not to appreciate some of the concepts John Broome introduced here. The Weaponers of Qward, the Anti-Matter universe, Sinestro, Hector Hammond, Star Sapphire, the Guardians of the Universe, the Green Lantern Corps all making their first appearances — and that’s in the first dozen issues. Geoff Johns’ GL owes quite a bit to these originals. I want to see the current GL go on dates in costume! Gil Kane on the art. I’m tempted to buy the GL hardcover archives in order to appreciate the true menace of YELLOW in Hal Jordan’s life. Ahh, good stuff.

1) Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps HC (Still no love for this book, guys?!). Some ideas would be real lame if it weren’t for Geoff Johns. He could write every book for DC (and Brubaker could write every book for Marvel, for that matter) and I couldn’t be happier.

It’s only the first five chapters of the story, and for hardcover price? That’s so not worth it it’s crazy. DC really needed to do the Annihilation model for this, and the first Conquest book did in fact come out a few weeks ago with about ten parts of story packed into it.

DC could have easily done one hardcover for the main Sinestro Corps story, along with the one hardcover for the companion material (which comes out next month and does seem worth the price). Or hell, Sinestro Corps is so popular that they really should have just done a Planet Hulk-sized hardcover and fit both the main story and the accompanying material in there. Collecting it the way they did is a major screw-over to the fans.

What Randy said and what Martin said. It isn’t my interest that’s the issue, it’s the format and the price. Eventually, I will read it. Eventually.

1) Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps HC (Still no love for this book, guys?!). Some ideas would be real lame if it weren’t for Geoff Johns. He could write every book for DC (and Brubaker could write every book for Marvel, for that matter) and I couldn’t be happier.

It’s only the first five chapters of the story, and for hardcover price? That’s so not worth it it’s crazy. DC really needed to do the Annihilation model for this, and the first Conquest book did in fact come out a few weeks ago with about ten parts of story packed into it.

DC could have easily done one hardcover for the main Sinestro Corps story, along with the one hardcover for the companion material (which comes out next month and does seem worth the price). Or hell, Sinestro Corps is so popular that they really should have just done a Planet Hulk-sized hardcover and fit both the main story and the accompanying material in there. Collecting it the way they did is a major screw-over to the fans.