Barbelith Underground > Comic Books > Starman: Grand Guignol released as TPB, providing a handy opportunity to discuss Starman more generally

Yeah, the John McCrea period wasn't glorious, which is a real shame - I was comparing the way Harris and Snejberg draw Bobo Benetti, say, and there's a muscularity but also grace of line to Harris that just can't be matched - they really do feel like *his* characters, which may be why excitement does seem to drop off somewhat after Harris left the series. There's also the problem that his characters have to *do* something, which is much more heroish than hanging around Opal City, trying to balance an awkward relationship with your father, a talkative dead brother, girls (the bit where he asks Charity out and she turns him down flat is great, because it so rarely happens - if a woman does turn down the hero, it's because they harbour a deep, dark secret. Charity just knows it wouldn't work out) and reacting to satanic posters, ethereal stalkers and the other superheroic gubbins. When Jack Knight starts disappearing on quests into space, although it makes perfect sense, particularly in the context of the exploration of the Starman name, it seems, although his take on Rann, Krypton &c. are well-realised, that his project is in some ways less ambitious.

I think Tricks and Retrospective have mentioned something very important - whereas the Will Payton Starman largely broke off from the lineage (and has to be reintegrated), this work is tightly wound in with the 60 years or so of Starman history, but is still accessible to the reader without the same grasp on same. Jack's bewilderment at this world is vital here: a hypothetical David Knight Starman would both take it all for granted and be too afraid of being shown up to ask questions. The sense of Alan Fucking Scott that comes off him is massively engaging and a very useful narrative tool. It's only when we get to the proliferation of minor characters (Black Condor? Because - what - the first Black Condor was based in a city that, although never named, may have been Opal?) in the last couple of books that things maybe get out of hand.

Having said which, when the heroes look back, there is a discontinuity between the bright, silly past and the way Robinson tells stories that I think causes problems - in particular when the ineffably retro Captain Marvel gets involved, or Ted Knight remembers his fianc*eacute;'s turn as "Starwoman". It just seems off - at least the Shade gets backstory explaining his golden and silver age silliness...

Oh, and Ted Knight rocks very hard.