So I gave in and read the synopsis above, and now more than ever I realize I need to get my hands on this full collection!!

Oh, and another great comic that was at Epic for a bit was Groo: the Wanderer (my favorite comic as a young child, again in part thanks to my oldest brother and even my mother, born in 1942 and a Groo fan, go figure)

Thanks for the article, Greg!

My copies of Dreadstar had long since vanished, the result of many cross-country moves in my adult life, and I recently set about finding and purchasing my old collection. I was able to track them all down fairly easily. The problem is/was . . .

I stopped collecting Dreadstar when the first storyline was resolved and Papal was defeated (issue 30). This time around, I purchased all the way up to issue 40, with the new artist and new storylines. Man, what a bummer. These issues are grim and depressing. Starlin seems tired; the storylines seemed "phoned in." And it gets worse every issue: Violent kills herself, Willow gives up her body (thereby denying me the Vanth/Willow hook-up I always wanted), Syzygy dies, Rainbow is set free . . .

In short, a very, very unsatisfactory and sad end to a real gem of a comic.

Greg, thank you again for your thoughtful analysis and summation of this epic series.

I think this was by far my favorite comic book series when I was growing up. Jim Starlin's stories were, to me, icons of imaginative story telling.

The cloak Dreadstar wore was something a thug or a jedi might wear.

A really well-done scene occurs in Epic Illustrated, which acted like a T.V. pilot before the comic book was launched. In that scene, Earth is invaded by pillaging ground troop forces of the Zanateans. The goals of the Zanateans include either killing or enslaving all humans. Meanwhile, Aknaton is busy gathering his mercy killing group from different worlds. Aknaton picks a young girl from a farm during this scene of slaughter. She and two others will be tasked with blowing the "Infinity Horn", that destroys the Milky Way galaxy. This super-genocidal act will spare us a fate supposedly worse than death: life under the heel of the Zanateans. "Z" is possibly the sole survivor of the Zanatean alien race.

Dreadstar is distinguished in comics because he is not a merciful "good guy". But he is a hero, just not in terms of 20th Century comic heros. He assassinates King Gregzor. He kills Z by torture. He is tricked into helping the destruction of the Milky Way galaxy. He tricks Monarchy troops involved with the destruction of Caldor into their own deaths by joining the Monarchy and becoming a military leader (for revenge). He frequently kills.

But he is more like a knight from the Dark Ages. So I recognize him as a kind of old-world hero. When he fights the cyborg legion guarding King Gregzor, he gives them a choice twice during the battle to flee with their lives. Only the last survivor is smart
enough to take the flight option.

Jim Starlin's dark stories continued in a four-part series called Gilgamesh.

I cannot really comment on the history of independence in the comic book industry. I do have some interesting pieces of background info, though...

Jim Starlin stated in a published interview that he wanted full creative control over Dreadstar. Given his self-avowed atheism and clearly related themes (false Messiah robot, evil church of the instrumentality led by the Lord High Papal), I can see how he might have felt unduly constrained by Marvel and the practice of editing comic book content. In the late 1970's he was pretty ticked off that one publisher had him change an Asian face to a caucasian one, especially considering that the character was a martial arts master! You can use Wikipedia if you are really curious about which comic book this was.

Epic Comics was supposed to be a new line of independent comics under Marvel where artists and writers had more control and ownership. I don't know what ultimately happened, except that Starlin took Dreadstar away from Epic Comics. Epic Illustrated, which I guess was the predecessor to the Epic Comics line, was something like Heavy Metal magazine. Gritty, gory and filled with sexual situations. While I enjoyed it at 11, I don't want kids reading that stuff until they're older, especially my daughter!

In fairness to Marvel and DC, adult comics was not their "core competency" in business. It was probably wise business to abandon this adult line because it conflicted with their attractive industry position as a publisher parents could trust. That perception of trustability was largely deserved. Most of the comics I read while growing up in the 70's and 80's were filled with moral education.

Neal Adams also wrote fantastic comics under his own line of comic books e.g. Rage and UltraMan. He filled his comics with ads targeting parents. The ads promised that parents could trust his new line of comics would always be wholesome and moral. Despite the incredible gore, limb cleaving and a very attractive ninja girl character, Neal Adams kept his promise! If you don't recognize Neal Adams by name, he is probably best known for his work on Batman. I heard he also helped train Frank Miller and John Byrne, but I can't support that assertion with any credible references.

Marvel was so "innovative" and for "creator-owned" properties that they ran Starlin and Dreadstar off to First Publishing while they then heavily pursued mega crossovers like Secret Wars, Secret Wars II and the New Universe.

Dreadstar is a great series that should be reprinted and easily available for reading. Marvel, however, should not be given a lot of credit for its greatness.

I second the Strikeforce: Moritori reccomendation. Another great quarter box find, and a really nifty, original concept. Skip the post- Gillis issues, though, they're terrible.

Michael - the coloring wasn't watercolors. In the letter column Archie Goodwin (probably, as he was the editor) simply said it was an "experimental" process and that they were going back to separation by hand, so I imagine he was talking about using a computer to do it. It was never spoken of again!

A couple of "Comic You Should Own" :

1) Strikeforce: Moritori # 1-19. The Gillis and Anderson run is excellent. The second half by Hudlin and Bagley wasn't as good (but the art's terrific).

2) John Byrne's NEXT MEN # 0-30 and prequel 2112. One
of Byrne's best adult work ever! Hasn't gone back to complete the series yet.

He's a cat-man. His last name is Pus.

The coloring on #s 9 and 10 looks pretty funky, and my recollection is that that's because it was an early attempt at doing full computer-coloring on the book - a pretty impressive technological challenge at the time. The result looks like it was all watercolored, and actually adds to the atmosphere of the story. (On the other hand, maybe I'm remembering wrong and it really was watercolored!) Anyway, people reading this can see the effect in the cover to #10, above.

The Metamorphosis Odyssey isn't essential reading, although it's usefu backstory. There was also one issue of Epic Illustrated which contained the episode in which Willow joined the team. The Dreadstar graphic novel and The Price (which tells Syzygy's backstory) are worth seeking out and picking up, though. All three of these stories occur before issue #1.

Gosh, I love Dreadstar.