Friends, welcome back to a new episode the Pop Culture Retrorama podcast, I apologize about this second show being a little late – but I was under the weather for a good amount of January. This show I focus on James Robinson, Tony Harris, and Peter Snejbjerg’s incredible Starman comic book series that originated back in 1994. If you’ve not had the pleasure of reading the comic – in a nutshell – Robinson manages to craft a story that beautifully connects and pays homage to the then 50+ year history of Starman characters that have been published by DC Comics.
In this episode I attempt to do my best to boil down the many elements that made Starman so stellar. It was not just from the power of Robinson’s writing because the series was certainly boosted by the artwork of Tony Harris (Ex Machina) and later on in the comic’s run, the illustrations provided by Peter Snejbjerg. The basic story of Starman focuses on the Knight Family – while Superman has Metropolis and Batman protects Gotham City – it is Opal City that the Knight’s call home. Ted Knight was the original hero to call himself Starman and managed to secure a place for himself at the table of the Justice Society of America alongside the likes of the Flash, Green Lantern, the Atom, Dr. Mid-Nite, Hourman, Hawkman, The Spectre, and the Atom to name a few members of that team of Golden Age heroes.
After the events of a DC Comics miniseries known as Zero Hour, Ted was forced into retirement and what occurs when his Son’s take up the mantle – is the main story for James Robinson’s Starman. It is however so very much more, Robinson’s writing on the series was definitely different than your standard comic book back in the early ’90s. Managing to make the comic about not just the legacy of the Golden Age heroes of the DC universe but making a statement about Family, Love, and even taking responsibility for yourself and others.
This was a hard episode to nail down, in fact I feel it was the toughest show I’ve ever managed to produce. Trying to take a comic book series that ran seven years and give enough information about it – about the comics that came before it and inspired Robinson – and NOT dip into major spoilers was hard for me. Hopefully by the end of this show you’ll want to seek out Starman and add it to your own personal collection.
If you have any suggestions for topics you would like for us to cover in a future episode -or possibly you have comments on the current show itself, email them to me at VicSage@Retroist.com. You can also contact me on Twitter and on Facebook. The theme used at the beginning and ending of this episode was provided by Earl Green, if you enjoy his work, make sure to check out his exceptional spot on the internet – TheLogBook.com – let him know we sent you.
Now then, join me as I point out some of the beauty of Opal City and it’s inhabitants featured in DC Comics’ Starman on the Pop Culture Retrorama Podcast!
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