This book had an interesting journey to publication. Starslayer
was scheduled to be published by DC Comics, but as the economics of the
industry changed, the book was axed from DC's schedule. Pacific Comics released
six issues in 1982, written and drawn by Mike Grell, after which the series moved to
First Comics. Grell wrote and provided breakdowns for issues 7 & 8 for
First, before leaving Starslayer. The title continued without its
creator for another 26 issues. These eight issues, titled Starslayer: The Director's
Cut, are an expanded version of Grell's original six. The main new material
is the framing sequences appearing in the first and last issues.
Tamra. or is it Shakira? |
Celtic warrior Torin Mac Quillon rallies his outnumbered clan
against the invading Roman legions. As he faces death at the hands of Roman
soldiers, he is pulled into the far future by the beautiful scientist Tamra.
She has been tasked by the Earth's Board of Directors to find the perfect
warrior from Earth's distant past to aid in their efforts to save the planet's
dying sun. Along with their robot companion S.A.M. (symbiotic android
mindlink), Torin and Tamra fight enemies without and within to save the Earth. It
is a very fun romp of a story, a nice blending of ancient and future.
or is it Tamra? |
Grell handles the time-travel aspect of this tale well.
Torin was selected for transport at the moment of his death, so there can be no
"butterfly" effect from his temporal extraction. In a nice twist at
the end, it is revealed that Tamra is a distant progeny of Torin's wife Gwyneth,
from her second husband. This means that Torin cannot be sent back to his own
time, because his continued life would cause Tamra to never have been born. In
addition, the space aspects of this is also handled well. All of the action
takes place in our own solar system, meaning that the travel and communication
occur without relying on future technologies such as wormholes or transporters.
I am a big fan of Mike Grell, and have enjoyed his work on a
wide range of titles, from Warlord and Jon Sable, Freelance to Green
Arrow and the Legion of Super-Heroes. There are enough cosmetic
similarities that an appropriate shorthand description of this series could be
"Warlord ... in space!"
Mike Grell has a distinctive art style, and one that I
enjoy. But I do need to say that there are numerous moments in this story that
are similar to his work on Warlord. The most obvious how eerily similar Tamra's
outfit is to the one worn often by Shakira in Warlord. Torin's facial
hair bears some resemblance to Travis Morgan (also from Warlord), as
well as Grell's version of Green Arrow. But his use of unique panel
layouts and two-page splashes (usually one per issue) more than make up for
that minor quibble, and overall the art adds much to this already enjoyable science
fiction story.
Source: my local comic shop's 25-cent bins!
It's great when you find an author or illustrator you really connect with.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog on Tuesday. I've been having fun barn-building the new summer house.