Jim Starlin

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Jim Starlin

Jim Starlin in 2006
Born October 19
Nationality American
Area(s) Writer, Penciller, Inker
Pseudonym(s) Steve Apollo
Notable works Captain Marvel
Cosmic Odyssey
Dreadstar
Infinity Gauntlet
Marvel Graphic Novel
Awards Full list

James P. "Jim" Starlin (born October 19)[1] is an American comic book writer and artist. With a career dating back to the early 1970s, he is best known for "cosmic" tales and space opera; for revamping the Marvel Comics characters Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock; and for creating or co-creating the Marvel characters Thanos and Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early career

After writing and drawing stories for a number of fan publications, Jim Starlin got his break into comics in 1972, working for Roy Thomas and John Romita at Marvel Comics. Brought in by fellow artist Rich Buckler,[2] Starlin was part of the generation of artists and writers who grew up as fans of Silver Age Marvel Comics. At a Steve Ditko-focused panel at the 2008 Comic-Con International, Starlin said, "Everything I learned about storytelling was [due to] him or Kirby. [Ditko] did the best layouts."[3]

Starlin's first job for Marvel was as a finisher on pages of The Amazing Spider-Man.[4] He then drew three issues of Iron Man, introducing the character Thanos. He was then given the chance to draw an issue (#25) of the "cosmic" title Captain Marvel. Starlin took over as plotter the following issue, and began developing an elaborate story arc centered on the villainous Thanos, and spread across a number of Marvel titles. This eventually led to a complex cosmology that has remained a part of the fictional "Marvel Universe" continuity.[citation needed] Starlin left Captain Marvel one issue after concluding his Thanos saga.

Concurrently in the mid-1970s, Starlin contributed a cache of stories to the independently published science-fiction anthology Star Reach. Here he developed his ideas of God, death, and infinity, free of the restrictions of mainstream comics publishers' self-censorship arm, the Comics Code Authority. Starlin also drew "The Secret of Skull River", inked by frequent collaborator Al Milgrom, for Savage Tales #5 (July 1974).

After working on Captain Marvel, Starlin and writer Steve Englehart co-created the character Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu,[5] though they only worked on the early issues of the series. Starlin then took over the title Warlock, starring a genetically engineered being created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in the 1960s and re-imagined by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane in the 1970s as a Jesus Christ-like figure on an alternate Earth. Envisioning the character as philosophical and existentially tortured, Starlin wrote and drew a complex space opera with theological and psychological themes. Warlock confronted the militaristic Universal Church of Truth, eventually revealed to be created and led by an evil evolution of his future–past self, known as Magus. Starlin ultimately incorporated Thanos into this story.

In Fall 1978,[6] Starlin, Howard Chaykin, Walt Simonson, and Val Mayerik formed Upstart Associates, a shared studio space on West 29th Street in New York City. The membership of the studio changed over time.[7]

When Marvel Comics wished to use the name of Captain Marvel for a new, different character,[citation needed] Starlin was given the rare opportunity to produce a one-shot story in which to kill off a main character. The Death of Captain Marvel became the first graphic novel published by the company itself. (Lee & Kirby's reunion for a Silver Surfer graphic novel a few years earlier was published by Simon and Schuster). It was well-received critically and commercially.[citation needed]

Death and suicide are recurring themes in Starlin's work: Personifications of Death appeared in his Captain Marvel series and in a fill-in story for Ghost Rider; Warlock commits suicide by killing his future self; and suicide is a theme in a story he plotted and drew for The Rampaging Hulk magazine.

[edit] 1980s

Starlin occasionally worked for Marvel's chief competitor DC Comics and drew stories for Legion of Super-Heroes and the "Batman" feature in Detective Comics in the late 1970s.[4] He co-created the supervillain Mongul with writer Len Wein in DC Comics Presents #27 (Nov. 1980).[8]

The new decade found Starlin creating an expansive story titled "the Metamorphosis Odyssey", which introduced the character of Vanth Dreadstar in Epic Illustrated #3. From its beginning in Epic Illustrated, the initial story was painted in monochromatic grays, eventually added to with other tones, and finally becoming full color. "Metamorphosis Odyssey" featured many of Starlin's hallmarks: a cosmic scope, death, sacrifice, politics, religion.[citation needed] The storyline was further developed in The Price[9] and Marvel Graphic Novel #3 [10] and eventually the long-running Dreadstar comic book, published first by Epic Comics,[11] and then by First Comics.[12]

Starlin and Bernie Wrightson produced Heroes for Hope, a 1985 one-shot designed to raise money for African famine relief and recovery. Published in the form of a comics "jam," the book featured an all-star lineup of comics creators as well as a few notable authors from outside the comic book industry, such as Stephen King, George R. R. Martin, Harlan Ellison, and Edward Bryant.[4]

In 1986, he and Wrightson produced a second benefit comic for famine relief. Heroes Against Hunger featuring Superman and Batman was published by DC and like the earlier Marvel benefit project featured many top comics creators.[4][13] Starlin became the writer of Batman and one of his first storylines for the title was "Ten Nights of The Beast"[14] in issues #417 - 420 (March - June 1988) which introduced the KGBeast. Starlin then wrote the four-issue miniseries Batman: The Cult (Aug.-Nov. 1988) drawn by Wrightson.[15] and the storyline "Batman: A Death in the Family", in Batman #426-429 (Dec. 1988 – Jan. 1989),[16] in which Jason Todd, the second of Batman's Robin sidekicks, was killed. The death was decided by fans, as DC Comics set up a hotline for readers to vote on as to whether or not Jason Todd should survive a potentially fatal situation.

Other projects for DC included writing The Weird drawn by Wrightson[4] and Cosmic Odyssey drawn by Mike Mignola.[17] Starlin wrote and drew Gilgamesh II in 1989 before returning to Marvel.[4]

[edit] Later career

Back at Marvel, Starlin began scripting a revival of the Silver Surfer series. As had become his Marvel norm, he introduced his creation Thanos into the story arc, which led to the Infinity Gauntlet miniseries and its crossover storyline. Here, Starlin brought back Adam Warlock, whom he had killed years earlier in his concluding Warlock story in Avengers Annual #7 and Marvel Two-in-One Annual #2 in 1977. Infinity Gauntlet proved successful and was followed by the sequel miniseries Infinity War and Infinity Crusade.

For DC he created Hardcore Station in 1998.[4]

In 2003, Starlin wrote and drew the Marvel Comics miniseries Marvel: The End.[4] The series starred Thanos and a multitude of Marvel characters, and subsequently, Starlin was assigned an eponymous Thanos series.[4] Starlin then worked for independent companies, creating Cosmic Guard (later renamed Kid Cosmos) published by Devil's Due and then Dynamite Entertainment in 2006.[4]

Starlin returned to DC and, with artist Shane Davis, wrote the miniseries Mystery in Space vol. 2, featuring Captain Comet and Starlin's earlier creation, the Weird.[18] In 2007-2008, he worked on the DC miniseries Death of the New Gods[19] and Rann-Thanagar Holy War,[4] as well as a Hawkman tie-in that became the latest of many stories to have altered the character's origins over the previous two decades.[20] He also wrote the eight-issue miniseries Strange Adventures.[21]

[edit] Other work

Starlin co-wrote four novels with his wife Daina Graziunas (whom he married in October 1980)[22]: Among Madmen (1990, Roc Books), Lady El (1992, Roc Books), Thinning the Predators (1996, Warner Books; paperback edition entitled Predators); and Pawns (1989, serialized in comic book Dreadstar #42-54).

In November 2010, IDW/Desperado published a 312-page career retrospective The Art of Jim Starlin (ISBN 1600107702), written by Starlin and edited/designed by Joe Pruett. The book was also published in a signed & numbered edition limited to 250 copies (ISBN 1600107710).

[edit] Awards

  • 1973: Won the "Outstanding New Talent" Shazam Award, tied with Walt Simonson[23]
  • 1974: Nominated for the "Superior Achievement by an Individual" Shazam Award
  • 1977: Nominated for the "Favourite Comicbook Artist" Eagle Award
  • 1978:
    • Won the "Favourite Single Story" Eagle Award, for Avengers Annual #7: The Final Threat
    • Won the "Favourite Continued Story" Eagle Award, for Avengers Annual #7 / Marvel Two-in-One Annual #2
    • Nominated for the "Favourite Artist" Eagle Award
    • Nominated for "Best Comic" British Fantasy Award, for Avengers Annual #7: The Final Threat
  • 1979: Nominated for "Best Comic" British Fantasy Award, for Among the Great Divide (Rampaging Hulk #7), with Steve Gerber & Bob Wiacek
  • 1986:
  • 1992:
    • Won the "Best Script" Haxtur Award, for Silver Surfer #1-5
    • Nominated for the "Best Long Story" Haxtur Award, for Silver Surfer #1-5, with Ron Lim
  • 1993:
    • Nominated for the "Best Script" Haxtur Award, for Deeply Buried Secrets (Silver Surfer #12)
    • Nominated for the "Best Short Story" Haxtur Award, for Deeply Buried Secrets (Silver Surfer #12), with Ron Lim
  • 1995:
    • Nominated for the "Best Short Story" Haxtur Award, for Daredevil/Black Widow: Abattoir, with Joe Chiodo
    • Nominated for the "Best Cover" Haxtur Award, for Breed #6
  • 2005: Received the "Author That We Loved" Haxtur Award

[edit] Bibliography

Comics work includes:

[edit] DC

[edit] Marvel

[edit] Other publishers

[edit] Covers only

[edit] Collections

Hardcover:

  • DC Comics Classics Library: A Death In The Family, DC 2009
  • Death of the New Gods, DC 2008
  • Dreadstar: The Beginning, Dynamite 2010
  • Dreadstar: The Definitive Collection, Dynamite 2004
  • Marvel Masterworks: Captain Marvel vol. 3, Marvel 2008
  • Marvel Masterworks: Warlock vol. 2, Marvel 2009
  • Marvel Premiere Classic vol. 43: The Death of Captain Marvel, Marvel 2010
  • Marvel Premiere Classic vol. 46: The Infinity Gauntlet, Marvel 2010
  • Marvel Premiere Classic vol. 47: Silver Surfer: Rebirth of Thanos, Marvel 2010
  • Marvel Premiere Classic vol. 52: Marvel Universe: The End, Marvel 2010

Softcover:

  • Cosmic Guard (Kid Kosmos), Dynamite 2005
  • Dreadstar: The Definitive Collection vols. 1-2, Dynamite 2004
  • Death of the New Gods, DC 2009
  • Essential Doctor Strange vol. 3, Marvel 2007
  • Essential Marvel Two-In-One vols. 1-2, Marvel 2005-7
  • Essential Rampaging Hulk vol. 1, Marvel 2008
  • Infinity Abyss, Marvel 2003
  • Infinity War, Marvel 2004
  • Infinity Crusade vols. 1-2, Marvel 2008-9
  • Thanos: Epiphany, Marvel 2004

[edit] Portfolios

  • Camelot 4005 (seven black-and-white and one colour plates) (Bob Hakins, 1978)
  • Insanity (six black-and-white prints) (Middle Earth, 1974)
  • Metamorphosis Odyssey (four colour plates) (S.Q. Productions, 1980)

[edit] References

  1. ^ Miller, John Jackson (June 10, 2005). "Comics Industry Birthdays". Comics Buyer's Guide. Archived from the original on October 29, 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5trAbNQWw. Retrieved December 12, 2010. 
  2. ^ "Gangway, World! Madcap Marvel Marches Merrily On!" (Marvel Bullpen Bulletins page in Sgt Fury and his Howling Commandos #104 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated November 1972)
  3. ^ "CCI: The World of Steve Ditko", Comic Book Resources, August 5, 2008
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Jim Starlin at the Grand Comics Database
  5. ^ Cooke, Jon B. (2005). "Everybody was Kung Fu Watchin'! The Not-So-Secret Origin of Shang-Chi, Kung-Fu Master!". Comic Book Artist Collection: Volume 3. TwoMorrows Publishing. pp. 6–7. ISBN 189390542X. http://books.google.com/books?id=F9bAN1DE7igC&pg=PA6&dq=Shang+Chi+Englehart+Starlin&hl=en&sa=X&ei=EMElT56ZN8_vggeTnLHZCA&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Shang%20Chi%20Englehart%20Starlin&f=false. 
  6. ^ Cooke, Jon B. "Simonson Says The Man of Two Gods Recalls His 25+ Years in Comics" Comic Book Artist #10 (Oct. 2000) TwoMorrows Publishing p. 25
  7. ^ Nolen-Weathington, Eric (2006). Modern Masters, Volume 8: Walter Simonson. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 34. ISBN 1893905640. http://books.google.com/books?id=ILopomw3UpMC&pg=PA34&dq=Modern+Masters+Walt+Simonson+Upstart&hl=en&sa=X&ei=2LElT5i6J8WCgAeB362FCQ&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved January 29, 2012. 
  8. ^ Manning, Matthew K.; Dolan, Hannah, ed. (2010). "1980s". DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. p. 188. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. "Artist Jim Starlin displayed his penchant for portraying powerful cosmic villains with the debut of Mongul, a new threat to plague Superman's life, in a story written by Len Wein." 
  9. ^ The Price October 1981 Eclipse Comics at the Grand Comics Database
  10. ^ Marvel Graphic Novel #3 (Dreadstar) 1982 Marvel Comics at the Grand Comics Database
  11. ^ Dreadstar Epic Comics series at the Grand Comics Database
  12. ^ Dreadstar First Comics series at the Grand Comics Database
  13. ^ Manning "1980s" in Dolan, p. 219: "Plotted by Jim Starlin, with dramatic designs by Bernie Wrightson...Heroes Against Hunger featured nearly every popular DC creator of the time."
  14. ^ Manning "1980s" in Dolan, p. 233: "Using the Cold War as their backdrop, writer Jim Starlin and artist Jim Aparo crafted the four-part storyline 'Ten Nights of the Beast'."
  15. ^ Manning "1980s" in Dolan, p. 234: "Writer Jim Starlin took the Dark Knight into the depths of Gotham for the four-issue prestige format Batman: The Cult...with horror artist Bernie Wrightson."
  16. ^ Manning "1980s" in Dolan, p. 235: "Written by Jim Starlin, with art by Jim Aparo and haunting covers by Mike Mignola, 'A Death in the Family' proved a best seller with readers in both single-issue and trade paperback form."
  17. ^ Manning "1980s" in Dolan, p. 235: "Writer Jim Starlin and artist Mike Mignola teamed up for a sci-fi miniseries that spanned the [DC Universe]."
  18. ^ Cowsill, Alan "2000s" in Dolan, p. 327: "[Mystery in Space] returned for an eight-issue run featuring Captain Comet, and was written by Jim Starlin and drawn by Shane Davis. It also contained a back-up strip starring the Weird, written and drawn by Starlin."
  19. ^ Cowsill "2000s" in Dolan, p. 331: "Writer and artist Jim Starlin helmed this eight-part series as a mysterious force brought destruction to the inhabitants of the Fourth World."
  20. ^ Ekstrom, Steve (July 31, 2008). "Jim Starlin: Hawkman - The Special and Beyond?". Newsarama. Archived from the original on February 1, 2012. http://www.webcitation.org/658oykS2l. Retrieved February 1, 2012. 
  21. ^ "Exclusive DC Preview - 'Strange Adventures #1'". Newsarama. March 4, 2009. Archived from the original on February 1, 2012. http://www.webcitation.org/658pR2zpE. Retrieved February 1, 2012. 
  22. ^ Shooter, Jim. "Bullpen Bulletins," Marvel comics cover-dated July 1981.
  23. ^ 1973 Academy of Comic Book Arts Awards

[edit] External links

Preceded by
N/A		 Dreadstar writer/artist
1982–1989 (writer)
1982–1987 (artist)		 Succeeded by
Peter David (writer)
Luke McDonnell (artist)
Preceded by
Max Allan Collins		 Batman writer
1987–1989		 Succeeded by
Jim Owsley
Preceded by
Tom DeFalco & Ron Frenz		 Thor writer
1993
(with Ron Marz)		 Succeeded by
Ron Marz
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Jim Starlin
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