Here I go, actually liking another current comic book again! And, a Millar comic, no less! Im starting to worry about myself; even more than usual! It was just a few weeks ago that I, at the behest of a friend, read the excellent 7 issue Mark Millar mini-series Superior, which came out several years back. It wasnt an easy sell for my friend; given the somewhat dim view I have of Millar as a writer and consequently a person. Not that there wasnt at least something in his resume that I could point to and admire. His well known Elseworlds Superman: Red Sun series from some while back is quite the top notch read. I also thought he did a good job on The Authority a number of years ago. For the most part; Ive considered Millar one of the biggest contributors to whats wrong with modern comics over past decade or so. And, yet; I gave Superior a shot, as was glad I did. The same friend (who has shared some of my disdain for Millar as a hack and a depravity merchant) recommended his newest Project; Starlight. So, after he gave me a brief rundown of the premise, I was intrigued. Given my enjoyment of Superior, I figured What the hell, its not like Im inundated with lucrative comics to devour... (I buy only a handful of titles these days) ...why not give a go? Well, although there are only two issues of Starlight out so far, Im here to tell ya, Im hooked! Or, perhaps Im jumping the gun; and itll go south in upcoming issues and Ill be singing a different tune. With Millar that wouldnt surprise me, but, I tend to doubt it. Millar, for all of his foibles, for all of his propensities for wallowing in filth and loathsome ugliness with trash like Kick Ass, Wanted or Civil War; he has, at times shown that he can be very imaginative and entertaining and can even refrain from being completely revolting. Not often; but, he has demonstrated that when he isnt hellbent pandering to the crass, when he isnt gleefully dabbling in narcissism and nihilism, when he isnt sacrificing substance for style. When hes not in shock mode, he has proven that he can be quite good at storytelling. Ill confess that its the premise of Starlight that sealed the deal, that hooked me, and makes me excited to see where it goes. Again, with only two issues out, its early in the game; but, it was a nice start, and Im cautiously optimistic. As usual, I wont go into any spoilers, as one shouldnt; this is, after all, not so much a review, rather, a somewhat verbose recommendation. Therefore, Ill simply give a brief rundown of the premise of Starlight and let you take from that what you will. Starlight has been summed up as Flash Gordon meets The Dark Knight Returns. It concerns a Flash Gordon archetype who once traveled to a Mongo-like planet, and had F.G. type adventures, becoming that planets savior, something like 40 years ago. He returned to Earth, and of course, made headlines, but, no one really ever believed his fantastical tales of liberating an alien world from in intergalactic despot and fighting monsters and such. Now, flash(no pun)forward to the modern day and hes an old man, who has lead a good long life with a wife and family and, well, to go farther would indeed be a bit spoilery. The point, is, as should be obvious by that brief summation, he is needed to return to fight again; but, as said, hes an old man now... Thats as far as Ill go. If you love the idea, as I do, you may want to learn the rest for yourself. The art by Goran Parlov works well for this kind of story. There is a bit of an Alex Raymond, Al Williamson, maybe even Alex Toth feel to it, which I would suspect is the intent here. Its obvious that someone as into retro as I would be interested by a comic like Starlight. I think maybe somewhere, deep down inside that sick psyche of Mark Millar, there is a love of the lighter, more fanciful tales of his youth. He just likes to lace them with post modern ideas. Thats not all bad; and who knows if hell be able to resist a turn down those all too familiar dark roads that he seems to find the detour sings for most of the time. If he does, as he did with Superior, I hope he wont stray too far off that path. Only time will tell. Until such time, Ill give Starlight the benefit of the doubt. Its quite a promising beginning, and considering the state of comic books today, a promising beginning is a rare thing indeed!
Posted on: Sat, 19 Apr 2014 22:16:00 +0000
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