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A success written in the stars

Universo HQ had an EXCLUSIVE interview with Jim Starlin, creator of Dreadstar and managed to obtain worldwide never seen before art of his new work for Marvel

by UHQ Team (03/03/2001)

Jim Starlin

Men were always fascinated by the vastness of the cosmos. Many have used it as a main theme in every form of art. In comics. There is one artist that did and is still doing many incursions into the stars and his name is Jim Starlin.

Creator of Dreadstar, Starlin has an impressive résumé. He was the first comic artist to "really" kill a super-hero, Captain Marvel. He also plotted the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin. The mega villain Thanos is his creation. He worked with some heavyweight characters like Superman, Batman, Silver Surfer, Hulk, Iron Man, Aquaman and others.

Recently he did the drawings on a few issues of the new Captain Marvel and is currently involved in a series of projects, like reprinting the complete Dreadstar in black and white trade paperback volumes, for Slave Labor Graphics. For the fans of the Cosmic Warrior a surprise: Starlin says he wants to go back to him and he will probably kill him!

Jim Starlin gave an interview to Universo HQ, and spoke about his career, his work at the major publishers, favorite characters and future work. And it doesn't stop there: You will see, BEFORE ANYONE ELSE IN THE WORLD, unpublished pages of his new work for Marvel. Yes, you read correctly! These images are totally new and never seen before!

So prepare yourselves, your intergalactic journey is just beginning!

Universo HQ: What is your academic and artistic formation?

Jim Starlin: Very little academic training. Mostly just drawing in my room as a kid, looking at comics and trying to figure out how to draw them.

UHQ: How old are you and when did you start working with comics? What made you to want to work in the field?

Starlin: I'm 51 and have been working in comics professionally since 1972. I've always loved comics and wanted to write and draw them since I was 8 years old.

UHQ: A lot of people say that Jack Kirby was a big influence in your work. Is this true? What artist did influence your style? Who were your idols then?

Starlin: Kirby was my god with Steve Ditko running a close second. Other childhood influences were Gil Kane, Carmine Infantino and Joe Kubert.

UHQ: What are the differences between working for Marvel and DC Comics? Which companies' characters do you prefer to work with?

Starlin: Most of the time the differences are very little. It all depends on who's running the show up at any given time and which editor you're working with. When I worked with Kevin Dooley on "Hardcore Station" it was a nightmare. But I worked with Archie Goodwin on another project up there and it was marvelous. I'm now working with Tom Brevoort up at Marvel and am having a great time, he's very professional and friendly. Other Marvel editors I haven't been so lucky with.

I do have a warm spot in my heart for Superman and Batman because I grew up with them but I'm currently working on my favorite characters up at Marvel. It changes with who's in charge at either company. Right now I like the folks working at Marvel and am working for them. That might change next year. Who knows.

UHQ: You've drawn some of the first stories of Master of Kung Fu, although not too many people recall that, a character that marked many readers. What was your relation with the character? Was that a special moment in your career?

Starlin: Working with Steve Englehart was fun and I loved the TV show Kung Fu. We wanted to do a comic adaptation of the show but Time Warner owned the show so. The bad thing about that project was having Fu Manchu added to the mix.

I had never read any of them and had no idea how racist the books were. Many of my Asian friends gave me an earful after the book came out.

UHQ: What were the differences of working with Marvel back in the days when you drawn Adam Warlock and The Avengers (The Thanos saga), and the later period when you did the mini-series Infinity Gauntlet and Thanos Quest?

Starlin: The longer I work for Marvel the slower they are about okaying projects. When I did Warlock I talked to Roy Thomas in the afternoon and was drawing the first page that night. Now I've been waiting three months for them to give a green light on the Infinity Abyss.

UHQ: You used The Death of Captain Marvel as a way to express your feelings in relation to your father's death. How it was to do this project? What was the fans response to the story? After all, you killed a beloved hero!

Starlin: It was a cheap form of therapy. Loved doing the project and most fans liked it also. Did get a few death threats. No big deal. Got more grief from a number of my fellow professionals who were annoyed that I got the first U.S. deal with royalties.

UHQ: Is it true that, at the time, you did that Graphic Novel for Marvel so that in return they would publish Dreadstar on the Epic label?

Starlin: Yes, Shooter and I cut a deal about starting a creator owned line if I did this project first.

UHQ: Do you still know what happens in the Marvel Universe and the characters that brought you fame, like Adam Warlock, Avengers and others? What do you think of the new monthly Captain Marvel comic, that's been written by Peter David? How is your relationship with him, since he also worked on Dreadstar?

Starlin: Fine. I've actually drawn three issues of the new Cap for Peter (11, 17 & 18). As for the other characters I'll be using Thanos, Cap Marvel, Warlock, Moondragon, Gamora, Dr. Strange, Spiderman and Pip in the Infinity Abyss, a six issue miniseries I'm writing and drawing for Marvel.

The Infinity Abyss, Jim Starlin's new project: EXCLUSIVE IMAGE

UHQ: What originated the Metamorphosis Odyssey, on Epic Illustrated, the story that ultimately became the Dreadstar comic. Did you have that in mind from the beginning?

Starlin: No, originally the idea was to do a close ended fairy tale kind of story. But I warmed up to Dreadstar along the way and other stories came to life on their own. Plus Marvel suddenly saw the advantage of doing creator owned characters. That's how the Epic line of comics got started.

UHQ: Tell us about your work on the mini-series Batman: The Cult. This was one of the first important books with the character since Dark Knight Returns and some comparisons were inevitable. How did you dealt with that?

Starlin: Actually I don't remember anyone comparing the two stories. I was gearing my Batman off Miller's because it was the best one going at the time. If it should be compared to any Miller job I'd think it would be Ronin. Both stories take place a good deal in sewers.

UHQ: What was the repercussion of Robin's death? Is it true that American readers hated Jason Todd? And how was the public voting to decide Robin's fate? Do you believe that Robin still have a place in the current Batman universe?

Starlin: Yes, everyone hated Jason Todd. I wanted to kill off Robin as soon as I started writing Batman. The idea of taking a kid along to fight crime is ludicrous. Then Denny O'Neil came up with the phone call-in deal. He immediately started taking complete credit for the idea of killing off Robin.

Then the book came out and the executives up at Time Warner realized they had all these lunch boxes and sheets with robin on them and suddenly it was completely my fault for killing off Robin. Within three months I was gone.