My Collections, Part 5: Starman (Prince Gavyn)

This Starman was the last one introduced before I started reading comics. Once again, we've got another character calling themselves Starman, and there's absolutely no connection to Ted Knight. I was vaguely aware of him as a character before Robinson's series, but only in an off-handed way. He pretty much kept to himself, appearing for about a year as a feature in Adventure Comics, then he was "killed" during the Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Robinson did a WONDERFUL job of working Prince Gavyn's story into the overall Starman mythos, integrating the death of Gavyn into the birth of the Will Payton Starman...but we'll get to all that next time.

Gavyn was the 2nd Starman to be truly from the stars, but as opposed to Mikaal, there was actually an attempt to flesh him out. That said, his tenure was short-lived. As I stated earlier, he had year-long run in Adventure Comics, then he met his end in Crisis on Infinite Earths. A couple years later, we got a NEW Starman, and then a decade or so after that, Gavyn returned. I won't spoil how that happened; it's a great read.

Nobody did much with Gavyn after Robinson ended his series. It wasn't until DC was ramping up their Infinite Crisis mega-crossover that Gavyn was brought back into play. Rann and Thanagar were at war, and Gavyn's Throneworld was drawn into the fray. This played out through the Rann/Thanagar Holy War, then Jim Starlin, the writer of Holy War, kept the majority of this rag-tag group of heroes around for a Strange Adventures mini-series, where Gavyn was transformed into the new hero Fusion. I don't know what happened after that. Sorry.

Gavyn has yet to appear in DC's post-Flashpoint continuity, but Rebirth is doing a good job of bringing in heroes that were forgotten in New 52. As I keep saying, I'm hoping for SOME Starman to make his return.

Like with Mikaal, I only have two Gavyn sketch cards by Rob Retiano (one in the red suit and one in the blue), and a sketch from Derek Fridolfs.

I've also got some great pictures of my youngest kiddo as the red-suited Gavyn. I'll post pics when I talk about Jack, but just as a heads up, the whole fam damily dressed up as Starman characters to go to the 2014 Wizard World Nashville. It was awesome.

Have List

Adam Strange Special #1
Adventure Comics Vol. 1 (1938 series) #467, 468, 469, 470, 471, 472, 473, 474, 475, 476, 477
Crisis on Infinite Earths #10, Deluxe Edition
DC Comics Presents #36
Hawkman Vol. 4 (2002 series) #49
History of the DC Universe #2, TPB, HC
Infinite Crisis #1 (Lee Cover), 1 (Perez Cover), 1 (Sketch Cover), 4 (Lee Cover), 4 (Perez Cover), 4 (Sketch Cover), 6 (Lee Cover), 6 (Perez Cover), 6 (Sketch Cover), TPB
Rann/Thanagar Holy War #1, 1 (Variant), 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Rann/Thanagar War #1, 1 (2nd Print), 2, 3, 4
Starman Vol. 2 (1994 series) #58, 59, 60, 71, 73, 76, Annual 1, Omnibus Vol. 2, 5, 6, Omnibus TPB Vol. 2, TPB Vol. 4, 8, 10
Starman Secret Files #1
Strange Adventures Vol. 3 (2009 series) #1, 1 (Variant), 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Superman/Batman #32, 33
Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #22

Want List

Adventure Comics Vol. 1 (1938 series) #478
Crisis on Infinite Earths Absolute, HC, TPB
Infinite Crisis #1 (Lee Cover no UPC), HC
Justice League Unlimited #10
Rann/Thanagar Holy War TPB Vol. 1, 2
Rann/Thanagar War TPB
Starman Vol. 2 (1994 series) TPB Vol. 9
Strange Adventures Vol. 3 (2009 series) TPB

Sigh, there's always something I forget. Here are pics of the Prince Gavyn comics in my collection.

My Collections, Part 4: Starman (Mikaal Tomas) edited

For the one or two people who are reading about my collections, I apologize for the tardiness in updates. I've been having some financial urgencies, I've since decided that I'm going to start opening up the majority of my Starman and Joe Hill collections for purchase, but all of my Jack Knight and Locke & Key stuff are staying with me.

That said, I'm going to continue with my blogs as if I've still got everything. I've actually sold very little, and most were issues I already blogged about in Ted Knight's entry. So I'm 99% sure that, at least for Mikaal, I've still got everything I say I've got.

Mikaal is strange and wonderful character, and his history is somewhat marvelous. He was first introduced in 1st Issue Special #12 in 1976. From what I understand, DC's copyright on the name Starman was about to run out, so they needed to get a character introduced...or something like that. I don't know why they just wouldn't do some more Ted Knight and JSA stories, but that's above my pay grade. So he was introduced...then he was abandoned and not seen again until James Robinson started his own Starman series. I would gladly argue with anyone about Mikaal's one-page appearance at the very end of issue #3 that gave us the first clue as to how deep Robinson's series would delve into the storied history of the name Starman, not just the Knight lineage.

Robinson took that one issue and crafted a wonderful history for this blue-skinned character. He gave him a full life with loves and enemies and struggles...lots of struggles. He also did something pretty awesome and a bit ahead of its time while staying under the radar. Robinson effortlessly and naturally gave us a wonderful gay superhero without being a stereotype. He and his partner Tony just WERE. There was no fuss, no spectacle, no "READ THIS COMIC BOOK BECAUSE SOMEBODY IS GAY." They were just characters on a natural progression, which is really how things should be.

After Robinson's Starman series ended, Mikaal was able to live a peaceful life for a bit...until Robinson took over writing duties on the Justice League and had Mikaal join up. Dude's had a rough go of things, and Robinson really didn't let up. Poor guy.

Mikaal, like the other Starmen before and after him, has not been reintroduced into the post-Flashpoint New 52 Universe. There is a slightly better chance of him or the rest of the Starmen showing up in the post-Rebirth multiverse now that some pre-Flashpoint continuities have been folded into some post-Flashpoint continuities.

Edited to ad: I forgot to mention the non-comic stuff I have featuring Mikaal.

Here are my current haves and needs for Mikaal. I don't know if any action figures of Mik were ever made. I don't have any, and I don't really recall any popping up during my brief eBay searches for action figures.

I do have some original art. Of course Mik is represented in my sketch card set by Rob Retiano. I've even got two versions of him, from his intro and from his later stint in the Justice League. I've also got a sketch of him from Derek Fridolfs. But that's it.

I also had to do another edit to include a link to the Imgur album. I kind of dropped the ball on this one. Going through the album, I realized that until recently I had the entirety of the Return of Bruce Wayne mini (regular covers), but I ended up selling that. I made a profit, and I don't think it'll be difficult at all to replace, and I bet I can get it for less than I paid. So, win-win?

Have List

1st Issue Special #1
Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #3 (variant), 6 (variant), TPB
Brightest Day #15, 15 (variant), 16, 16 (variant), TPB v2
Justice League of America Vol. 2 (2006 series) #42, 43, 43 (variant), 44, 44 (variant), 45, 46, 46 (variant), 47, 47 (variant), 48, 48 (variant), 49, 49 (variant), 53, 53 (variant), 54, 54 (variant), 55, 55 (variant), 56, 56 (variant), 57, 57 (variant), 58, 58 (variant), 59, 59 (variant), 60, 60 (variant)
Justice League: Cry for Justice #1, 1 (variant), 1 (sideways), 2, 2 (2nd Print), 4, 5, 6, 7
Justice League: The Rise and Fall Special #1
Justice League: The Rise of Arsenal #2
Justice Leagues: Justice League of Aliens
Justice Society of America Vol. 3 (2007 series) #41, 41 (variant), 42, 42 (variant), 43
Starman Vol. 2 (1994 series) #3 (Signed by Tony Harris), 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 25, 27, 28, 29, 33, 35, 45, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 63, 64, 65, 67, 69, 70, 71, 73, 76, 80, TPB Vol. 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10
Starman Omnibus Vol. 1, 2, 3 (Signed by Drew Geraci), 4 (Signed by Drew Geraci, John Lucas), 5, 6, TPB 1, 2
Starman 80-Page Giant #1 (Signed by John Lucas, Drew Geraci)
Starman Secret Files #1
Starman/Congorilla #1
Supergirl Vol. 5 (2005 series) #65
Superman: War of the Supermen #4, 4 (variant)
Superman: War of the Supermen Double Feature #2
Superman/Batman Annual #5
Titans Vol. 2 (2008 series) #36, 38, Annual #1

Want List
Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #3, 5, 5 (variant), 6, HC
Brightest Day HC v2, Omnibus
DC Universe: Origins TPB
Justice League of America Vol. 2 (2006 series) #42 (variant), 45 (variant)
Justice League: Cry for Justice TPB, HC
Justice League: The Rise and Fall Special #1 (variant)
Starman Vol. 2 (1994) TPB Vol. 5, 7, 9
Subway Presents: Justice League #3
Superman: War of the Supermen TPB, HC

My Collections, Part 2.2: Starman (Ted Knight) - The Stuff

It wasn't until I started REALLY collecting Starman comics that I decided I was going to get ALL things Starman related. This includes toys, trading cards, prints, posters, miscellaneous collectibles, and original art.

One of the good things about collecting a character like Starman is that there isn't a ton of stuff out there to collect. Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, Iron Man, etc....fuggedaboutit. With Starman, there's just enough stuff out there to make the hunt fun, but not enough to overwhelm me. And there aren't a lot of high-dollar items out there. Statues and original art will always be expensive, but the character just isn't sought after enough to make his action figures or trading cards all that sought after.

First up is my original art. This part of my collection started about 10 years ago. I was a member of an online graphic novel trading group called Sequential Swap. I was contacted by member Derek Fridolfs to see if I would be interested in trading for one of my books. He said he was an artist and would trade one of my books for a sketch of a character of my choosing. He showed me some samples of his art, which was a little cartoony but still good, so I jumped on the chance. I ended up getting six different Starman sketches from him, ultimately wanting him to do each character for me, but I never got around to having him finish the series. I'm pretty sure the first sketch (Jack Knight) was the only one I traded for, and I probably paid for all of the other, no more than $30 for each character.

The Fred Hembeck sketch is on a blank card the size of a trading card. I ran across this piece on eBay, where he was apparently selling a bunch of cards like this but with different characters. I picked it up for $10, which I thought was a bargain.

A couple years ago I looked at that uncompleted Derek Fridolfs project of Starman sketches and thought I need to try again (by this time Derek was really making a name for himself, and I assumed his sketch prices were going up), but one a somewhat smaller scale. I came across artist Rob Retiano through a Facebook group where we were both members. He posted some of his art and mentioned he was open for commissions, so I brought him my idea for the cards. One card for each person to ever take the mantle of Starman, as well as his arch nemesis (all three Mists) and The Shade. There were also two versions of Ted (in costume and when he was older) as well as two versions of Prince Gavyn, Mikaal, Will, and David (Blacked Night David was included). He drew and colored a total of 20 cards for me, and I couldn't have been happier with what I received.

The two Brett Jones pieces were done as a trade through a Facebook group, but I do not remember what I traded for the piece. He included the finished piece (with an interesting new color scheme) as well as a preliminary drawing he did to get warmed up for the final piece. He also included a signed copy of the first issue of his comic Radiation Day!

The splatter print was kind of a lark. I liked the idea of the pictures, but I ended up having a bit of buyers remorse. I wasn't paying for original art or a print of an original piece by the artist. I was basically paying for a piece from another artist that was recolored. When I asked the artist about his process, this is what he told me: "I paint these digitally in Photoshop with various brushes." When I brought up that the pictures greatly resemble works by other artists, he said, "I typically look at a reference photo so it is possible they resemble other work ... I'm not familiar with the artists though." I realized that this kind of work isn't my thing, but if it's yours, check the guy out. His Etsy store has been offline since April, but it says it'll be back.

I don't have anything illuminating to say about the trading cards or the action figures. They are what they are. Same with the cup, but I thought it was a neat find. 7-11 having superhero cups isn't all that surprising or exciting, but putting the Golden Age Starman on a cup? That seems pretty out there.

Here are the pics for the collection. Enjoy!

What You Should Have Read #58

My original idea for this post was to do it as a comic book script. That fell apart after the splash page.

I don’t remember how I got so into comics. I remember a bunch of little things but not that first thing.

When I was little, I had a subscription to the Electric Company magazine, and there were Spider-Man comics in it. That was probably my first exposure to comics, if not superheroes. I remember watching “Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends” and “Super Friends,” but I don’t know if those came before the magazine.

After I got my first library card and was let loose to explore by myself, I remember running across a few hardback collections of Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four. These aren’t the awesome hardback collections of today like the various Premiere, Absolute or Omnibus collections the Big Two put out. This was more like and old-school Scholastic release full of hastily thrown together reprints. I read all I could find.

I don’t remember actually owning many comics while I lived in Huntingburg. I had a Star Trek comic, a couple of Transformers issues, and an issue of The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones. That’s it. It wasn’t until I moved to Jasper after third grade that I was sucked into the hobby.

I blame this on a friend I’ve known since daycare. He collected comics, mostly Iron Man and Amazing Spider-Man I think, and I’d go over to his house and read them. His mom bought me my first trade paperback, a collection of the Batman story “A Death in the Family,” and he gave me my first Spider-Man comic, Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #7, because I colored on the cover a bit with a pencil. From there it was just a matter of finding somewhere to buy comics in this little southern Indiana town.

I found Fisher’s Bookstore nestled in a corner of the square around the court house. In a back corner of the store, past the magazines and paperbacks, there was a comic book spinner rack loaded with four-color goodies. When I started really getting into the hobby, DC was still offering a few titles at $.75, but Marvel had moved all of their books to $1.00. A dollar for a comic. Now I’m paying $3.99 for just about everything I read.

I eventually became friendly with the owner and the few employees, and I learned that the new comics always showed up on Mondays. So every Monday I’d either ride my bike over there or my mom would take me, and I’d spend my allowance and lawn mowing money. If I didn’t have quite enough money for all the adventures I wanted, they’d put them in a stack behind the counter, and I’d buy them when I could. If the stack got too large, I could always count on my parents buying it and giving me the comics for birthday or holiday presents.

When I was 15, the weekend after I got my learner’s permit, we took a family vacation to Chicago so I could go to the Chicago Comic Con.  This was over July 4^th weekend in 1993. I wanted to go because Todd McFarlane was going to be there, and I was a HUGE fan. So the family took a long weekend and drove up to Chicago, and it was awesome. Well, what I can remember was awesome. I think I was just so taken aback by everything that I couldn’t process or contain what I saw. I remember seeing somebody in a giant Badrock (he was probably still called Bedrock then) costume. I bought a bunch of back issues in the dealer hall. My dad and I waited in line for…a half an hour? an hour?...for Todd to show up. While waiting, Stan Lee casually strolled by us. I had his Marvel Universe Series I trading card with me. I showed it to my dad and explained why I was so excited. Eventually a security guard came out and informed all of us that Mr. McFarlane was getting set up and he brought a few friends with him: fellow Image founders Jim Lee, Erik Larsen, and Rob Liefeld. I ended up getting autographs on Savage Dragon #1, Youngblood #1, Uncanny X-Men #248 (jewel of my collection…until I sold it), WildC.A.T.S #1, Amazing Spider-Man #312, and Spawn #1. The best part of this experience was not meeting McFarlane, though. He was kind of a dick. No, it was meeting Rob Liefeld. I’ll throw all sorts of shit his way for being a hack artist, but I’ll never talk bad about his character because he was crazy nice. After signing my Youngblood comic, he offered to do a quick sketch of Bed/Badrock on a backing board. While doing that, he struck up a conversation with my dad, who didn’t know him from Jackson Pollock and was obviously out of his element. It wasn’t a long conversation because the line behind me WAS long, but Liefeld took the time to connect a bit with a fan and dad rather than just signing a book and moving on to the next kid. It meant a lot to me. I still hate his art, though.

I moved to Tennessee, just north of Nashville, in the late summer of ’94. I found a comic book shop (an actual comic book shop, not a bookstore) within days, and I got a job shortly after that. My first paycheck, somewhere slightly north of $50, was completely blown at The Great Escape. They got most of my money for a few months until something strange happened: I started to lose interest.

At this time I was pretty much a Marvel Zombie. I was getting any and everything having to do with Spider-Man and the X-Men. Spin-offs, limited series, guest appearances…everything. Then the clone crap started happening with Spider-Man, and the X-Men were going through the “Phalanx Covenant.” Titles were no longer self-contained, and to me, reading comics was becoming more work and less fun. So I quit.

My time away lasted roughly two years. I don’t know how I learned about it, but the first issue of Kingdom Come hit the stands. I sought it out and ended up buying the rest of the series. I have absolutely no idea what else I started reading. I got back into Spider-Man with the reboot in ’98. I caught the end of the old guard with “Gathering of the Five” and “Final Chapter,” then I started with the new series. I got back into the X-Men with their reboot in ’01. I stuck with Morrison’s New X-Men, but I quickly gave up on Uncanny X-Men. I got in on the Ultimate universe on the ground floor, and I discovered James Robinson’s Starman in ’99 thanks to Alex Ross doing a series of covers. I followed that guy everywhere. I loved his Earth X trilogy, and I’ve never followed an artist since like I followed him. He and Todd McFarlane, they were my guys. Now I follow writers. Brian Michael Bendis. Warren Ellis. Matt Fraction. Jonathan Hickman.

Two of my favorite periods of my “comic book life” both involve me working in a comic book store. The first time was in college. I was a regular at a little shop in Cookeville, a place that was more of a sports collectibles place than a comic book place. The owner was a nice guy, and his mom usually ran the place. I spent a few months working for them a few hours a week organizing their back stock. I got paid cash, but I don’t think I ever actually saw a dime from them. As I was going through their stock, I’d put aside books I wanted, and they let me have whatever I wanted for half off. So basically I got paid in comics. It was awesome.

A few years later, after I got married but before my first son was born, I worked at the main location of The Great Escape in Nashville. I basically did the same thing, but there was a LOT more stock. I went through and organized the new purchases, I’d restock the new comics, and sometimes help out with the CDs and movies. I got an employee discount, so that was nice, but the store was a lot bigger and a little less personal. Still, it was a fun experience and I met and worked with some great people.

A few months before my son was born, I quit for the second time. This was supposed to be more permanent, though. I actually got rid of my entire collection. The autographs. My Starman collection. My Earth X limited edition hardcover with slipcase signed by Alex Ross. For a bit I did some trading and bartering, getting into trade paperbacks and hardcover collections (it’s how I met Derek Fridolfs), but I ended up getting rid of those, too. With a baby on the way, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to afford this hobby, and I would no longer have the time or the space to devote to it. It was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done, but it was worth it. The little money that I got through eBay sales helped. Not a lot, but a bit.

A few years ago I started up again. I’m sloooooooooowly building my collection back up. It’s fun to be doing this again, though, and now my oldest son has shown an interest. Right now he’s more interested in Pokemon than comic books, but I’ll him a few issues here and there, and he’ll pour over them. I’ve given him a Marvel Universe Encyclopedia that he’s been reading, and he loves watching “Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” and “Ultimate Spider-Man” on Disney XD.

I’m currently reading:

• The Amazing Spider-Man
• The Avengers
• The Avengers vs. the X-Men
• Brilliant
• Locke & Key: Clockworks
• The New Avengers
• Secret (I’m going to give this a few issues)
• Shade
• Ultimate Spider-Man
• Uncanny X-Force (on the bubble)
• Wolverine and the X-Men
• X-Factor

I’m planning on picking up Earth 2 when it starts, and I’ve got high hopes for it. I’ve loved everything James Robinson has done when he’s been allowed to work on DC’s Golden Age characters. I’m probably going to drop the Avengers stuff when Bendis leaves the books. I’m going to use the extra dinero to get a bit more invested in books that I’ve been following but not regularly buying (Invincible Iron Man, Fantastic Four, Journey into Mystery) while continuing to rebuild my back issue collection. I’ve heard awesome things about Scott Snyder’s Batman, so I plan on checking that out, too.

I love this hobby, and I’m thrilled that (at least one of) my kids are showing an interest. I hope that my love will come through in the posts, in both positive and negative reactions to comics and what’s happening in the industry.

Original Art by Derek Fridolfs

I've wanted to post on this for a while now, but I keep forgetting. Not any more! A while back, as I was clearing out some comic books, I joined a website called Sequential Swap. It allows you to get in touch with other users so you can swap trade paperbacks. It's a great thing.

Through this, I met a guy named Derek Fridolfs, a professional artist who has worked on projects for Marvel and DC, among others. He offered to do a sketch for a book or two, so I took him up on it. I had him draw Spider-Man and sign it to my son, Parker. He also sent an autographed comic that he had worked on.

Here's the sketch:


Over the next year or so, I did a couple of more trades with him, and even commissioned a few sketches from him for $25 each. Really not a bad deal at all.

Here are the sketches:

Golden Age Starman (Ted Knight)

Starman #3 (Mikaal Tomas)

Starman #4 (Prince Gavvyn)

Starman #5 (Will Payton)

Starman #7 (Jack Knight)

James Robinson's Starman series is the best comic book series I have ever read. It's amazing how hard Robinson works to coallesce all of the past Starmen into a grand legacy. My goal, once the family gets some disposable income, is to have the Starman lineage completed (only missing three (Starman of 1951, Starman #5 [David Knight], and Starman #8/Starboy (Thom Kallor/Danny Blaine). I then want to move onto the major villains (Mist/Mist #2, Solomon Grundy, Ragdoll, etc.) and the side characters (Shade, the O'Dares, Charity, etc.).

While I'm not too big into comic books that are done in the animated/Paul Dini style, I have to say that Derek's sketches are phenomenal. I don't know how much he knew about the characters before he drew them, but I made sure to send him plenty of reference shots from various comics. He captured all of the characters perfectly.

The guy is also a relatively quick artist. I know these are just sketches, but they're also inked and shaded. And the backs of all of the sketches, if I'm not mistaken, has rough sketches in blue pencil. So I'm able to see what designs or poses he considered before going with his final choice. Turn-around time was usually a week or so, but last time I checked I think his website said to give him a month.

These sketches are my pride and joy (obviously after my wife and kids). They're one-of-a-kind, done for me and me alone. These are not items I will ever part with easily. I've got each one framed, and they're hanging in my office.

If you've got a comic book fan in your life and if you ever want to give them a meaningful and unique gift, I can't think of a better one than an original sketch of their favorite character by a professional artist. Check out his deviantART page or his Comic Art Fans page to take a gander at his work. You can email him to get rates on sketches, which he would do between regular jobs.

So go on, give him some business. Maybe it he gets enough referrals from me he'll send me a free sketch to help finish off my Starman cast. Eh? Eh? Ah, it's worth a shot.

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Listening to: Howard Shore - Parth Galen
via FoxyTunes