Starlight #1

Being a big fan of Flash Gordon, (the film, and probably just because of the Queen soundtrack) solicits for Starlight sounded really intriguing to me. It really came across to me as a “what if…?” where we pick up with Flash Gordon on Earth, after he has conqurred Ming the Merciless and saved an alien world. The art by Goran Parlov makes the hero look like a cross between The Venture Bros. Brock Samson and Frank Miller’s Batman in Dark Knight Returns. I picked up the Goran Parlov variant cover, and it fits in so perfectly with the artwork in the issue (funny how that happens when they’re drawn by the same person…). This issue tells the story of how Duke McQueen, a test pilot, is transported to an alien world, vanquishes an evil tyrannical dictator and frees an entire planet. Then he returns home, to live a life devoid of seemingly any adventure or aliens whatsoever. The story takes a dark turn when we open on the Flash-esque character Duke, in his 50s currently, preparing for his wife’s funeral. The issue goes on to show the divide between father and his sons, and gives us some flashback sequences into the relationship Duke had with his wife. The final pages of the issue, while rather predictable, were gorgeously rendered and set the story up for some very interesting future events. This book is another great offering from Mark Millar and Millarworld, and even though I will most likely be waiting to pick the rest of this series up in trades (I cannot, no matter how hard I try, pick up every issue I want every week) I definitely thing this book will have a lot to offer science fiction comic fans, with the Guardians of the Galaxy being hot right now, this book is impeccably well timed. Check it out!