Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Today's trippy trip through the tomes of time is one that has always made me wonder, "Wha hoppen?" As I've mentioned before, from January, 1975-January, 1976, DC Comics published a try-out book (in the tradition of their much-loved
Showcase title of the Silver Age) called
First Issue Special. Of the thirteen concepts presented in
FIS, only two,
Warlord and a revival of the
New Gods, ever made it to their own title. Many (the
Green Team, Dingbats of Danger Street, and the
Outsiders) didn't have a chance. They were kinda silly and definitely out of touch with what fans of the
Groovy Age dug. Others, though, were really cool. One of the cool ones, the one that probably had the most commercial potential at the time, was Gerry Conway and
Mike Vosburg's new
Starman, who made his debut
in
FIS #12 (December, 1975).
As I said, the failure of
Starman to catch on really puzzled Young Groove. First of all,
Starman was a grand and much revered name among DC fans. Second, sci-fi superheroes like
Marvel's
Captain Marvel,
Warlock, and
Guardians of the Galaxy (in the original
Marvel Presents) seemed to be doing pretty good business. Finally, the creators involved were solid talents and seemed to have a very cool story to tell.
Ah, well, thems the breaks. I know
James Robinson tied this
Starman to all the other Starmen in his legendary run on the 90s version of
Starman (tongue tied yet?), but I sure would have liked to have seen where Conway and Vosburg planned to take Mikaal Tomas.
