Starborn Vol. 1

Starborn #1

by Stan Lee, Chris Roberson, Khary Randolph (Illustrator)

Stan Lee, the great innovator of the entertainment industry, teams up with BOOM Studios to deliver a brand new line of superhero comics. In STARBORN, Stan Lee teams up with critically acclaimed writer Chris Roberson (iZOMBIE, CINDERELLA: FROM FABLETOWN WITH LOVE) and fan-favorite artist Khary Randolph (SPIDER-MAN, TEEN TITANS GO ) to present the story of a man not of this world Benjamin Warner is a failed fantasy novelist, always dreaming of far off worlds and exciting adventures. But when a familiar face reenters his life, and devastating trouble follows, Benjamin learns his rejected stories weren't fiction but memories of his home planet Benjamin's forgotten past comes crashing down around him as he finds himself at the center of a galactic war and is forced to face the truth that he is... not of this world

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Fiction, Comic Book

128 pages, Paperback

First published August 2, 2011

About the author

Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber) was an American writer, editor, creator of comic book superheroes, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics.

With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.

Reviews

[Sean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Chris Roberson and Khary Randolph, with Stan Lee's influence, create an unfortunate cliched world that would most likely work better on Disney XD than in comic form. The plot has done many times before and the main character's continuing rehashing of his "fiction" was tedious and redundant. Even the names of the "fictional" characters and their world are predictable. Its uninspired. Randolph's art is hit or miss. The action scenes are muddled and hard to decipher at times. Overall, the creators involved are capable of much better work.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable epic space opera action. One of the best comic series with Stan Lee's name on the cover in a long time.

[Gabriel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Everything about this is dreadfully uninspired.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this at my LCS a few years ago for $5 then left it on the pile. Tonight I wanted to read something different, and it delivered. I don't even remember reading the bit on the back cover, just bought it. The story was a lot of fun (So far). It reminded me of "Jupiter Ascending" but with a much more cohesive plot. And although the reality of the political and social situation isn't just spelled out, it's clear that things are very different from what the main character believes.

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

From the creative mind of Stan Lee, we get a new sci-fi hero in Benjamin Warner. He’s a typical cubicle warrior who dreams of selling his first manuscript and becoming a writer. His work, he is told, is reminiscent of another writer’s work, although Benjamin has no memory of ever reading this author. After being rejected again, his day goes from bad to worse as an alien presence possesses his co-workers and he’s saved by a beautiful women, Tara, who was his childhood friend.

Benjamin is stunned to discover—through Tara’s narration—that all his stories set on far-off planets and galaxies are all real. What he believes is imagination is actually suppressed memories of his home planet, and Benjamin soon finds himself in the middle of a galactic conflict. The artwork by Khary Rudolph is great, but the narrative is flawed and there’s a feeling of “we’ve seen this before” running throughout the story. While Stan Lee certainly gets props for his work on comics, Chris Roberson uses and re-uses tired tropes to tell the story. It’s not altogether bad, but I have a feeling that there are better comics out there.

[Silas · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with other latter day Stan Lee books I have read, this is not particularly deep, though in retrospect, it is also the first volume with a new character, and perhaps the depth will develop in time. The conceit of this book is that the main character is a regular Joe who has dreams of writing science fiction stories, and has done so over the years, and never found a publisher, since his ideas so closely resemble another writer's work that he hadn't read beforehand. We then find out that his stories are real, and he is drawn into interstellar politics and warfare. The volume ends before we get too far into that, but there is some adventure along the way. It is a conceit I have encountered before, but it is well done here, and could be interesting with further reading.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few years ago I would have said Stan Lee could not come up with a good idea any longer. His work with Boom! Studios and the writers who have teams up with him have me rethinking that. Here Lee's concept and the execution of same by fantasy and science fiction author Chris Roberson really works. The rating is probably a little high, but Roberson hits a lot of my space opera fanboy buttons. And, it is hard to resist a tale when an aspiring science fiction writer discovers he is the heir to an interstellar empire. We have different alien species, and a lingering question.

Are the humans the good guys?

[Artur Coelho · Rating 4 out of 5]

Com Starborn completa-se a tríade de novos personagens concebidos por Stan Lee para a Boom Studios. Se The Traveller nos remete para as convoluções temporais paradoxais e Soldier Zero é o conto clássico de homens e super-fatos, Starborn rebenta em pura space opera numa história em que o incauto protagonista é o herdeiro de uma dinastia estelar e depressa se vê mergulhado numa guerra em que os inimigos não são o que parecem. De ingénuo detentor de novos poderes, depressa se descobre herdeiro de um império totalitário de tal forma odiado pelas restantes espécies alienígenas que a própria existência da Terra fica ameaçada. Starborn é puro divertimento em space opera desbragada.

[M · Rating 2 out of 5]

Benjamin Warner wants to be a writer. Stuck in a dead-end job, he fills his time by scribing about fantastical alien worlds and their inhabitants. After receiving a rejection letter, Ben finds himself surrounded by the alien race he had dreamed up, and protected by his long-time crush. As she attempts to explain how everything Ben was writing about was real, they have to stay ahead of the council of extraterrestrials that want the son of their greatest tyrant killed. Another interesting Stan Lee idea, but one that gets bogged down in the cliche explanatory opening volume.

[H. Givens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wavered between 3 and 4 stars for this one. It's straightforward space opera, which is both good and bad. It's good, because I love space opera! It's impeccably done. The art is bold, colorful and stylish, and I liked the various alien races introduced. On the other hand, after the big opening, nothing really happens that's unexpected. It's just a prolonged introduction to a cool space-opera universe. I'd like to read more and see how it develops.

[Elijah St. Dennis · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting chosen one story with an old school comic book style. This was definitely not written for a trade with the beginning of each issue recapping the the overall story blatantly. The art is solid. The character work in particular is good but the monthly nature of the comic really shows in the backgrounds at time.

[Travis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Blah and very by the numbers.
The weakest of the three titles that made up the mini-universe Stan Lee created for Boom! Studios.

'Harry Potter meets the Last Starfighter' minus all the fun and awe of both.

[Alberto Carlos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una historia de ciencia ficción sencilla y ligera, aventuras en estado puro, aunque se queda algo corto.