What do you think?
Rate this book
Starman (1994)
Starman, Vol. 10: Sons of the Father
Jack Knight has gone through hell and back and suffered much personal loss, though gained a son he didn't know he had. Unfortunately there are still some matters that need tying up before he can move on to the next phase of his life. After a meeting with the world's greatest hero, Superman, and a final talk with his brother, David, Jack must uncover the mystery of the Starman of 1951 -- by going back in time to meet him face-to-face The legacy of every person to be called Starman, both in the past and the future, is connected in this final volume of the Starman series
160 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2001
2 people are currently reading
83 people want to read
About the author
James Robinson
1,034 books236 followersJames Dale Robinson is a British writer of American comic books and screenplays.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
February 21, 2018
With the nine volumes before this, Sons of the Father completes the Starman epic not with gradiose battles, but with introspective and reflections of the characters, the city the inhabit, and the future it may hold. An aexcellent closure we rarely see in mainstream comics, and James Robinson riting at his best.
July 11, 2020
The concluding volume to James Robinson's opus, Sons of the Father finishes things much as they'd always been, as a superhero elegy first and adventure second.
I admit I didn't climb aboard the bandwagon originally. I also didn't read Sandman until many years after the fact. At the time I was deeply immersed in more traditional comics. And yet even with those, I found myself drawn to legacy heroes. I was there for the first ongoing Robin series, starring the third Boy Wonder, Tim Drake. I followed Kyle Rayner as he began the Green Lantern mythos anew, following Hal Jordan burning down the house around him. And I sat enthralled as Mark Waid helped Wally West discover his place in the pages of The Flash. The '90s were ripe ground for this sort of material, perhaps best embodied by Marvels, a retelling of Marvel lore (as the name suggests) that Kurt Busiek later continued, spiritually, in the pages of Astro City. And somewhere in the midst of all that, David Knight dies soon after assuming the mantle of his father, and his brother Jack unexpectedly finds himself replacing him as Starman.
Starman remains a fairly obscure superhero. Even after Robinson's much-acclaimed series, no one rushed to draft him into the wider culture, and after Robinson bowed out, he even drifted back into obscurity in the comics themselves. He's the kind of character who hits a high note and then disappears, sort of like how Elongated Man, Ralph Dibney, has never been able to emerge from the events of Identity Crisis and 52, despite having taken on considerable new prominence because of them. It's a question of how resonant the concept is beyond these tales. Robinson seemed to conclude that Starman is only relevant because of the legacy. And perhaps that's the great strength and weakness of the approach.
In Sons of the Father, Jack's relationship with David is revisited. David had revisited Jack throughout the series, as a ghost, and they made peace with each other, but David's legacy remained that brief, inglorious moment of his death, until Robinson reveals he was also the Starman of 1951. That, perhaps, was the most necessary thing he contributed to the whole saga. He revisited every Starman to have appeared in DC lore, along the way, but none were as important as those of the Knight lineage.
This is superheroes as melodrama. When I sampled the series as it was originally unfolding, I caught him doing brutal things to other characters, ones he thought no one cared about, which is the catch-22 for this kind of approach. If one thing is precious, everything else, seemingly, is fair game.
Conceivably, Robinson could revisit Jack, who ostensibly bowed out of his role to play father, as an older man, perhaps watching his own children succeed him. Well, just imagine...
I admit I didn't climb aboard the bandwagon originally. I also didn't read Sandman until many years after the fact. At the time I was deeply immersed in more traditional comics. And yet even with those, I found myself drawn to legacy heroes. I was there for the first ongoing Robin series, starring the third Boy Wonder, Tim Drake. I followed Kyle Rayner as he began the Green Lantern mythos anew, following Hal Jordan burning down the house around him. And I sat enthralled as Mark Waid helped Wally West discover his place in the pages of The Flash. The '90s were ripe ground for this sort of material, perhaps best embodied by Marvels, a retelling of Marvel lore (as the name suggests) that Kurt Busiek later continued, spiritually, in the pages of Astro City. And somewhere in the midst of all that, David Knight dies soon after assuming the mantle of his father, and his brother Jack unexpectedly finds himself replacing him as Starman.
Starman remains a fairly obscure superhero. Even after Robinson's much-acclaimed series, no one rushed to draft him into the wider culture, and after Robinson bowed out, he even drifted back into obscurity in the comics themselves. He's the kind of character who hits a high note and then disappears, sort of like how Elongated Man, Ralph Dibney, has never been able to emerge from the events of Identity Crisis and 52, despite having taken on considerable new prominence because of them. It's a question of how resonant the concept is beyond these tales. Robinson seemed to conclude that Starman is only relevant because of the legacy. And perhaps that's the great strength and weakness of the approach.
In Sons of the Father, Jack's relationship with David is revisited. David had revisited Jack throughout the series, as a ghost, and they made peace with each other, but David's legacy remained that brief, inglorious moment of his death, until Robinson reveals he was also the Starman of 1951. That, perhaps, was the most necessary thing he contributed to the whole saga. He revisited every Starman to have appeared in DC lore, along the way, but none were as important as those of the Knight lineage.
This is superheroes as melodrama. When I sampled the series as it was originally unfolding, I caught him doing brutal things to other characters, ones he thought no one cared about, which is the catch-22 for this kind of approach. If one thing is precious, everything else, seemingly, is fair game.
Conceivably, Robinson could revisit Jack, who ostensibly bowed out of his role to play father, as an older man, perhaps watching his own children succeed him. Well, just imagine...
August 30, 2024
A truly brilliant and beautiful end to the series, growing and thriving in maturity and grace in this final volume. Quietly audacious choices by Robinson here at the end that you simply wouldn’t see at this time - or today.
December 11, 2007
This was a pretty solid ending to this run, but again, it leaves me wanting more. I think everything was sufficiently wrapped up, but there was so much more to do with the characters. But I guess that's always the case. My least favorite part about this series (and for some reason, it happened more so towards the end) was the way it was published. It's still a bit mired in continuity. Like Grant Morrison's "Animal Man" run, the only real problem is that to fully understand the story, you need to be reading all of the other popular DC books of the day. Of course, the irony is that those then-more-poular books are largely no longer in print, so instead, you're stuck with a collection of what was supposed to be a representation of some of the best comics of the time that has obvious holes in it.
There appears to be some side story here where Starman goes on an adventure with the JLA, and they are turned into baby versions of themselves (like that crappy X-Men story arc from the 80's where Mojo turns them into babies). This happens during the last YEAR of Starman!! Not that I really want to read that kind of abusive storytelling, but sadly, it makes Robinson's story suffer. That is why I hate comics "events" (Civil War, Anihilation, Crisis on Infinite Earths, Infinite Crisis, Identity Disc, Infinity Gauntlet... ANYTHING that will "shake the [insert financially uncertain major comic book publisher name here] Universe to it's core!"). They're a cheap grab for financial gain, and they always seem to happen just when comics are getting good again. See also: Warren Ellis's run on "StormWatch."
Anyway, all that aside, I give this 4 stars, as it's still a great, fun comic adventure, is very modern, the dialogue is generally pretty sharp, it has great refs, and I really love Peter Snejberg's art. It definitely found its place by the close of this series.
There appears to be some side story here where Starman goes on an adventure with the JLA, and they are turned into baby versions of themselves (like that crappy X-Men story arc from the 80's where Mojo turns them into babies). This happens during the last YEAR of Starman!! Not that I really want to read that kind of abusive storytelling, but sadly, it makes Robinson's story suffer. That is why I hate comics "events" (Civil War, Anihilation, Crisis on Infinite Earths, Infinite Crisis, Identity Disc, Infinity Gauntlet... ANYTHING that will "shake the [insert financially uncertain major comic book publisher name here] Universe to it's core!"). They're a cheap grab for financial gain, and they always seem to happen just when comics are getting good again. See also: Warren Ellis's run on "StormWatch."
Anyway, all that aside, I give this 4 stars, as it's still a great, fun comic adventure, is very modern, the dialogue is generally pretty sharp, it has great refs, and I really love Peter Snejberg's art. It definitely found its place by the close of this series.
October 14, 2020
James Robinson ends his love story to the retro heroes of yore and its pretty wonderful. We get the closure we should get when a series ends. Jack dealing with his losses from last arc was done extremely well. I wished we could have got more time with Jack and Courtney. Also, the trip to 1951 was a little too head scratchy at times. Overall, a delightful series ends well.
February 20, 2019
This last volume is essentially an epilogue to the finale that was Vol. 9, tying up loose ends - most notably, the mystery of the 1951 Starman. A solid farewell to a great series. (A-)
December 5, 2024
After the more bombastic ending that was vol 9, the Grand Guignol, vol 10 is the epilogue to say farewell to the series.
As much as I thought James Robinson had wrapped up all the loose ends in the last volume, he actually deals with a few more things that were left up in the air. We get an answer to Jack's brother's ghost, we get the answer to where Jack is going next, and we even get some answers on just how much influence Jack's decisions in the past affect the future. This truly was a love letter to now only Jack Knight and the Starman mythos, but to comics in general as well. I was really satisfied by the introspection of the final volume, as a lot of it has to do with Jack's thoughts and emotions after the last battle. And Robinson writes the hell out of the ending, giving us an eloquent and thoughtful end.
To me the highlights of the volume are of course, Jack's decision, the meeting of sons and father, and especially the meeting with Superman. I think Robinson just has this knack for getting to the heart of comic book storytelling, and he does it with flying colors in this last volume.
I'm glad I decided to give this series a read after seeing many people praising it. This truly is one of the most cohesive and heartfelt stories I've read in a while and I kind of lament that stories like this don't really exist nowadays. The big 2 don't really let creative teams take their time and truly build something over a long period of time. Starman is a testament of just how good comics can be written, given the time and talent of those that write them. Highly recommended for fans of DC and comics in general.
As much as I thought James Robinson had wrapped up all the loose ends in the last volume, he actually deals with a few more things that were left up in the air. We get an answer to Jack's brother's ghost, we get the answer to where Jack is going next, and we even get some answers on just how much influence Jack's decisions in the past affect the future. This truly was a love letter to now only Jack Knight and the Starman mythos, but to comics in general as well. I was really satisfied by the introspection of the final volume, as a lot of it has to do with Jack's thoughts and emotions after the last battle. And Robinson writes the hell out of the ending, giving us an eloquent and thoughtful end.
To me the highlights of the volume are of course, Jack's decision, the meeting of sons and father, and especially the meeting with Superman. I think Robinson just has this knack for getting to the heart of comic book storytelling, and he does it with flying colors in this last volume.
I'm glad I decided to give this series a read after seeing many people praising it. This truly is one of the most cohesive and heartfelt stories I've read in a while and I kind of lament that stories like this don't really exist nowadays. The big 2 don't really let creative teams take their time and truly build something over a long period of time. Starman is a testament of just how good comics can be written, given the time and talent of those that write them. Highly recommended for fans of DC and comics in general.
December 6, 2017
Il finale della serie.
I sei, ultimi, bellissimi albi, qui raccolti, sono molto di più di una storia di eroi o super eroi.
Sono una gran bella riflessione sul dovere e sul piacere, sulle priorità della vita e sull'incapacità a far fronte a certe problematiche: non possiamo pensare di farcela sempre, e nemmeno di aiutare sempre gli altri a scapito delle persone a cui vogliamo bene.
Un finale elegiaco per una serie meravigliosa.
I sei, ultimi, bellissimi albi, qui raccolti, sono molto di più di una storia di eroi o super eroi.
Sono una gran bella riflessione sul dovere e sul piacere, sulle priorità della vita e sull'incapacità a far fronte a certe problematiche: non possiamo pensare di farcela sempre, e nemmeno di aiutare sempre gli altri a scapito delle persone a cui vogliamo bene.
Un finale elegiaco per una serie meravigliosa.
October 7, 2017
I liked the conclusion to this series way more than I liked the parts prior to it. I was never 100% hooked by the story, but the way everything wraps up was very satisfying.
January 8, 2011
The final in James Robinson's critically acclaimed Starman opus. INn reading straight through all 10 volumes I think Robinson's strengths and weaknesses as a writer become quite evident. He does well at developing character, and he is not strong at conflict. While main character Jack Knight might be almost as angsty as Peter Parker at least Jack trys to fix his life. without moaning about it on every page. In addition, I think Robinson's portrayal of women is weak, especially Sadie who ends up coming as as a selfish bitch. So why does the final volume get 4 stars? It serves well as a epilogue to the series and Jack's heroic journey (he retires at the end). Robinson does a good job of trying to show Jack dealing with his grief. Opal City itself remain a character, and the minor characters pretty much all get closure at the series' end. The mystery of the Starman of 1951 is explained. A good conclusion to the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 2, 2010
These stories serve as a bit of an epilogue to the series, as Jack talks with Superman about something that happened when he was bouncing around through space and time, has a chat with the ghost of his brother David and finally learns the secret of the mysterious Starman of 1951.
As always a great blend of big super adventure, small character moments about family and the little things that make life worth while and a bunch of comic book history.
A brilliant series that is almost a perfect blueprint for how to do a super hero comic.
As always a great blend of big super adventure, small character moments about family and the little things that make life worth while and a bunch of comic book history.
A brilliant series that is almost a perfect blueprint for how to do a super hero comic.
March 24, 2008
A good wrap up to an amazing series. Robinson finishes streamlining the narratives for the succession of heroes in his catalogue of Starmen/women of past, present and future in such a way that any fan would appreciate. Jack enjoys one last walk with the dead and finds himself deeply enmeshed in the Starman mythos once more. After some soul-searching Jack makes a decision that takes him out of the game forever. An overall moving and fantastic finish.
February 16, 2014
...and James Robinson managed to cleanly wrap up the series and all parties involved.
As much as I love Jack Knight, I really, truly hope DC never tries to bring him back in their new universe. The fact that they seem to have let him stay retired even before the big reboot is promising.
As much as I love Jack Knight, I really, truly hope DC never tries to bring him back in their new universe. The fact that they seem to have let him stay retired even before the big reboot is promising.
March 24, 2007
There have always been Starmen.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews