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Star-Lord (1996) #1-3+
Star-Lord: Guardian of the Galaxy
Just in time for his big-screen debut, Star-Lord's sensational seventies sci-fi sagas are collected in one volume! After aliens killed Peter Quill's mother, he became an astronaut, hoping to find the killers and take revenge...until a fateful encounter with the Master of the Sun unlocked Quill's true destiny! Now, as the intergalactic policeman Star-Lord, Quill faces alien slavers, space pirates, world-destroying ships, ancient space arks, vengeful beast-men, winged cloud-riders, symbiotic planetoids and more! COLLECTING: MARVEL PREVIEW 4, 11, 14-15, 18 (STAR-LORD STORIES); MARVEL SUPER SPECIAL 10 (STAR-LORD STORY); MARVEL SPOTLIGHT (1979) 6-7; MARVEL PREMIERE 61; STAR-LORD (1996) 1-3
292 pages, Paperback
First published July 9, 2014
15 people are currently reading
169 people want to read
About the author
Steve Englehart
1,395 books97 followersSee also John Harkness.
Steve Englehart went to Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. After a stint in the Army, he moved to New York and began to write for Marvel Comics. That led to long runs on Captain America, The Hulk, The Avengers, Dr. Strange, and a dozen other titles. Midway through that period he moved to California (where he remains), and met and married his wife Terry.
He was finally hired away from Marvel by DC Comics, to be their lead writer and revamp their core characters (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, and Green Lantern). He did, but he also wrote a solo Batman series (immediately dubbed the "definitive" version) that later became Warner Brothers' first Batman film (the good one).
After that he left comics for a time, traveled in Europe for a year, wrote a novel (The Point Man™), and came back to design video games for Atari (E.T., Garfield). But he still liked comics, so he created Coyote™, which within its first year was rated one of America's ten best series. Other projects he owned (Scorpio Rose™, The Djinn™) were mixed with company series (Green Lantern [with Joe Staton], Silver Surfer, Fantastic Four). Meanwhile, he continued his game design for Activision, Electronic Arts, Sega, and Brøderbund.
And once he and Terry had their two sons, Alex and Eric, he naturally told them stories. Rustle's Christmas Adventure was first devised for them. He went on to add a run of mid-grade books to his bibliography, including the DNAgers™ adventure series, and Countdown to Flight, a biography of the Wright brothers selected by NASA as the basis for their school curriculum on the invention of the airplane.
In 1992 Steve was asked to co-create a comics pantheon called the Ultraverse. One of his contributions, The Night Man, became not only a successful comics series, but also a television show. That led to more Hollywood work, including animated series such as Street Fighter, GI Joe, and Team Atlantis for Disney.
Steve Englehart went to Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. After a stint in the Army, he moved to New York and began to write for Marvel Comics. That led to long runs on Captain America, The Hulk, The Avengers, Dr. Strange, and a dozen other titles. Midway through that period he moved to California (where he remains), and met and married his wife Terry.
He was finally hired away from Marvel by DC Comics, to be their lead writer and revamp their core characters (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, and Green Lantern). He did, but he also wrote a solo Batman series (immediately dubbed the "definitive" version) that later became Warner Brothers' first Batman film (the good one).
After that he left comics for a time, traveled in Europe for a year, wrote a novel (The Point Man™), and came back to design video games for Atari (E.T., Garfield). But he still liked comics, so he created Coyote™, which within its first year was rated one of America's ten best series. Other projects he owned (Scorpio Rose™, The Djinn™) were mixed with company series (Green Lantern [with Joe Staton], Silver Surfer, Fantastic Four). Meanwhile, he continued his game design for Activision, Electronic Arts, Sega, and Brøderbund.
And once he and Terry had their two sons, Alex and Eric, he naturally told them stories. Rustle's Christmas Adventure was first devised for them. He went on to add a run of mid-grade books to his bibliography, including the DNAgers™ adventure series, and Countdown to Flight, a biography of the Wright brothers selected by NASA as the basis for their school curriculum on the invention of the airplane.
In 1992 Steve was asked to co-create a comics pantheon called the Ultraverse. One of his contributions, The Night Man, became not only a successful comics series, but also a television show. That led to more Hollywood work, including animated series such as Street Fighter, GI Joe, and Team Atlantis for Disney.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
April 4, 2023
The current Guardians of the Galaxy is not the classic one I grew up with. but one of the characters of the new line up is a character I loved reading. This beautiful reprint collection brings back all those classic stories. Fantastic read. Very recommended
August 31, 2014
In a perfect world I would have given this a 4 star review. I picked this to replace floppies that I no longer had and to get some cash for the ones I still did. By the time I got through with the Doug Moench stories I remembered how uneven the character's various rus had been.
Lets start with emphasizing the good. The second story is by the team of Chris Claremont/John Byrne/Terry Austin. At the time this story was published it was at the height of this team's work. Calremont in the text piece discusses his desire to do an old fashioned science fiction story, and this is very much an old school space opera tale, and in a good way (yes that is possible). In addition, there is a small reboot of Peter Jason Quill's character because in his origin story he was a jerk, if not a killer.
There are two more Claremont stories, possibly hampered a little bit by Carmine Infantino's art. Infantino's was a talented craftsman, but his style seems out of date for the stories Claremont wrote. Claremont also deserves credit for creating a believable relationship between Ship and Quill.
From Claremont's first excellent story, and two good ones, the next best is a three issue mini-series collected here that was written by Timothy Zahn. There are some tweaks to the canon, including the fact that Quill has disappeared, Ship is damaged, including her memory, and someone else must step into Star-Lord's uniform.
The Englehart origin story is a good set up. Not great, but even by the end of his tale there is a slight change in Quill as he understands that maybe he isn't right all of the time.
The Moench stories were all pretty much fail. I like Moench's early Moon Knight and some of his Batman work. He did some excellent Doc Savage and Shang-Chi writing. He doesn't get science fiction, or even space opera and it shows. His attempt at redoing aspects of Quill's character, and a fairly drastic revision of star-Lord's origin do not work.
If you've seen the Guardians of the Galaxy movie this is not the Quill you're going to expect, but I think a better character than what Marvel Comics is doing in his solo title and in the Guardians of the Galaxy monthly.
Lets start with emphasizing the good. The second story is by the team of Chris Claremont/John Byrne/Terry Austin. At the time this story was published it was at the height of this team's work. Calremont in the text piece discusses his desire to do an old fashioned science fiction story, and this is very much an old school space opera tale, and in a good way (yes that is possible). In addition, there is a small reboot of Peter Jason Quill's character because in his origin story he was a jerk, if not a killer.
There are two more Claremont stories, possibly hampered a little bit by Carmine Infantino's art. Infantino's was a talented craftsman, but his style seems out of date for the stories Claremont wrote. Claremont also deserves credit for creating a believable relationship between Ship and Quill.
From Claremont's first excellent story, and two good ones, the next best is a three issue mini-series collected here that was written by Timothy Zahn. There are some tweaks to the canon, including the fact that Quill has disappeared, Ship is damaged, including her memory, and someone else must step into Star-Lord's uniform.
The Englehart origin story is a good set up. Not great, but even by the end of his tale there is a slight change in Quill as he understands that maybe he isn't right all of the time.
The Moench stories were all pretty much fail. I like Moench's early Moon Knight and some of his Batman work. He did some excellent Doc Savage and Shang-Chi writing. He doesn't get science fiction, or even space opera and it shows. His attempt at redoing aspects of Quill's character, and a fairly drastic revision of star-Lord's origin do not work.
If you've seen the Guardians of the Galaxy movie this is not the Quill you're going to expect, but I think a better character than what Marvel Comics is doing in his solo title and in the Guardians of the Galaxy monthly.
February 11, 2016
The Starlord (Preview 4). Englehart's original story is really impressively classic SF, like the exploration science fiction of the '40s by authors such as Doc Smith. This whole (long) issue is just an origin, but it's nicely done with great characterization all the way, revealing who this Peter Quill is. It anticlimaxes a bit at the end, which smooshes the resolution into just a few pages, but otherwise this remains a very intriguing piece. It also offers a few bits of Star-Lord lore which are interesting in retrospective such as: the character lives in the future, not in contemporary Marvel Earth; he's empowered by an old man who looks like the wizard from Shazam!; and he's implied to be one of many Starlords. Oh, and the art is beautiful [7/10].
Second Launch (Preview 11). Claremont's intro is a rather large change. The thoughtful, well-characterized SF is gone, replaced by space action-adventure and planetary romance. We've moved from the '40s or '50s to the '60s or '70s, and stories like EC Tubb's Dumarest of Terra ... or Star Wars. In fact, this story rather prefigures Star Wars with a Sith-Lord(!) and "Peter Jason Quill ... I am your father".(!) With that said, it's not as good as Engelhart's original. The adventuresome element of it leaves it pretty shallow. Only the ending on Sparta is really a surprise (and something that continues to be a crucial element of Star-Lord to this day) because of Claremont's nice reimagination of elements from Engelhart's origin [5+/10]
Sand Story (Preview 14). A ship that takes a human form? A sentient hive mind that's waiting to be reborn? This is definitely some high-concept SF that continues in the mold of the '60s, and it's well done (if a little slow at times) [6/10].
A Matter of Necessity (Preview 15). Claremont flirted with space opera in his previous stories, but this is the one where he embraces it most whole-heartedly, making it the heart of the story, rather than just an excuse for action-adventure. Mind you, it's a wacky space opera with sentient suns, which is very '60s. The story itself, of warring cultures is good, and the revelation of ship's origins is interesting. [6+/10]
World in a Bottle (Super-Special 10). Moench's first take on Star-Lord is the most science-fiction-y of all, pushing even harder toward space opera. It's a fun story with black holes, ark ships, and a bit of romance that's only problem is that it explains too much at times. Oh, and it has the first Star-Lord color art, and it's beautiful [7/10].
Less Than Human (Preview 18). Moenech's second take is much more 'meh'. It's a really standard planetary romance story that almost could have been written for Dumarest of Terra. Moenech has to temporarily do away with Ship to make it work, and that feels as artificial as you'd expect. The only good point is a big bit of characterization for Starlord, but we'll see if it holds [5/10].
The Saga Begins (Spotlight 6). As Star-Lord makes the transition from magazines and comics, Moenech gives us another retelling of his origin. It's nice to get the original story and the Claremont retcons in one place, but it's not that interesting. I'm also not thrilled by the retcon that the Master of the Sun is not a star, but a lizard [3/10].
Heaven & Planet (Spotlight 7, Premiere 61). The last two classic stories both suffer from the same flaws: they are so in-love with presenting a deeply-imagined alien culture that they're not actually interesting. And so Moenech's run and the Starlord of the '80s come to an end [4/10].
Zahn's Starlord (Starlord 1-3). Starlord finally gets his own comic ... and it's not about Peter Quill at all. Instead we get a newcomer, Sinjin, who is tasked by ship to take on Peter's role until they can find him ... and the story is as delightful as that premise sounds. Sinjin is a great character who I quickly became more invested in than Quill because he feels more human. The comic also has great background, with a realistic-feeling galactic society that includes telepathy and other delights. (Zahn has said that he was trying to make the series more SF and less superhero.) I'm not fond of retcons about the elemental gun, but otherwise this is a nice next-story for Starlord; a pity it seems to have been entirely ignored since. [7+/10].
Overall, I was shocked that Star-Lord was so heavily SF in its early existence, and also pretty good. However, this feels like quite a different character from the Quill of Annihilation onward.
Second Launch (Preview 11). Claremont's intro is a rather large change. The thoughtful, well-characterized SF is gone, replaced by space action-adventure and planetary romance. We've moved from the '40s or '50s to the '60s or '70s, and stories like EC Tubb's Dumarest of Terra ... or Star Wars. In fact, this story rather prefigures Star Wars with a Sith-Lord(!) and "Peter Jason Quill ... I am your father".(!) With that said, it's not as good as Engelhart's original. The adventuresome element of it leaves it pretty shallow. Only the ending on Sparta is really a surprise (and something that continues to be a crucial element of Star-Lord to this day) because of Claremont's nice reimagination of elements from Engelhart's origin [5+/10]
Sand Story (Preview 14). A ship that takes a human form? A sentient hive mind that's waiting to be reborn? This is definitely some high-concept SF that continues in the mold of the '60s, and it's well done (if a little slow at times) [6/10].
A Matter of Necessity (Preview 15). Claremont flirted with space opera in his previous stories, but this is the one where he embraces it most whole-heartedly, making it the heart of the story, rather than just an excuse for action-adventure. Mind you, it's a wacky space opera with sentient suns, which is very '60s. The story itself, of warring cultures is good, and the revelation of ship's origins is interesting. [6+/10]
World in a Bottle (Super-Special 10). Moench's first take on Star-Lord is the most science-fiction-y of all, pushing even harder toward space opera. It's a fun story with black holes, ark ships, and a bit of romance that's only problem is that it explains too much at times. Oh, and it has the first Star-Lord color art, and it's beautiful [7/10].
Less Than Human (Preview 18). Moenech's second take is much more 'meh'. It's a really standard planetary romance story that almost could have been written for Dumarest of Terra. Moenech has to temporarily do away with Ship to make it work, and that feels as artificial as you'd expect. The only good point is a big bit of characterization for Starlord, but we'll see if it holds [5/10].
The Saga Begins (Spotlight 6). As Star-Lord makes the transition from magazines and comics, Moenech gives us another retelling of his origin. It's nice to get the original story and the Claremont retcons in one place, but it's not that interesting. I'm also not thrilled by the retcon that the Master of the Sun is not a star, but a lizard [3/10].
Heaven & Planet (Spotlight 7, Premiere 61). The last two classic stories both suffer from the same flaws: they are so in-love with presenting a deeply-imagined alien culture that they're not actually interesting. And so Moenech's run and the Starlord of the '80s come to an end [4/10].
Zahn's Starlord (Starlord 1-3). Starlord finally gets his own comic ... and it's not about Peter Quill at all. Instead we get a newcomer, Sinjin, who is tasked by ship to take on Peter's role until they can find him ... and the story is as delightful as that premise sounds. Sinjin is a great character who I quickly became more invested in than Quill because he feels more human. The comic also has great background, with a realistic-feeling galactic society that includes telepathy and other delights. (Zahn has said that he was trying to make the series more SF and less superhero.) I'm not fond of retcons about the elemental gun, but otherwise this is a nice next-story for Starlord; a pity it seems to have been entirely ignored since. [7+/10].
Overall, I was shocked that Star-Lord was so heavily SF in its early existence, and also pretty good. However, this feels like quite a different character from the Quill of Annihilation onward.
May 4, 2015
A fun read if you like 70's and 80's Science Fiction Space Opera. I liked the both the Black and White art in the first half, and the spacey color art in much of the second half.
Forget about the Guardians of the Galaxy" movie - it was fun, but Star-Lord was not the same character. Star-lord as shown in the movie was your basic Smart-Alec rogue, like Han Solo. In contrast, the book started with a narcissistic and vengeful anti-hero Peter Quill who reminded me of Gully Foyle from "Star's my Destination". His mission in life was revenge. Later, he developed a conscience, similar to Oliver Queen in season 2 of the CW show "The Arrow". They both gained a rep of not killing, even if it cost greatly. But my favorite part of this book was the relationship between Star-lord and the sentient ship he affectionately called "Ship". It was a close bond that grew as they had many adventures together.
I found this book on Scribed. Look for it, and dive in!
Forget about the Guardians of the Galaxy" movie - it was fun, but Star-Lord was not the same character. Star-lord as shown in the movie was your basic Smart-Alec rogue, like Han Solo. In contrast, the book started with a narcissistic and vengeful anti-hero Peter Quill who reminded me of Gully Foyle from "Star's my Destination". His mission in life was revenge. Later, he developed a conscience, similar to Oliver Queen in season 2 of the CW show "The Arrow". They both gained a rep of not killing, even if it cost greatly. But my favorite part of this book was the relationship between Star-lord and the sentient ship he affectionately called "Ship". It was a close bond that grew as they had many adventures together.
I found this book on Scribed. Look for it, and dive in!
February 26, 2015
Perfection. The original spirit of Star-Lord that DnA captured perfectly in Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2, and has been lost post-Thanos Imperative in Bendis' hands. Here is the intelligent, soulful hero, instead of Marvel's current marketing ploy of changing Peter to be a "roguish" Han Solo knock-off that matches their adaptation of the character for the MCU. Look back to this, Marvel, and remember.
January 26, 2015
Bronze standard 70s cheese. Kind of terrible and sublime at the same time.
September 6, 2023
For those of you wanting an omnibus type collection of the earliest stories of Marvel's Star- Lord, this is the book you've been asking for. If you loved Marvel's edgier magazine publications of the 1970s, you'll delight in the first half dozen or so stories. For someone like myself who prefers their heroes to be a little more pure of heart, you will probably hate the first half of this collection. This isn't the Chris Pratt Star-Lord that fans fell in love with at the cinema in the past decade.
Early 1970s Star-Lord is a massive jerk. The chip Peter Quill bears on his shoulder to avenge the death of his mother at the hands of reptilian aliens is understandable. Thinking everyone is beneath him when he grows up to join NASA is unprofessional. The way Quill becomes Star-Lord is just unforgivable for a hero.
NASA high ups pass Quill over for the chance to become Star-Lord. Unable to accept their judgement, Quill hijacks the project, seemingly killing guards and the Star-Lord candidate. He then disappears, only to come face-to-face with the mysterious being who bestows the Star- Lord powers. It is here that Quill is given a chance to enact his revenge on the aliens that killed his mother. Whether this really happened or was a fantasy granted to Quill in order to heal emotionally is a source of great debate. But where are the repercussions for Quill's assault on the NASA base? How come the authorities never seek to punish Quill for how he came about to become this elusive hero? With many knowing that Peter Quill is Star-Lord, that lack of consequences is implausible to me.
Once Star-Lord's adventures begin to appear in traditional floppies, the tales get better. Chris Claremont and John Byrne help to restructure Star-Lord as to being more of a real hero instead of an interstellar Frank Castle devoid of any humanity. Though I swear that the Carmine Infantino penciled stories uses artwork that I have seen used in issues of Star Wars! But if you ask me, Star Lord doesn't get darn near perfect until the mid-1990s.
This collection includes a 3-issue miniseries by Timothy Zahn that reboots Star-Lord with the new character of Sinjin Quarrel. From 1996, this story sees Peter Quill as having faded into the stuff of legend, having last appeared publicly a dozen years ago. Sinjin is a type of pre-cognitive judge assigned a post on a backwater planet ruled by a greedy landowner. Quarrel's psychic abilities bring him into contact with Star Lord's famed 'Ship', which has been in suspended animation since Quill's disappearance.
Sinjin Quarrel agrees to temporarily become the new Star Lord until Peter Quill can be located. However, Sinjin Quarrel lacks the special abilities that the original Star-Lord had. So he'll have to rely on subterfuge brought about in cooperation with Ship to become the hero he was always meant to be.
Other than that 3-issue mini, Sinjin Quarrel has never made a return to print. Yet, he's the better Star Lord. His partnership with Ship was the stuff of buddy-cop legend. It reminds me of The Greatest American Hero where an average Joe is given a super-powered suit, only to lose the instruction manual. Why didn't this version take off? The artwork by Dan Lawlis was amazing. The writing was fantastic. I can't hold my breath on this version of Starlord (the updated version lost the hyphen in their name). It's been nearly 30 years since Sinjin Quarrel's first appearance and when the Marvel Wiki database lists that story as probably not even being canon, it looks like the Peter Quill version is here to stay.
If it wasn't for the inclusion of several Marvel Premiere and Marvel Spotlight issues that I need for my collection but don't want to pay the insane asking prices for as individual issues, I would be taking this book to a used book store for trade. With their inclusion however, it looks like this collection of Star-Lord stories are also here to stay
Early 1970s Star-Lord is a massive jerk. The chip Peter Quill bears on his shoulder to avenge the death of his mother at the hands of reptilian aliens is understandable. Thinking everyone is beneath him when he grows up to join NASA is unprofessional. The way Quill becomes Star-Lord is just unforgivable for a hero.
NASA high ups pass Quill over for the chance to become Star-Lord. Unable to accept their judgement, Quill hijacks the project, seemingly killing guards and the Star-Lord candidate. He then disappears, only to come face-to-face with the mysterious being who bestows the Star- Lord powers. It is here that Quill is given a chance to enact his revenge on the aliens that killed his mother. Whether this really happened or was a fantasy granted to Quill in order to heal emotionally is a source of great debate. But where are the repercussions for Quill's assault on the NASA base? How come the authorities never seek to punish Quill for how he came about to become this elusive hero? With many knowing that Peter Quill is Star-Lord, that lack of consequences is implausible to me.
Once Star-Lord's adventures begin to appear in traditional floppies, the tales get better. Chris Claremont and John Byrne help to restructure Star-Lord as to being more of a real hero instead of an interstellar Frank Castle devoid of any humanity. Though I swear that the Carmine Infantino penciled stories uses artwork that I have seen used in issues of Star Wars! But if you ask me, Star Lord doesn't get darn near perfect until the mid-1990s.
This collection includes a 3-issue miniseries by Timothy Zahn that reboots Star-Lord with the new character of Sinjin Quarrel. From 1996, this story sees Peter Quill as having faded into the stuff of legend, having last appeared publicly a dozen years ago. Sinjin is a type of pre-cognitive judge assigned a post on a backwater planet ruled by a greedy landowner. Quarrel's psychic abilities bring him into contact with Star Lord's famed 'Ship', which has been in suspended animation since Quill's disappearance.
Sinjin Quarrel agrees to temporarily become the new Star Lord until Peter Quill can be located. However, Sinjin Quarrel lacks the special abilities that the original Star-Lord had. So he'll have to rely on subterfuge brought about in cooperation with Ship to become the hero he was always meant to be.
Other than that 3-issue mini, Sinjin Quarrel has never made a return to print. Yet, he's the better Star Lord. His partnership with Ship was the stuff of buddy-cop legend. It reminds me of The Greatest American Hero where an average Joe is given a super-powered suit, only to lose the instruction manual. Why didn't this version take off? The artwork by Dan Lawlis was amazing. The writing was fantastic. I can't hold my breath on this version of Starlord (the updated version lost the hyphen in their name). It's been nearly 30 years since Sinjin Quarrel's first appearance and when the Marvel Wiki database lists that story as probably not even being canon, it looks like the Peter Quill version is here to stay.
If it wasn't for the inclusion of several Marvel Premiere and Marvel Spotlight issues that I need for my collection but don't want to pay the insane asking prices for as individual issues, I would be taking this book to a used book store for trade. With their inclusion however, it looks like this collection of Star-Lord stories are also here to stay
May 3, 2025
Material demasiado heterogéneo para que la colección sea algo más que un monstruo de Frankenstein que mezcla cómics clásicos con bazofia noventera. Lo mejor son, sin duda, los magazines en blanco y negro; incluso el de Englehart y Gan, el más flojo, tiene su aquel: aparte de presentar al personaje, lo de que el protagonista sea, directamente, un sociópata asesino, tiene su gracia, así como la idea de basar su saga en la astrología, que es una volada de cabeza muy propia del bueno de Steve. Claro que luego se piró de la serie, pero la dejó en manos de Claremont, Byrne y Austin. Y eso son palabras mayores. Claremont tira de verborrea y más verborrea, nada nuevo, pero la historia que cuenta es interesante; lo que pasa es que al equipo de dibujantes lo sustituye en el siguiente episodio el formado por Carmine Infantino, hombre vetusto ya en esa época, y Bob Wiaceck, competente entintador pero nada que ver con el excelso Austin, y, claro, al combinarlo con la ya mítica diarrea verbal de Claremont, la cosa aburre. Después llegan los episodios a color de Moench y Tom Sutton. Sutton cumple con oficio, pero las historias de Moench no son nada del otro mundo, y además, por el motivo que sea, considera que es una idea espléndida contar una y otra vez el origen del personaje prácticamente en cada episodio.
Curiosamente, a mí el que más me gusta de todos los cómics incluidos en este volumen no es el de Claremont-Byrne-Austin, que debe de ser el favorito de prácticamente todo aficionado, sino el realizado por Moench y Bill Sienkiewicz. Por aquella época, Bill no era el de New Mutants ni muchísimo menos el de Stray Toasters, pero sí un competentísimo clon de Neal Adams. Además, la historia de Moench se sostiene muy bien por sí sola. La recordaba muy gratamente, y no me ha decepcionado.
En cuanto al remate, es basura pura y dura. Un tipejo que nunca más ha vuelto a salir en ningún cómic Marvel «hereda» el manto de Starlord y se ve implicado en una serie de intrigas bizantinas y poco creíbles horriblemente dibujadas por una especie de pseudo-pintor muy del gusto de los 90. Un final que sobra, vamos, porque ni siquiera cuenta una historia de Peter Quill, lo que no importaría demasiado si al menos tuviera algún mérito, que no lo tiene. En fin, cosas de Marvel para hacer caja...
Curiosamente, a mí el que más me gusta de todos los cómics incluidos en este volumen no es el de Claremont-Byrne-Austin, que debe de ser el favorito de prácticamente todo aficionado, sino el realizado por Moench y Bill Sienkiewicz. Por aquella época, Bill no era el de New Mutants ni muchísimo menos el de Stray Toasters, pero sí un competentísimo clon de Neal Adams. Además, la historia de Moench se sostiene muy bien por sí sola. La recordaba muy gratamente, y no me ha decepcionado.
En cuanto al remate, es basura pura y dura. Un tipejo que nunca más ha vuelto a salir en ningún cómic Marvel «hereda» el manto de Starlord y se ve implicado en una serie de intrigas bizantinas y poco creíbles horriblemente dibujadas por una especie de pseudo-pintor muy del gusto de los 90. Un final que sobra, vamos, porque ni siquiera cuenta una historia de Peter Quill, lo que no importaría demasiado si al menos tuviera algún mérito, que no lo tiene. En fin, cosas de Marvel para hacer caja...
August 23, 2021
“I conceived something very large. My hero would go from being an unpleasant, introverted jerk to the most cosmic being in the universe, and I would tie it into my then-new interest in astrology. After his earthbound beginning, his mind would be opened step by step, with a fast-action story on Mercury, a love story on Venus, a war story on Mars, and so on out to the edge of the solar system, and then beyond. But—after his earthbound beginning, where I established him as an unpleasant, introverted jerk, I left Marvel, so no one ever saw what he was to become” Steven Engleheart, co-creator of Star Lord.
Many people won’t know the character Star Lord outside of the two Guardians of the Galaxy films, and I must admit to being one of them. He was a minor character for most of my time collecting comics from the Marvel Universe. From what I can tell from these early issues of the magazine Marvel Preview he really wasn’t meant to be. It was an attempt by the company to tap into the rapidly expanding science fiction market. As such none of the stories here reference any other part of the Marvel Universe and are pretty straight forward science fiction fare, with an extremely powerful protagonist who has a living ship and other advanced gadgets at his command. Most were written in the ‘70s - except for the mini-series from 1997 at the end of the book - and the writing reflects that time period. After these appearances, the character disappeared until the 2004 Annihilation event where he finally becomes part of the 616 standard Marvel Universe.
Written by a young Chris Claremont, pre-X-Men days, what really stands out here is the amazing artwork. Perhaps the only thing which is memorable about the character is the amazing array of artists who worked on his title. John Bryne, Bernie Wrightson, Bill Sienkiewicz, Gene Colan, Carmine Infantino, along with a host of others. The authorial duties were taken over by Doug Moench for a few issues of Marvel Spotlight. These are the best Star Lord stories in the book.
Many people won’t know the character Star Lord outside of the two Guardians of the Galaxy films, and I must admit to being one of them. He was a minor character for most of my time collecting comics from the Marvel Universe. From what I can tell from these early issues of the magazine Marvel Preview he really wasn’t meant to be. It was an attempt by the company to tap into the rapidly expanding science fiction market. As such none of the stories here reference any other part of the Marvel Universe and are pretty straight forward science fiction fare, with an extremely powerful protagonist who has a living ship and other advanced gadgets at his command. Most were written in the ‘70s - except for the mini-series from 1997 at the end of the book - and the writing reflects that time period. After these appearances, the character disappeared until the 2004 Annihilation event where he finally becomes part of the 616 standard Marvel Universe.
Written by a young Chris Claremont, pre-X-Men days, what really stands out here is the amazing artwork. Perhaps the only thing which is memorable about the character is the amazing array of artists who worked on his title. John Bryne, Bernie Wrightson, Bill Sienkiewicz, Gene Colan, Carmine Infantino, along with a host of others. The authorial duties were taken over by Doug Moench for a few issues of Marvel Spotlight. These are the best Star Lord stories in the book.
November 11, 2020
I read some of Claremont and Byrne's Star-Lord stories in my older brother's hand-me-down issues of Star Wars Weekly in the early 80's. It was an incomplete run, so I never got to find out why Prince Gareth was so shocked to see Star-Lord's face.
Now, 30ish years later, I know, and it probably wasn't worth the wait.
The highlight here is the Claremont/Byrne story, which has, as expected, great art and is full of imagination. If the rest of the stories had been like this one then the Star-Lord concept might well have taken off. The ending is odd and abrupt, but otherwise it's a great comic.
The rest of the stories are a bit naff, as it's clear no one really knows what to do with the character so he gets thrown into generic science fiction adventures that have none of the vivid exotic feel of Claremont's. Some of the art is pretty good, but it never gets to shine illustrating the dull tales.
The origin story is the only other exception, but more because it portrays Star-Lord as a violent psychopath than anything else. It's a strange angle for a supposed hero, even more so given how the character is portrayed today.
Now, 30ish years later, I know, and it probably wasn't worth the wait.
The highlight here is the Claremont/Byrne story, which has, as expected, great art and is full of imagination. If the rest of the stories had been like this one then the Star-Lord concept might well have taken off. The ending is odd and abrupt, but otherwise it's a great comic.
The rest of the stories are a bit naff, as it's clear no one really knows what to do with the character so he gets thrown into generic science fiction adventures that have none of the vivid exotic feel of Claremont's. Some of the art is pretty good, but it never gets to shine illustrating the dull tales.
The origin story is the only other exception, but more because it portrays Star-Lord as a violent psychopath than anything else. It's a strange angle for a supposed hero, even more so given how the character is portrayed today.
September 23, 2019
For those that want to see the original Star-Lord.
Do you love (or possibly hate) the current incarnation of Peter Quill in the Marvel cinematic universe or in modern comics? What if I were to tell you the beginning of Star-Lord was pretty dark and this science fiction hero had to deal with moral questions, feelings of revenge, and making hard decisions that could potentially wipe out entire groups of people he means to protect? Even when Peter Quill was not Star-Lord in one part of the book it was his legend as a true guardian of the galaxy (not the team name just the position) that drove his replacement to gather his courage and strike out against true evil. Doesn't that sound like a fun ride? Sadly over time Star-Lord's story changed as different writers took over and added more details so it gets a little repetitive at times but if you want to see how Star-Lord came to be this book is a fine place to start your journey.
Do you love (or possibly hate) the current incarnation of Peter Quill in the Marvel cinematic universe or in modern comics? What if I were to tell you the beginning of Star-Lord was pretty dark and this science fiction hero had to deal with moral questions, feelings of revenge, and making hard decisions that could potentially wipe out entire groups of people he means to protect? Even when Peter Quill was not Star-Lord in one part of the book it was his legend as a true guardian of the galaxy (not the team name just the position) that drove his replacement to gather his courage and strike out against true evil. Doesn't that sound like a fun ride? Sadly over time Star-Lord's story changed as different writers took over and added more details so it gets a little repetitive at times but if you want to see how Star-Lord came to be this book is a fine place to start your journey.
May 15, 2017
Sometimes I'm a big fan of wacky out there science fiction. Unfortunately, this collection of early Star-Lord series didn't really do it for me. Sometimes "old" comics lack a deeper meaning, and I think that's what stops me from really liking these stories. This science fiction didn't always reflect back out world, it didn't really challenge me in any way. There are some fun stories here but overall it just didn't stand out for me- stories dragged on and left me wanting more- but not in a good way.
August 26, 2017
Pleasantly surprised by this title. Deals with some pretty interesting themes and has a Heinlein sort of feel to it. Some of it is a bit of a stretch (the annoying quotation marks around "Ship" all the time and a few of the stories weren't as good as others), but all the same - worth a read.
Definitely not the same guy from the movies, though both are quite interesting.
Definitely not the same guy from the movies, though both are quite interesting.
October 11, 2020
The highlight of this collection was the Claremont stories. The Timothy Zahn mini-series at the end had its moments. The Dan Lawlis painted art worked better than most painted art in comics typically does.
March 12, 2021
This was a hard book to get through. It is so uneven, The art by Byrne, Gan, Infantino, Sienkiewicz, and Colan is beautiful, but it isnlet down by the writing. Its unfortunate becuse Claremont, Englehart, and Moench are some of the best writers of Marvels Bronze Age.
October 30, 2022
3.5
That was fun. I don't see myself seeking it out again but it was fun.
There were some cool ideas in here but even the extra long issues didn't quite give them enough room to be fully explored.
That was fun. I don't see myself seeking it out again but it was fun.
There were some cool ideas in here but even the extra long issues didn't quite give them enough room to be fully explored.
July 22, 2017
I loved more this classic satr lord from the 70 than the present incarnation !!!!!
March 1, 2023
This collection of Star-Lord is a series of rather bland stories about Star-Lord in 1976 to 1996 and were written by Englehart, Claremont, Zahn and others. The original protagonist was a rather unlikeable and self-centred individual written by Englehart. This was followed some years later by Claremont who gave the character some rather more noble qualities. The artwork by different artists is mostly hastily drawn and is rather horrible. The artists involved are obviously skilled but the hastily rendered work showed little imagination. There is a painted section but the artwork is uninspiring. The stories were heavily inspired by Star Wars, Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica. One can see superficial parallels. Tedious and simplistic.
April 7, 2016
Another book I have mixed feelings about! This seems to be the month for it. It was interesting from the stand point of reading the comic origins of a movie character I really like. Some of the stories in it were pretty interesting as well. Others I just had to shake my head at. I know that there are often inconsistencies and changes when there is a gap in production, or when they change writers, but at times there were inconsistencies within the same story. Also, some of the stories were just really poorly written. That was frustrating, but my geeky "I like to know things" side is still glad I read it.
May 13, 2016
This really is a manual on how to do the same character fifty different ways. Very different from the Star-Lord of the Silver Screen, this Peter Quill can be brooding, aggressive, and volatile as well as a pacifist, funny and charming. Some really lovely artwork, residually in those stories by Claremont & Zahn.
August 8, 2015
Stanford's early adventures.
The early adventures of Starlord are true sci-fi fun. It is a shame that the character has been so drastically altered recently since the original is so interesting and entertaining.
The early adventures of Starlord are true sci-fi fun. It is a shame that the character has been so drastically altered recently since the original is so interesting and entertaining.
October 9, 2014
Pretty to look at but woof…. what a tough read.
September 10, 2014
Great classic 70's sci-fi.
March 10, 2015
I like these old collections, they remind me of when I first started reading comics.
The stories in this one overlap a bit, can be a bit campy, but overall tell some great stories.
The stories in this one overlap a bit, can be a bit campy, but overall tell some great stories.
May 16, 2016
Eh. Actually, I found this rather boring, felt that within the single issues the plot was rather difficult to follow and I didn't like this version of Star-Lord's character.
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