Who's Who: Starfire

We end my look at the DC 70s Sword and Sorcery books with the Who's Who entry on Starfire.

I reviewed the first issue of Starfire here, a pretty packed opening issue laying the ground rules for this planet and establishing Starfire as a rebel determined to free her world and her people from the yoke of slavery at the hands of the Yorg and Mygorg.

I don't have any other issues of Starfire so it is interesting to read this entry and read about some of her future adventures. The first issue seemed like an interesting mix of Sci-Fi and Fantasy. These further adventures of super-computers and laser pistols seems like the book veered more towards the former.

The art here is by Mike Vosburg who provided the art for the entire Starfire series. I am surprised he didn't have Starfire in her more classic green turtle-shell unitard, as seen in the opening issue. Still, this look from an above angle, brandishing a sword and a laser pistol as well as a stern-appearing Starfire is a very nice pin-up.

And so, after over a year of looking at Beowulf, Starfire, Claw, and Stalker, I close this chapter of my Bloodlines reviews.

I probably won't be posting here in August but will be busy preparing another 'month of Anj' in September, focusing on one of the DC characters I think is underutilized.

Who's Who: Claw The Unconquered

It's a month of Anj Tuesdays here at Bloodlines as I wrap up my look at the DC Sword and Sorcery titles of the 1970s by sharing the characters' Who's Who pages from the late 80s.

I was relatively underwhelmed in my review of Claw the Unconquered here at Bloodlines a while back. In comparison to the comic craft or innovation seen in Beowulf, Stalker, and Starfire, Claw seemed a bit pedestrian. It's funny because Claw lasted 12 issues ... the longest of any of the books.

Of course, I was basing that on the one issue I read and, at least by his entry, I may have been premature.

We knew of course about his clawed hand, a trait he shared with his father. But here we learn the claw's origin and of how the world Pytharia was being fought over by gods of order and gods of chaos, the fulcrum world the universe balanced on.

Raised by the order gods to be their agent, Claw was robbed of his memory by the chaos gods and had to roam the land (as he was doing in Claw #1). Only after being reunited with a magic sword called Moonthorn did he recall his mission.

I don't know if this description is enough to make me seek out the other issues but it at least beefs up the story a bit.

The art here is nicely rendered by Keith Giffen. This is the Giffen art I see in my mind's eye, an organic look he used on the Legion which simply shines.

Who's Who Stalker

July is a month of Anj Tuesdays as I ease out of my reviews of DC Sword and Sorcery 70s titles by doing a 'once a week' review of some Who's Who pages of the characters I have covered here at Bloodlines.

I reviewed the first 2 issues of this series here and eventually ended up getting all 4 issues of the book. This Who's Who page does a good job of explaining the entire story of Stalker including the open-ended finale of the book. In that last issue, Stalker arrives in the after-life, in the area of Hell that warrior God D'Grth oversees. Stalker fulfills a prophecy that the 'greatest warrior' will mobilize the cursed warrior souls into an army and overrun D'Grth. Defeated by the horde, D'Grth admits that he cannot return Stalker's soul to the nameless one. The only way the soul will be returned is if D'Grth dies ... and the only way D'Grth can die is if all his worshipers are dead. Hell-bent, literally, to get his soul back, Stalker returns to Earth vowing to kill all of D'Grth's followers. And that is where the series ends.

I am amazed that Stalker got a full-page dedicated to him in Who's Who but it does allow legend Steve Ditko to do a nice montage of the character as well as the pin-up.

And who knows, maybe one day I'll do full reviews of the final Stalker issues. Or maybe DC will reboot the character!