Sunday, February 8, 2009

Sunday Night Thoughts on Starman and Final Crisis.

Seeing that I've got an early day of classes ahead of me tomorrow, coupled with the fact that it's Sunday, I really don't have much to post about. But, I promised myself that I would post at least something every day(well, not really, but it saying that makes me sound really dedicated!).

First and foremost, tomorrow, I will FINALLY get my hands on Final Crisis #7!!! I've been waiting for this f###ing comic book for a week and a half now... Hopefully, by the time I get home from school tomorrow, my package of comic books will be waiting by the front door. Besides really wanting to read this comic just to see how Grant Morrison finished things up, I'm also intrigued to read some of the opinions of my fellow bloggers. I've been deliberately avoiding some blogs in order to avoid spoiling FC #7 for myself, and after tomorrow, the flood gates will be open, and I can travel the Internet with impunity again, no longer afraid of spoilers. Yeah, so by tomorrow night, I should have a review of FC #7 up, as well as comments on several of the blogs I normally frequent... So be prepared, my rambling, ill-informed opinions might strike your blog tomorrow!!! MWA-HA-HA-HA!!!

On a sadder note, I've just about finished up the entire Starman series written by James Robinson back in the late 1990's. All I have left to read is the final 6 issues, which I'll polish off after I'm done with this post. I'm SURE I'll devote a post to the full Starman series when I find the time, but before then just let me simply say that I think Starman may just be the best comic book series I've ever read. I've read and collected A LOT of comic books over the course of my life, upwards of 8,000 now and ever growing. So, by stating that Starman is one of my favorites of all-time is really saying something. If I had the time, and nothing else to read, I would start the series over again from issue #1 and read the whole story again. I'd been told by a couple of my fellow bloggers that Starman was a spectacular comic(that's why I purchased it to begin with), and it sure as hell is.

The entire Starman series is really a masterpiece. That's really the best word I can use to describe it. A masterpiece. Some people are connoisseur of art, movies or music. Well, I am a connoisseur of comic books, and to me Starman is a nearly unequaled masterpiece. It is perfection in the form of a comic book. What the Mona Lisa is to art connoisseurs, Starman is to a comic book connoisseur like myself. While reading an issue of Starman today, I found myself laughing aloud hysterically in an empty room on one page, while a few short minutes later, on a different page in the same comic, my eyes were welling up with tears of sadness. I can't think of many other comic books that have the power to move me like Starman does.

While I can't wait to read how James Robinson finishes this series off, I'm overcome with sadness at the prospect that I won't have any new Starman comics to enjoy... No more watching Jack grow into a competent hero in the image of his father, no more inner monologues by Jack, no more entries from the journal of the Shade, no more learning about the history of Opal City, no more of Bobo's hilarious 1950's slang, no more of those wacky O'Dare's... I'm really going to miss these characters. I never expected to become as drawn into this series and these characters as I've become, but I sure did form a connection to these characters... Especially the Shade. That guy has to be one of the greatest comic book characters I've ever had the good fortune to read about! The Shade almost single-handedly makes this series for me. I can't even tell you how many times I'll chuckle or flat out crack up laughing at some of the things he says or writes down in his journal. If the Shade was to ever get his own series, I'd buy three frigging copies every month! That's how much I enjoy him and his antics.

Another thing this series proves once and for all that there are NO bad characters in comic books, there are only bad writers. James Robinson has taken every single character in this series and given them a life of their own. I truly care about every single character in this comic series. The heroes, the villains, the supporting cast, every single character is interesting in his or her own way. It's funny, since I've been reading Starman, I've noticed that for the most part, the newer comic books I've been reading just haven't been that satisfying. Lately, the new comics I've been reading have been receiving much lower scores than I usually hand out. Simply put, after reading Starman, most newer comics just don't come close to measuring up. After reading Starman, I now seem to look at other comics in a much different way...

I think I've spent more than enough time gushing about the glory that is Starman for tonight... All that's left to do now is to read those final six issues and discover just how the story of Jack Knight comes to an end... Oh, and if you've never read this series, do yourself a favor and PICK IT UP! Almost the entire series is available in tpb form, and there are plenty of places that sell these books at a pretty decent price. Trust me, you'd be doing yourself a favor by reading this comic book.

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