Anghus Houvouras reviews Starlight #1…
“Forty years ago, Duke McQueen was the space hero who saved the universe. But then he came back home, got married, had kids, and grew old. Now his children have left and his wife has passed away, leaving him alone with nothing except his memories…until a call comes from a distant world asking him back for his final and greatest adventure. This issue launches the much-anticipated Millarworld Universe. Get in on the start of something MASSIVE!”
It’s been a long time since a comic book created a strong emotional reaction within me. I’ve been exhilarated by titles like Zero and have been enjoying a lot of Marvel’s recent output with titles like Superior Spider-Man and Uncanny X-Men. I’ve laughed at dry, funny fare like Hawkeye and Superior Foes of Spider-Man. Mark Millar and Goran Parlov’s new series Starlight manages to dig a little deeper and achieve something that is both epic and heartbreaking.
The fantastic first issue introduces us to Duke McQueen, an Air Force pilot transported through an inter dimensional portal into another dimension where he becomes a swashbuckling adventurer freeing the galaxy from a despotic madman. Much of the flashbacks play like a fantastic homage to Flash Gordon. Parlov’s art pops off the page in these sequences crafting a wonderful Sci-Fi fantasy world that feels like the old movie serials of the 1930’s and 40’s.
The epic adventures are buoyed by a modern day Duke McQueen, who returned to Earth from his travels and is met with skepticism and disdain. Most write off his claims of aliens and otherworldly exploits as the ravings of a lunatic. He returns to his former life with his girlfriend Joanne where he becomes just another working stiff in an uninteresting world. He gets married, has two sons, and grows old. We first meet Duke mourning the loss of his wife and dealing with the sobering reality of going at it alone. There’s a fantastic dynamic in the storytelling shifting from past glories to modern problems. Starlight gives us the answer to a question no one asked:
What happened to Flash Gordon when the adventures were over?
This book got me. It’s so perfectly suited for Millar, who has made a career of riffing on existing themes. Books like Wanted, Kick Ass, and Jupiter’s Legacy are so steeped in existing comic properties and take the core concepts to extreme lengths. Starlight is built from the same basic blueprint, but takes a far more subtle approach. The bombastic flourishes are abandoned in favor of quiet moments that do a great job of instantly humanizing Duke. You feel for him and sympathize with his plight. Millar doesn’t just tug on your heartstrings, he plays them like a flamenco guitar.
Parlov’s art is perfectly suited for the material maneuvering between the grand and the gritty with ease. His portrayal of Duke as a young man perfectly captures the kind of swashbuckling, square jawed spirit you’d find in Errol Flynn or Bruce Campbell. His older Duke has that lumbering lurch and chiseled features that makes him feel incredibly real.
Starlight is an amazing read and as good a first issue as I’ve ever read. I’m almost tired of hearing myself say this, but Image is just so damn interesting these days. It’s putting every other publisher to shame.
Anghus Houvouras is a North Carolina based writer and filmmaker. His latest work, the novel My Career Suicide Note, is available from Amazon.
Originally published March 5, 2014. Updated April 13, 2018.
