Comics I Bought This Week: July 10, 2009

I'm back from a Friday trip to the comic shop this week and I got 2 new comics plus a hard cover collection:

Ex Machina Special -4 (I somehow missed this one the week it came out.)

Wednesday Comics - 1 (Printed on tabloid size newsprint to remind us of comic strips of old. From DC Comics.)

Warlock Archives Volume 2 (The Jim Starlin stuff.)

And now for a review of something I've read recently.

"The Starman Omnibus Volume 2" by James Robinson, Tony Harris, and Others

Once again I'm glad that there is a plethora of collections of comics that are old favorites that I never though would get the deluxe hardcover treatment or stuff that I never got a chance to read but now can. It's a golden age of comic book and comic strip collections.

"Starman" falls into the "Never got a chance to read" for me. I know people who liked it when it was new but somehow I never gave it a try. I read "The Starman Omnibus Volume 1" and like it so now here comes volume two. Guess what? I liked this volume too.

It's interesting reading "Starman" all these years later. Though there are many good artists working on the book it's James Robinson's writing that sets it apart. "Starman" is not your typical superhero. As a matter of fact I'm not quite sure what his super powers even are.

Starman is just an ordinary guy who has an energy rod that allows him to fly and shoot energy blasts (which frequently miss their target). He has no super strength or invulnerability so villains with automatic weapons are frequently a challenge to him. But this comic is really not about superhero battles.

"Starman" is about not only living life as a superhero but just living life. It's more about conversation and the people in Starman's life than about giant super battles. There is also a sense of history in the book since Starman is about the third or fourth hero to carry that name. Stories pop up about the old Starman and The Justice Society superheroes that he used to hang out with. Connections are everywhere.

It's also interesting to read what good writing was before the "decompressed" style that is the norm now took over. There are lots of balloons and lots of ideas in "Starman". It's overwritten by today's standards but it's not. Most stuff is underwritten today if you ask me.

"Starman" was also written before the "write four to six issue story arcs for the trade paperback collection" routine that we are burdened with today. The story evolves at it's own pace and has a much more natural feel than a lot of stories I've read.

So if you haven't given "Starman" a try yet go ahead and grab a volume. I think the third one is just about out and I'll be getting that one too.