![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Golden-Age-Starman-vol-1-covers.jpg\")
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These books include Discriminatory Content<\/strong> produced in less enlightened times.<\/em><\/p>\n Golden Age Starman Archives volume 1<\/strong> After the staggering, near-instant successes of Superman<\/strong> and Batman<\/strong>, National Comics\/DC launched many new mystery men in efforts to capitalise on the phenomenon of superheroes, and – from our almost century-distant perspective – it\u2019s only fair to say that by 1941 the editors had only the vaguest inkling of what they were doing.<\/p>\n Since newest creations The<\/strong> Sandman<\/strong>, The Spectre<\/strong> and Hourman<\/strong> were each imbued with equal investments of innovation, creativity and exposure, editorial powers-that-be were rather disappointed that these additions never took off to the same explosive degree. Publishing partner but separate editorial entity All American Comics had meanwhile generated a string of barnstorming successes like The Flash<\/strong>, Green Lantern<\/strong>, Hawkman <\/strong>and recent radio sensation Hop Harrigan<\/strong> and would imminently produce the only rival to Superman and Batman\u2019s status when Wonder Woman <\/strong>debuted late in the year. Of course, AA had brilliantly \u201cin-tune\u201d creative\/editorial prodigy Sheldon Mayer to filter all their ideas through.<\/p>\n Thus, when Starman<\/strong> launched in the April 1941 issue of Adventure Comics<\/strong> (relegating Sandman<\/strong> to a back-up role in the venerable heroic anthology), National\/DC trusted in craft and quality rather than some indefinable \u201cpizzazz\u201d they couldn\u2019t get a handle on. The editors were convinced the startlingly realistic, conventionally classical dramatic illustration of Hardin \u201cJack\u201d Burnley would propel their newest concept to the same giddy heights of popularity as the Action Ace and Gotham Guardian.<\/p>\n Indeed, the strip – always magnificently drawn and indisputably one of the most beautiful of the period – was further blessed with mature and compelling scripts by Gardner Fox and Alfred Bester: compulsive and brilliant thrillers and even by today\u2019s standards some of the very best comics ever produced.<\/p>\n However – according to the artist in his Foreword to this first stunning deluxe hardback collection – that was possibly the problem. Subtle, moody, slower-paced stories just didn\u2019t have the sheer exuberance and kinetic energy of the most popular series, which all eschewed craft and discipline for spectacle and all-out action.<\/p>\n Happily, these days with an appreciably older and more discerning audience, Starman<\/strong>\u2019s less-than-stellar career in his own time can be fully seen for the superb example of Fights \u2018n\u2019 Tights wonderment it truly is, and – in his anniversary years – cries out for a definitive archival collection… especially since his legacy descendant Stargirl<\/strong> was a big shot TV sensation…<\/p>\n This epic collection reprints the earliest astounding exploits of the Astral Avenger from Adventure Comics<\/strong> #61-76 (spanning April 1941- July 1942), including some of the most iconic covers of the Golden Age, by Burnley and, latterly, wonder-kids Joe Simon & Jack Kirby.<\/p>\n Burnley came up with the Starman concept but, as was often the case, a professional writer was assigned to flesh out and co-create the stories. In this case said scribe was the multi-talented Gardner Fox who wrote most of them. The illustrator also liberally called on the talents of his brother Dupree \u201cRay\u201d Burnley as art assistant, and sister Betty as letterer to finish the episodes in sublimely cinematic style.<\/p>\n In those simpler times origins were far less important than today, and the moonlit magic here begins with \u2018The Amazing Starman\u2019<\/em> from #61. Cover-dated April the book hit newsstands on March 5th<\/sup> 1941. Happy 85th<\/sup> anniversary, space cowboy!<\/p>\n America suddenly suffers a wave of deadly electrical events! Appalled and afraid, FBI chief Woodley Allen<\/em> summons his latest volunteer operative. Bored socialite Ted Knight<\/em> promptly abandons his irate date Doris Lee<\/em> to assume his mystery man persona, flying off to stop the deranged scientist behind all the death and destruction. Almost as an aside we learn that secret genius Knight had previously discovered a way to collect and redirect the energy of starlight through an awesome handheld device he calls a \u201cgravity rod\u201d and thereafter resolved to do only good with his discoveries…<\/p>\n The intrepid adventurer tracks diabolical Dr. Doog<\/em> to his mountain fortress and spectacularly decimates the subversive Secret Brotherhood of the Electron<\/em>. Next month, in #62, the Sidereal Sentinel met another deadly deranged genius who had devised a shrinking ray. It even briefly diminishes Starman before the sky warrior extinguishes \u2018The Menace of the Lethal Light\u2019<\/em>, after which \u2018The Adventure of the Earthquake Terror\u2019<\/em> (#63) depicts the US attacked by foreign agent Captain Vurm<\/em>, using enslaved South American tribesmen to administer his grotesque ground-shock engines. He too falls before the unstoppable cosmic power of harnessed starlight. America was still neutral at this time, but the writing was on the wall and increasingly villains sported monocles and Germanic accents…<\/p>\n Adventure Comics<\/strong> #64 pitted the Astral All-Star against a sinister mesmerist who makes men slaves in \u2018The Mystery of the Men with Staring Eyes\u2019<\/em>, after which – behind a stunning proto-patriotic cover – Starman solves \u2018The Mystery of the Undersea Terror\u2019<\/em>, wherein the ship-sinking League of the Octopus<\/em> proves another deadly outlet for the greedy genius of The Light…<\/p>\n In #66 \u2018The Case of the Camera Curse\u2019<\/em> layered a dose of supernatural horror into the high-tech mix as Starman tackles a crazed photographer employing a voodoo lens to enslave and destroy his subjects, before #67\u2019s \u2018The Menace of the Invisible Raiders\u2019<\/em> introduced the Astral Avenger\u2019s greatest foe. Mysterious menace had The Mist<\/em> devised a way to make men and machines imperceptible and would have conquered America with his unseen air force had not the Starry Knight stopped him…<\/p>\n Alfred Bester provides a searing patriotic yarn for #68 as \u2018The Blaze of Doom\u2019<\/em> sees Starman quenching a forest fire and uncovering a lumberjack gang intent on holding America\u2019s Defence effort to ransom, after which Fox scripts #69\u2019s \u2018The Adventure of the Singapore Stranglers\u2019<\/em> in which the heavenly hero stamps out a sinister cult. In actuality, the killers were sadistic saboteurs of a certain aggressive \u201cAsiatic Empire\u201d. American involvement in WWII was mere months away…<\/p>\n The martial tone continued in \u2018The Adventure of the Ring of Hijackers\u2019<\/em> as Starman battled Baron X<\/em>, whose deadly minions wrecked American trains carrying munitions and supplies to embattled British convoy vessels, although a welcome change of pace came in #71 when \u2018The Invaders from the Future\u2019<\/em> strike. Brigands from Tomorrow are bad enough, but when Starman discovers one of his old enemies has recruited them, all bets are off…<\/p>\n For #72, an Arabian curse seems the reason explorers are dying of fright, but the \u2018Case of the \u2018Magic Bloodstone\u2019\u2019<\/em> proves to have a far more prosaic – if no less sinister – cause…<\/p>\n With Adventure<\/strong> Comics<\/strong> #73, Starman surrendered the cover-spot, as dynamic duo Simon & Kirby took over ailing strips Paul Kirk, Manhunter<\/strong> and Sandman<\/strong>. However, \u2018The Case of the Murders in Outer Space\u2019<\/em> proved the Knight Errant was not lacking in imagination or dynamic quality, as he matched wits with a brilliant mastermind murdering heirs to a Californian fortune by an unfathomable method before disposing of the bodies in an utterly unique manner…<\/p>\n Sinister science again reigned in #74 as \u2018The Case of the Monstrous Animal-Men\u2019<\/em> finds the Starlight Centurion tragically battling ghastly pawns of a maniac who turns men into beasts, whilst #75\u2019s \u2018The Case of the Luckless Liars\u2019<\/em> details how Ted Knight\u2019s initiation into a millionaires\u2019 fibbing society leads to Starman becoming a hypnotised terror tool of deadly killer The Veil<\/em> before this initial foray into darkness ends with a rollicking action riot as \u2018The Case of the Sinister Sun\u2019<\/em> sees cheap thugs of the Moroni Gang<\/em> upgrade their act with deadly gadgets: patterning themselves after the solar system in a blazing crime blitz… until Starman eclipses them all.<\/p>\n Enthralling, engaging and fantastically inviting, these early Golden Age adventures are a lost highpoint of the era – even if readers of the time didn\u2019t realise it – offering astonishing thrills and amazing chills for today\u2019s sophisticated readership. Starman<\/strong>\u2019s exploits are some of the best of those halcyon days.<\/p>\n When Starman<\/strong> launched in 1941 Adventure Comics<\/strong> National\/DC trusted in craft and quality rather than some indefinable pizzazz. Before too long, though, the editors were forced to concede that even the forcefully realistic, conventionally dramatic illustration of Jack Burnley would not propel their newest concept to the same giddy heights of popularity as the Action Ace or Gotham Guardian.<\/p>\n The strip, always magnificently drawn and indisputably one of the most beautifully realised of the period, was further blessed with mature and compelling scripts by Gardner Fox, Alfred Bester, Don Cameron and latterly Joe Samachson but just never really caught on. However, by today\u2019s standards these compelling, compulsive fun-filled and just plain brilliant tales are some one of the very best comics that era ever produced.<\/p>\n Happily these days, with an appreciably older and more discerning audience, Starman\u2019s less-than-stellar War years career might be more fully appreciated for the superb example of Fights \u2018n\u2019 Tights fiction it truly was. This volume sees the opening subtly, moody, slow-paced intellectually edgy stories supplanted by shorter yarns brimming with sheer exuberance and kinetic energy as, with the Nazi menace beaten, home grown criminals began to congregate on comics pages…<\/p>\n For this second stunning deluxe hardback outing – completing the Sidereal Sentinel\u2019s tenure in Adventure Comics<\/strong> (issues #77-102, spanning August 1942 to February 1946) – Golden Age guru Roy Thomas offers his own absorbing critical overview in the Foreword<\/em> and the volume even includes some of the most iconic covers of the Golden Age (by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby) even though most of them only feature Starman in a little insert in one corner!<\/p>\n As was often the case, although Burnley came up with the concept and look for the Astral Avenger, a professional writer was assigned to flesh out and co-create the stories. At first Gardner Fox handled the job, but eventually Alfred Bester supplied the scripts, whilst the illustrator also liberally called on the talents of his brother Ray Burnley as art assistant and inker with sister Betty as letterer finishing the episodes in sublimely cinematic style.<\/p>\n The period peril resumes here with \u2018Finders Keepers!\u2019<\/em> by Fox & Burnley, wherein arch-nemesis The Mist combined his invisibility gimmicks with a subtle psychological scheme. When members of the public found valuable \u201clost property\u201d they had no idea each item carried a posthypnotic command to surrender their own valuables to the criminal mastermind, only to become embroiled in a concatenation of increasingly dangerous stunts. Happily Starman was able to turn the repentant fool into a real hero…<\/p>\n Burnley bowed out in style in Adventure<\/strong> #80 (November 1942) in Bester\u2019s \u2018The Time-Machine Crime!\u2019<\/em> wherein thugs used said purloined device to kidnap William Shakespeare<\/em>, in hopes his canny mind could plan the perfect crime. Fox returned for another stint in #81 as the explosively kinetic Mort Meskin & George Roussos briefly took on the art. In \u2018Starman\u2019s Lucky Star!\u2019<\/em> a poor blind boy who wanted to be an astronomer was mistakenly kidnapped instead of his wealthy playmate. Thankfully the Star Sentinel was available to put everything right, after which \u2018Hitch a Wagon to the Stars\u2019<\/em> (AC<\/strong> #82, Fox, Meskin & Roussos) spotlighted a brilliant young inventor whose obsession with astrology blighted his life, and nearly made him a patsy for Nazi spies… at least until Ted Knight and his alter ego intervened.<\/p>\n With Adventure Comics<\/strong> #83, Emil Gershwin became main illustrator for the series – a solid, polished artist much influenced by Mac Raboy. \u2018Wish Upon a Star!\u2019<\/em> gave him the opportunity to shine in the moving, socially-charged tale of three prep school boys whose unselfish wishes came true thanks to Starman. At this time the Astral Avenger\u2019s page counts began to decline as his popularity dwindled – from an average of 11 to 7 or 8 – and \u2018The Doom From the Skies\u2019 <\/em>reflected a growing trend towards fast-paced action as a burglar stole the Gravity Rod, leaving our hero an amnesiac and his weapon a deadly death ray, whilst #85\u2019s \u2018The Constellations of Crime!\u2019<\/em> introduced Astra the Astrologist<\/em> who used predictions as the basis of extravagantly deadly crimes…<\/p>\n In the next issue a disgraced sportsman pretended to undertake a lunar trip whilst equipping his gang with clever gimmicks to rob and restore his fortune as \u2018The Moonman\u2019s Muggs!\u2019 <\/em>before an element of detection fiction was added in Adventure<\/strong> #87 when Starman exposed a gang selling the inexplicably popular paintings of the worst artist in America as \u2018Crime Paints a Picture!\u2019<\/em> before rejoining the war-effort in #88 as the Stellar Centurion solved \u2018The Enigma of the Vanishing House!\u2019<\/em> and smashed a Nazi spy-ring. In #89 old foes the Moroni Gang<\/em> broke out of jail and restarted their nefarious careers as Sun<\/em>, Moon<\/em> and Saturn<\/em>, but \u2018The Plundering Planets!\u2019<\/em> quickly fell foul of Starman and a couple of really annoying prankster kids…<\/p>\n Meskin & Roussos popped back in #90 to vividly envision the anonymous thriller\u00a0\u2018Land Beneath the Fog!\u2019<\/em>\u00a0wherein Starman saved a lady scientist accused of witchcraft in a lost medieval kingdom, whilst in the next issue Don Cameron, Meskin & Sam Citron jointly detailed \u2018The Rising Star of Johnny Teach!\u2019<\/em> as another young man emotionally crippled by a nonsensical faith in astrology found the courage to turn his life around… after a little prompting from Starman.<\/p>\n With Adventure<\/strong> #92 Joe Samachson took over the scripting and Gershwin returned to illuminate the series until its conclusion. The run began with \u2018The Three Comets!\u2019<\/em> – circus acrobats Starman was convinced doubled as flamboyant thieves. All he had to do was find out where they stashed the loot…<\/p>\n In #93\u2019s \u2018Gifts from the Stars!\u2019<\/em> the hero almost died after getting in between a squabbling scientist and a financial backer whose protracted arguments allowed robbers to blindside them both, #94\u2019s \u2018Stars Fall on Allie Bammer!\u2019<\/em> had gangster Blackie Kohl<\/em> use a meteor shower to gain entrance to an impregnable estate, and \u2018The Professor Plays Safe!\u2019<\/em> in #95 found a muddle headed astronomer at the wrong conference only to end up locked in a safe – until Starman stepped in. \u2018Prediction for Plunder!\u2019<\/em> saw Ted Knight and some superstitious crooks both ticked off at the unscrupulous editor of the Weekly Horoscope<\/em>. The socialite wanted no more scary predictions worrying his nervous friends, but the thugs were actually using those specious prognostications to plan their jobs…<\/p>\n Adventure<\/strong> #97 saw impoverished stargazer Jimmy Wells<\/em> agree to let wealthy Wesley<\/em> Vanderloot<\/em> take all the credit for his discoveries in return for direly needed cash, but his \u2018Stolen Glory!\u2019 <\/em>almost cost the scientist and Starman their lives when the millionaire faced humiliating exposure, after which #98 revealed a stellar conundrum giving the hero belated insight into a bizarre crime-wave where one gang was framing another for their jewel heists in \u2018Twin Stars of Crime!\u20190 <\/em>Fame was again the spur in \u2018My Fortune for a Star!\u2019<\/em> when a destitute astronomer discovered a new star and offered to sell the naming rights to the highest bidder. Naturally whenever cash is being thrown around thieves are never far away…<\/p>\n By Adventure Comics<\/strong> #100 Starman had dropped to the back of the book and the plots were beginning to feel a little formulaic. In \u2018Life and Death of a Star!\u2019<\/em> a friend of Ted\u2019s thought he\u2019d discovered a new star, but upon investigation Starman found the strange light was just a clever signal to convicts planning a jailbreak, whilst in #101 \u2018The Sun-Spot Scoundrel!\u2019<\/em> featured a savant who posited that mysterious solar blemishes caused increased criminal activity even as they neutralised the mighty Gravity Rod…<\/p>\n It was all over in #102, although the last tale was far from a damp squib. \u2018The Meteor Mob\u2019 <\/em>saw savvy mobster Shiver<\/em> using a cannon to create his own shooting stars… only these ones only ever fell on banks and jewellery stores…<\/p>\n Despite that unwarranted fizzling out, the Golden Age Starman<\/strong> is a strip that truly shines today. These simple straightforward adventures should be considered a high-point of the era – even if readers of the time didn\u2019t realise it – and his exploits are among the most neglected thrillers of those halcyon days. However modern tastes will find them far more in tune with contemporary mores, making these books unmissable delights for fans of mad science, stylish intrigue mystery, murder and crazy crime capers. Truly terrific treats but what a shame they\u2019re out of print and not available digitally (HINT! HINT!)<\/p>\n \u00a9 1941, 1942, 2000 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved. In 1872 Canadian Joseph<\/strong> (P\u00e8re Lad\u00e9bauche<\/em><\/strong>) Charlebois<\/strong> was born, as was Jean<\/strong> (Iznogoud<\/strong>) Tabary<\/strong> in 1930. One year later Phil\u00e9mon<\/em><\/strong> creator Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Othon Th\u00e9odore Aristid\u00e8s<\/strong> AKA \u201cFred<\/em><\/strong>\u201d arrived.<\/p>\n In 2007 we lost Yvan Delporte<\/strong> and in 2012 Munta\u00f1ola<\/strong> AKA Joaquim Munta\u00f1ola<\/em><\/strong> (Josechu el Vasco<\/em>, Angelina y Cristobalito<\/em>, Do\u00f1a Exagerancia<\/em>), with inker fine artist Dave Hunt<\/strong> dying in 2017 on the same today, and Underground commix legend Jay<\/strong> (Bijou Funnies<\/strong>) Lynch<\/strong>, as well as Dutch journeyman cartoonist\/illustrator Frans Meijer<\/strong> (Prikkel-idyllen<\/em>, Klappertjes<\/em>, Uzeltje<\/em><\/strong>) in 1962.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" These books include Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times. Golden Age Starman Archives volume 1 By Jack Burnley, Gardner Fox, Alfred Bester, Ray Burnley & various (DC Comics) ISBN: 978-1-56389-622-4 (HB) After the staggering, near-instant successes of Superman and Batman, National Comics\/DC launched many new mystery men in efforts to capitalise on the phenomenon … <\/p>\n
\nBy Jack Burnley<\/strong>, Gardner Fox<\/strong>, Alfred Bester<\/strong>, Ray Burnley<\/strong> & various (DC Comics)
\nISBN: 978-1-56389-622-4 (HB)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Golden-Age-Starman-vol-2-back-250x388.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Golden-Age-Starman-vol-2-frt.-preferred-250x393.jpg\")
\nGolden Age Starman Archives volume 2<\/strong>
\nBy Ray Burnley<\/strong>, Gardner Fox<\/strong>, Alfred Bester<\/strong>, Don Cameron<\/strong>, Joe Samachson<\/strong>, Ray Burnley<\/strong>, Mort Meskin<\/strong>, George Roussos<\/strong>, Emil Gershwin<\/strong>, Sam Citron<\/strong> & various (DC Comics)
\nISBN: 978-1-4012-2283-3 (HB)<\/p>\n
\n\u00a9 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 2009 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n