Random Reads: "Tears for the World Called Heaven" by Moench and Sutton

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! Peter Jason Quill, aka Star-Lord was one of the most far-out characters to come out of the Groovy Age. Ol' Groove has always been a sucker for sci-fi superheroes and Star-Lord was one of the best. His powers (that element-firing pistol is so cool!) and his space-ship/companion "Ship" (another of the coolest characters of the Groovy Age--gonna have to devote a post to her--er--it one'a these days) made him quite unique. I also dug the way he wasn't part of the Marvel Universe proper, allowing him to explore the universe without bumping into Kree or Skrull or any of the other alien races we were familiar with. But my most favorite thing is how writers Chris Claremont and Doug Moench came close (as close as mainstream, super-hero oriented comics would allow, that is) to giving us actual "hard sci-fi" tales with Star-Lord's adventures. Our focus for today, "Tears for the World Called Heaven" (from Marvel Spotlight Vol. 2, No. 7, April 1980) is such a story. Written by Moench with expressive, otherworldly art by the great Tom Sutton, "Tears for the World Called Heaven" laid some pretty heavy ideas, such as integrity, consequences, and sacrifice, on those of us who were more used to a lot of punching, kicking, and blasting. Once more, Doug Moench demonstrates how comics can be adult in the most positive sense of the word.

(Thanks to max_renn for the sensational scans!)