Groove's Faves: "Duel" by Jim Starlin

There's no way we can have a week of Groove's Faves without including some Jim Starlin. For almost 40 years Ol' Groove has remained awestruck by his awesome artistry and ka-razee kosmik trippiness. (And oh, yeah, by the way, BREED III rocks! You are still the man, Jim!)  We've visited his Darklon the Mystic before, digging on the gut-wrenching, in-your-face, deeper than the ocean mix of sci-fi, fantasy, and semi-autobiographical comix here and here. Now it's time for Starlin's grand finale, the shocking end of Darklon from Eerie #100 (cover-dated March 1979). It's Judo Jim undergoing public therapy, dealing with his father-issues in a way only he can. Besides all of the expected Starlinesque flourishes like the cosmic setting, the face-to-face close-up/longshot, philosophical debate (complete with finger-pointing), a psychedelic battle, robed death, and the total destruction of an entire world, we also get lush wash/graytones, three-dimensional cross-hatching, Alex Nino-influenced inks, and even ties to his Warlock series (Barry Bauman, aka the Star-Thief and his "home", Wildwood Hospital in New England on the planet Tellus). Not to mention the ending. Oh, that ending!

Black and White Wednesday: The Origin of Jim Starlin's Darklon

What's happening, Groove-ophiles! It's been way too long since we got down with Jim Starlin's Darklon the Mystic, so Ol' Groove's gonna lay the Mystic One's origin on ya today! I mentioned in my last Darklon post that creator/writer/artist Jim Starlin was going through some heavy stuff during his post-Warlock days, and Darklon seemed to be a way for the most cosmic writer-artist of all to work through it. Many adjectives could be used to describe this trippy two-parter from Warren's Eerie #'s 79-80 (cover-dated November 1976-January 1977)--sinister, sadistic, and stunning being a choice few. WARNING! This is Starlin at his most savage--neither "The Price!" nor "Retribution" is recommended for the faint of heart!



Starlin dug this gruesome sacrifice-to-power origin so much that he'd use a similar bloody path for Vanth Dreadstar's pal Syzygy Darklok in his 1981 graphic novel titled, not surprisingly, The Price.

Black and White Wednesday: Jim Starlin's Darklon the Mystic

Somewhere between Adam Warlock and Vanth Dreadstar, there stood Darklon the Mystic. After finishing his way-out Warlock epic at Marvel, Jim Starlin produced several strips starring the cosmic sorcerer for the pages of Warren's Eerie magazine, beginning with issue #76 (cover-dated August, 1976). Darklon by Starlin appeared in only five issues of Eerie (not counting a reprint in #137): #'s 76, 79, 80, 84, and 100, but made enough of an impression that they were collected and reprinted (in color) by Pacific Comics in 1983, probably due in part to many of the themes and situations being revamped and reused in Starlin's early 80s works for Epic Comics, Metamorphosis Odyssey and Dreadstar.

Darklon was Starlin at his wildest. The stories were like fever dreams (inspired by the trials and tribulations Starlin was suffering through at the time, including his father dealing with cancer) filled with self-loathing and despair. The art was fabulous, with Starlin obviously inspired by the style of Filipino artist supreme Alex Nino (a Warren mainstay). This is especially evident in the layouts and inking style. Savage, graphic, brooding, and as always with Starlin, quite thought provoking stuff.