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Star Brand (1986) #1-7
Star Brand Classic Vol. 1
There is one weapon in the galaxy more powerful than all others. Nothing is more coveted or feared, loved or hated. To dare possess it makes you a fool or madman...or, just possibly, the right man! Now a mysterious encounter with an old stranger is about to leave Ken Connell as the latest to wield the power of the Star Brand! With this incredible tattoo comes staggering abilities: flight, strength, near-invulnerability and the explosive force of an atom bomb. COLLECTING: STAR BRAND 1-7
- GenresComicsGraphic Novels
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 3, 2006
About the author
Jim Shooter
1,033 books85 followersJames Charles Shooter was an American writer, editor and publisher in the comics industry. Beginning his career writing for DC Comics at the age of 14, he had a successful but controversial run as editor-in-chief at Marvel Comics, and launched comics publishers Valiant, Defiant, and Broadway.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 21, 2018
to the tune of Madonna’s “Lucky Star”:
He must have a Lucky Star!
‘Cause his brand shines red like an abattoir
He just thinks of chicks and he starts to glow
The world needs his light
But he just lays low…
[Chorus:]
Starlight, starbright – he can’t see your plight!
Starlight, [starbright] – can’t make his own life right!
Starlight, starbright – he won’t see your plight!
He must be a Lucky Star
‘Cause there’s nothing from which he can’t fly far
Want to slap skins – just come on by
In a normal world he’s a normal guy
[Chorus]
Don’t ask any favors, he’ll just take flight
‘Cause you know no one can make everything all right
He may be a Lucky Star
But you’re the luckier by far
He must have a Lucky Star!
‘Cause his brand shines red like an abattoir
He just thinks of chicks and he starts to glow
The world needs his light
But he just lays low…
[Chorus:]
Starlight, starbright – he can’t see your plight!
Starlight, [starbright] – can’t make his own life right!
Starlight, starbright – he won’t see your plight!
He must be a Lucky Star
‘Cause there’s nothing from which he can’t fly far
Want to slap skins – just come on by
In a normal world he’s a normal guy
[Chorus]
Don’t ask any favors, he’ll just take flight
‘Cause you know no one can make everything all right
He may be a Lucky Star
But you’re the luckier by far
May 17, 2013
What would you do with the power of a god/if you woke up and had super powers?
This is a fairly common question in modern fiction. TV shows, movies, comic books, games, we've all heard it a few times by now. The first place I heard the question was in 1986's Star Brand #1, the flagship comic of Marvel's New Universe.
In the New Universe, one day, there is something called The White Event, wherein the entire planet is bathed in white light. This spurred the development of super powers in a significant percentage of the population, but, funny enough, not in the main character of Star Brand. Instead, Ken Connell received a mark of power. Yes, the Star Brand, an immensely powerful mark.
Star Brand is the story of what happens when you give tremendous power to a pretty average, slightly weak-willed guy who doesn't want it and doesn't know what the hell to do with it.
SPOILER ALERT:
Some bad things happen.
Overall, the Star Brand series is an interesting read. You really get a sense of why most of us probably shouldn't get powers. Especially world-shaping ones.
This is a fairly common question in modern fiction. TV shows, movies, comic books, games, we've all heard it a few times by now. The first place I heard the question was in 1986's Star Brand #1, the flagship comic of Marvel's New Universe.
In the New Universe, one day, there is something called The White Event, wherein the entire planet is bathed in white light. This spurred the development of super powers in a significant percentage of the population, but, funny enough, not in the main character of Star Brand. Instead, Ken Connell received a mark of power. Yes, the Star Brand, an immensely powerful mark.
Star Brand is the story of what happens when you give tremendous power to a pretty average, slightly weak-willed guy who doesn't want it and doesn't know what the hell to do with it.
SPOILER ALERT:
Some bad things happen.
Overall, the Star Brand series is an interesting read. You really get a sense of why most of us probably shouldn't get powers. Especially world-shaping ones.
August 7, 2009
Interesting series. The New Universe imprint/line of titles from Marvel in the late 1980's was ahead of its time. Or at least it was trying to do a lot of what I saw being done by Wildstorm in the late 1990's.
This is the story of Ken Connell, a native of Pittsburgh who is a smart guy floating through life with no real plan or ambition. Then one day he is given a gift of great power, and we get to watch how it effects his life.
Ken is a very flawed character. He constantly allows others to dictate his path through life, rarely ever making his own life decissions. This is true in his love life as well as his super life.
The art it fantastic in this series, since its 90% John Romita Jr. The writing suffers from some of the traditional clunky aspects of mainstream 1980's comics. That being said, for the time, it was great stuff.
All in all its a fun start to a series about a more realistic "superman-esque" superhuman, complete with flaws. And he fights terrorists, Libyans, other supers, and 2 different aliens. Check it out if you want to see the first ripples of the mainstream comic industry trying something different.
This is the story of Ken Connell, a native of Pittsburgh who is a smart guy floating through life with no real plan or ambition. Then one day he is given a gift of great power, and we get to watch how it effects his life.
Ken is a very flawed character. He constantly allows others to dictate his path through life, rarely ever making his own life decissions. This is true in his love life as well as his super life.
The art it fantastic in this series, since its 90% John Romita Jr. The writing suffers from some of the traditional clunky aspects of mainstream 1980's comics. That being said, for the time, it was great stuff.
All in all its a fun start to a series about a more realistic "superman-esque" superhuman, complete with flaws. And he fights terrorists, Libyans, other supers, and 2 different aliens. Check it out if you want to see the first ripples of the mainstream comic industry trying something different.
April 19, 2018
I can see why this book has been featured in history books on Marvel. While at times Shooter’s writing is extremely confusing, and the main character is a little sleazy, it does depict a story of a person gaining superpowers that feels realistic. He even gets lost while flying around! Though not the best comic I. The world, it was thoroughly enjoyable, and had a good impact on the superhero genre.
This is also the first time I have ever come close to liking any of Romita, Jr.’s artwork.
This is also the first time I have ever come close to liking any of Romita, Jr.’s artwork.
May 19, 2020
A long time ago, in a universe not all that different from our own there was a bright white flash in the sky and a whole bunch of people were never quite the same again.
That’s basically how the whole thing started in Marvel’s (failed?) experiment at a second attempt at world building. The White Event. The New Universe. Unfortunately, it didn’t exactly capture the imaginations of comic book readers.
Star Brand was one of the titles I stuck with the longest from this experiment, but even it couldn’t keep me reading for the entire run.
That’s basically how the whole thing started in Marvel’s (failed?) experiment at a second attempt at world building. The White Event. The New Universe. Unfortunately, it didn’t exactly capture the imaginations of comic book readers.
Star Brand was one of the titles I stuck with the longest from this experiment, but even it couldn’t keep me reading for the entire run.
July 21, 2012
This was a great series, right up to the final issues. A regular guy gets a shitload of power...but how do you use it?
July 16, 2021
Better than I remembered. The low-boil low-action quota is quite surprising and Romita's art is a treat.
March 7, 2021
Star Brand was a comic well ahead of its time, and yet in 2021 it does feel very dated. Reading it today you can’t help but admire how Jim Shooter really thought outside the box with this series: the hero Ken Connell doesn’t wear a mask or a uniform. He doesn’t quit his job to focus on saving the world...in fact, he sometimes is forced to ignore a crisis because he can’t get away from his job. He doesn’t even use his superpowers half the time, in one memorable instance he simply called the police and sat back and waited for them to arrest the bad guys.
And even more radical, Ken Connell isn’t even a hero at heart. He is a 20-something year old underachiever who has a bad habit of treating the women in his life terribly. You can’t help but think this guy is just a straight up dirtbag and yet somehow he is gifted with a superpower that renders him one of the most powerful people in the universe. But with great power comes great responsibility and Ken clearly starts to grow as a character as he spends much of the series trying to figure out how to help the world, and how to be a better boyfriend as well. It’s a novel approach to the super hero story, although his trip to Libya to send a personally message to Qaddafi, his assisting Afghan mujahideen against Soviet bombers, and his battle against “Moslem terrorist” aboard a hijacked cruise ship certainly feel very much a product of the 1980s.
Nonetheless this was a fun book, and one I would be very curious to see if the MCU tries to incorporate into a film or rejuvenate in some way.
And even more radical, Ken Connell isn’t even a hero at heart. He is a 20-something year old underachiever who has a bad habit of treating the women in his life terribly. You can’t help but think this guy is just a straight up dirtbag and yet somehow he is gifted with a superpower that renders him one of the most powerful people in the universe. But with great power comes great responsibility and Ken clearly starts to grow as a character as he spends much of the series trying to figure out how to help the world, and how to be a better boyfriend as well. It’s a novel approach to the super hero story, although his trip to Libya to send a personally message to Qaddafi, his assisting Afghan mujahideen against Soviet bombers, and his battle against “Moslem terrorist” aboard a hijacked cruise ship certainly feel very much a product of the 1980s.
Nonetheless this was a fun book, and one I would be very curious to see if the MCU tries to incorporate into a film or rejuvenate in some way.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 20, 2019
I thought I must have written this already.
As far as I know, this comic had the worst supporting cast in the history of comics. There's Star Brand's "friend," who is a Jewish psychologist obsessed with collecting things and also money. There's Star Brand's main girlfriend who is a single-mother and a teacher and also has time to make this pretty good looking and slightly charming auto mechanic the center of life. There's Star Brand's manic pixie girl also girlfriend. She's appealing, but has virtually no interests other than Star Brand.
They're all ridiculous.
It's almost more of a power fantasy than the superpowers.
It seemed like it wasn't sure what the Star Brand plot was going to do. And the whole thing is weird. The whole New Universe thing. This isn't anything like our world because someone is blowing up Libyans and Russians for no real reason. Also, a giant robot.
As far as I know, this comic had the worst supporting cast in the history of comics. There's Star Brand's "friend," who is a Jewish psychologist obsessed with collecting things and also money. There's Star Brand's main girlfriend who is a single-mother and a teacher and also has time to make this pretty good looking and slightly charming auto mechanic the center of life. There's Star Brand's manic pixie girl also girlfriend. She's appealing, but has virtually no interests other than Star Brand.
They're all ridiculous.
It's almost more of a power fantasy than the superpowers.
It seemed like it wasn't sure what the Star Brand plot was going to do. And the whole thing is weird. The whole New Universe thing. This isn't anything like our world because someone is blowing up Libyans and Russians for no real reason. Also, a giant robot.
April 17, 2025
The New Universe was an interesting idea, that never quite worked.
The idea of a guy being given super powers and then not being sure how to use them, while juggling a very low key, not typical super hero life had potential, but even Shooter never seemed 100 % sure what to do.
This idea was a mini-series, that marvel tried to stretch into an ongoing and make the main tent pole of a universe.
The idea of a guy being given super powers and then not being sure how to use them, while juggling a very low key, not typical super hero life had potential, but even Shooter never seemed 100 % sure what to do.
This idea was a mini-series, that marvel tried to stretch into an ongoing and make the main tent pole of a universe.
September 3, 2016
La ristampa dei primi dieci numeri più l'annual della serie ammiraglia del New Universe voluto da Jim Shooter è un poco una summa di ciò che fu l'intero New Universe. Ossia un mondo interessante, ma molto altalenante per la qualità delle storie e dei disegni. Quelli di John Romita jr. sono ottimi, ma quando già dopo pochi numeri trovi inseriti dei fill-in, capisci che qualcosa non funzionava fin dall'inizio di questo progetto.
Detto ciò, l'idea di base non è male, ma poi cercare di costruire delle storie con un super essere in un mondo in cui questi non ci sono ancora presenta effettivamente delle difficoltà che Jim Shooter, forse perché oberato da altri impegni, non è riuscito ad affrontare appieno come invece fece in tante altre occasioni (Avengers, Solar Man of the Atom). Alla fine restano delle buone cose, ma nel complesso ho l'impressione di una grande storia solo abbozzata.
Detto ciò, l'idea di base non è male, ma poi cercare di costruire delle storie con un super essere in un mondo in cui questi non ci sono ancora presenta effettivamente delle difficoltà che Jim Shooter, forse perché oberato da altri impegni, non è riuscito ad affrontare appieno come invece fece in tante altre occasioni (Avengers, Solar Man of the Atom). Alla fine restano delle buone cose, ma nel complesso ho l'impressione di una grande storia solo abbozzata.
October 18, 2020
I think my husband did CPR on me and revived me, because I’m pretty sure I died from boredom reading this book. Star Brand? More like Star Bland!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews