Written by Chris Roberson
Illustrated by Khary RandolphSTAN’S BACK AS THE PUBLISHING EVENT OF THE YEAR CONTINUES! The most colossal creative force in the history of comics, Stan Lee, teams up with BOOM! Studios to deliver a brand new line of superhero comics, marking Stan’s explosive return to the direct market! Stan joins with critically-acclaimed writer Chris Roberson (iZOMBIE, CINDERELLA: FROM FABLETOWN WITH LOVE) and fan-favorite artist Khary Randolph (SPIDER-MAN) to present Stan Lee’s third, epic new ongoing series, STARBORN! Benjamin Warner is a failed fantasy novelist, always dreaming of far off worlds and exciting adventures. But when a familiar face reenters his life, and devastating trouble follows, Benjamin learns his rejected stories weren’t fiction but memories of his home planet! Benjamin’s forgotten past comes crashing down around him as he finds himself at the center of a galactic war and is forced to face the truth that he is… not of this world!
Two of Multiversity’s best and brightest (The Ineffable David Harper and Myself) chatted it up on the debut of Boom! Studio’s third and final Stan Lee envisioned property for this week’s battle review! Peek behind the cut to find out what we thought!
David Harper: Alright Josh, tomorrow marks the arrival of the last Stan Lee creation for Boom! Studios – Starborn. This one comes from iZombie’s Chris Roberson and relative unknown Khary Randolph. How does it rank amongst the Stan Lee books?
Joshua Mocle: Honest to God I might like it more than the first two combined.
DH: Wow. Really? I’m not going to lie, I didn’t read Traveller.
JM: I did, and I enjoyed it, but Starborn takes ALL the cake in this instance.
DH: I’m not sure why I acted surprised, because I agree entirely. It was definitely the best of the three. It was a damn good book from the concept to the execution. What made it so great in your mind?
JM: Honestly, it had the most heart of the three books (which isn’t to say Soldier Zero and The Traveler are heartless) and really appealed to me as young, imaginative person as opposed to just a fan/connoisseur of comics. Ben was also established as a more relatable character before starting his adventure than the other two were.
DH: Agreed. I think that was my favorite part of the issue was the fact that they take this character and they spend the entire issue developing him in a way that organically ties to the overall plot (through some weirdness of course) but also makes him seem like a real guy. I mean, I could see any genre fiction/comic obsessed young kid going through the same stuff. Minus the alien fighting and what not, of course.
JM: For sure. The adventure also seems to be developing organically. As in, I expect as we move along I suspect we’ll see a direct line between all of the events we see. For all intents and purposes, this was his ultimate destiny as opposed to a situation he was thrust into, which I find more appealing.
DH: Yeah, I loved that. I love the concept too, and I’m curious as to see as to what his familial relation to this Kirk Allen is and/or his tie to the Human Civilization (or whatever it was called).It’s an excellent idea that Roberson takes and runs with. I love that everything we’ve seen so far seems to be open to interpretation. Who knows if his childhood sweetheart/Crimson Guard member is really good? Maybe all of the glowy eye guys are good. Maybe all of his ideas are misconceptions?! It will be really fun finding out.
JM: I can’t wait. I really can’t.
DH: What’d you think of Khary Randolph’s art?
JM: I’m a fan. I’ve always liked the concept of combining western and eastern styles of drawing and I find the manga influence is used very well to give these characters their own unique look and feel.
DH: I think he does a particularly good job with that blend too, as he seems to capture the positives of the Eastern style without upsetting the sensitive Western comic fans with the stereotypical Eastern affectations. No crazy huge eyes, no blurred backgrounds, no stereotypes = happy comic fans. To me, it seems like they almost went through each release and chipped away the problems the previous book had until they had this, which is the most finely tuned and most accessible one they’ve launched yet.
Continued belowJM: It’s also Chris Roberson’s strongest start, I think HE seems to be getting better with each book he works on. Which speaks wonders about his Superman run that starts soon.
DH: Yeah, I think he’ll be an upgraded on that book big time. Roberson is someone who seems to be getting better with each passing issue, and he had a nice start. Do you think it’s surprising that Roberson brings the best effort over writers like Mark Waid and Paul Cornell?
JM: Well, I don’t think he necessarily brought a better effort, I think I just relate to this particular story a little more. It’s also possible he jived with the source material from Stan a little more.
DH: That’s true. What would you give it, overall?
JM: A strong 9.5 definitely. And a guaranteed save slot on my pull list (something the other two do not have…yet)
DH: Nice. I think I’ll go with an 8.8. It was a really nice effort, but I’m not ready to call it outstanding. It’s a good start and I’m excited to see where it goes.
