Like anything, the 90s can't exactly be broken down into "this happened over 10 years" A lot of what occurred began in the late 80s (catering more and more to speculators, crossovers, over-hyped projects, business acquisitions, etc...) and much of what occurred at the end spilled over into the early 00s. It's the same as when people would slag off 80s music as nothing but one-hit wonders, ignoring the multiple hit artists and that a lot of the foundation was laid at the end of the 70s and that things like grunge and indie rock were happening in the later 80s, spilling over into the 90s. Same here.

The beginning of the 90s sees a lot of crossovers, in the wake of the success of Crisis and Secret Wars. They milk that until the cow runs dry, then they beat the cow into the ground. More independents arose at the start; but, a lot of those that came in the 80s had their financial woes catch up to them. Most of the 80s indies were gone within the first few years of the 90s; certainly by the mid-90s. New companies started up, but turnover seemed to go much faster. The 80s indies seemed to go more for the alternative (though to varying degrees), while more 90s indies seem to want to ape DC and Marvel, with exceptions here and there. What really changed the dynamic was the Distribution Wars. The fallout of the speculator boom was bad enough; but, when Marvel went with Heroes World and forced stores to open new accounts, it killed a lot of cash flow. DC made it worse by going with Diamond. If your shop had been ordering from Capital City, it suddenly needed 3 accounts to feed demand, if it didn't outright dump CC. Capital had been far more friendly to the indies and self-publishers and many of them suffered greatly.

From a content standpoint, it was probably no worse than any other decade, particularly if you factor in things like the expansion of manga translations. A lot depends on your age in the 90s and your tastes. Part of the reason my interest in superheroes waned in the 90s was a feeling of "been there, read that," that occurred more and more. Neither company was breaking much new ground. DC shaped up better, for me, because of Vertigo offering alternatives to superheroes. Marvel pretty much stuck with spandex bread and butter. Dark Horse and Malibu (plus others) tried jumping on the bandwagon, with mostly derivative stuff, following Image, with derivative being extremely kind, in their case (outright rip-off being far truer, for many titles and characters). I found my tastes in those areas drawn by more original takes on that kind of thing or just more in tune with the archetypes that had stood since the Golden Age. Astro City had derivative characters; but, it treated them differently. The stories weren't so much about battles with villains or epic calamities; they were more about individuals who happened to be heroes, villains, or just bystanders. Alan Moore went back to the source, both in Supreme and in his own ABC books (carrying over into the 00s). he gave us a hero who is part Tarzan/part Doc Savage, a team of Victorian adventurers, a mythic heroine, and a group of cops in tights (plus the quirky pastiches in Tomorrow Stories). Hellboy mixed Kirby monster fighting with Lovecraftian horror and some good old pulp/superhero adventure. Monkeyman and O'brien had a nice mix of Silver Age sci-fi adventure and humor, while Grendel Tales took the Fantomas-style villainous horror and mixed in samurai stories, parables of the violence in Yugoslavia, family, and the continued look at the destructive force of aggression. Self-publishers grew in numbers by the 90s; but, the economics shut many down, or forced them into other alternatives.

So, not a horrible decade; but, the business was changed in a very negative way, which colors a lot. A lot of the progress of the 80s was stifled, for much of the 90s, before things settled down and new avenues opened up. Those alternate avenues proved to be more beneficial to those people; but not necessarily to the traditional comics market.

Starman #1



Our story opens with a shadowy, shadowy gentleman writing in his journal, summarizing what has happened.



The City's champion is dead, crime is running wild, as we see violent bank robberies, including those run by Kyle, the Mist's son, murder of Starman. The shadowy, shadowy gentleman speaks of his own crime, but this is his home, his city. He seems to come to a decision and goes out to take the night air.



Jack Knight is alive and he stumbles into the hospital. After being patched up and answering some questions, he sees his father. Ted Knight, the original Starman is alive, but angry and bitter. he chastises Jack and takes out his anger and grief on his surviving son, the one that sneered at his legacy. He tells Jack to leave. Jack then meets the O'Dares, Irish cops who have been in Opal City since the police force began. They owe a debt to Ted Knight. They are there to watch out for him. Jack runs into Hope O'Dare, who explains the family connection, as their father's life was saved by Ted Knight and he and his children swore to be there if Ted needed them. Hope basically hits Jack with some hard truths, while trying to reassure him that his father didn't mean the harsh things he said. However, Jack is a real pain in the tuchus and maybe some of what Ted said is the truth, making Jack look inside.



The Mist's men are terrorizing the city, small robberies distracting from bigger ones. The body count sounds like Vietnam. ted Knight receives a call from the Mist, gloating. he says he has taken Ted's two sons, his home , his laboratory and his science. he will take everything before it is done and Ted will be happy to die, as he will have nothing left. He threatens to take his wife's memory. Jack asks what they should do. Ted says it is an empty boast; his wife dead and cremated, ashes spread. There is nothing for the Mist to take. he tells Jack to get out of the city, that he can't bear to lose another son, that the Mist thinks he is dead and won't be looking for him. Jack goes, but here's that criminals are looting the Adelle Knight wing of the Opal City Museum. Jack's mother's memory; he gift to the city. Jack knows he should leave, he is not a hero; just a junk dealer. He's self-centered and abrasive. he isn't the type to put on colorful tights and dance with bad men. He should go.



He stays and takes the fight to the Mist's men. People notice and their spirits are raised. The shadowy, shadowy gentleman is there. He knows it isn't David, it is Jack, the younger one. Jack fights desperately, keeping on the move, using his martial arts training and the gravity rod his father had left at his place. Kyle comes on the scene and blasts at Jack and he takes to the skies, appears to be hit and plunges into the river.



Back inside the museum, the shadowy, shadowy gentleman introduces himself to some of the Mist's men. Normally, he would help himself to trinkets; but, he is angered that his peace has been disturbed, that these men are desecrating art. He is torn, until one of the men makes up his mind, by trying to kill him. The shadowy, shadowy man unleashes a shadow creature; but it is no mere illusion. It devours one of the men and the other is on the floor terrified. The gentleman, The Shade tells him he makes terror manifest and the man is lucky he reacted as he did or he, too, would be devoured. he wonders about the apparently dead Jack, if he could have been the champion the city has needed since the death of the Native American lawman. He wonders, as he leaves.

We see Jack emerge from the river.He has lost the gravity rod. he thinks his father was right; he is no hero. he should leave. he starts to; but, he turns back and sees the city ablaze and he decides to go back.

Robinson introduces to more of our cast. We meet the O'Dares, including Matt (who is not named, at this point, and Hope. They are tough cops, loyal to Ted Knight and Opal. They will be back-up for Starman. Hope especially makes a splash, as she takes Jack down a few pegs, but offers him kindness, to know that his father is grieving and lashing out in anger, that he will regret the angry things he said to Jack. However, the big introduction is the Shade.

The Shade is an old Jay Garrick Flash enemy, who used a cane to cast shadow fields, while committing crimes. In the 1940s, he looked like this...



Robinson and Harris give him a make-over. Now, he looks more like this...



He looks like a Victorian (or Edwardian) gentleman, the kind who would have been at home in Whitechappel. There is a menacing air about him, though one of refinement, as he writes with a quill pen in his journal, in his library, sipping absinthe. This is not a gimmick villain; this is someone more sinister. When we learn it is the Shade, we are stunned (those of us who knew him). This was a gimmick criminal who plagued both Jay Garrick and Barry Allen; he was part of the Injustice Society, alongside the likes of The Fiddler, Per Degaton and Brainwave. But, he is siding with the heroes. What's up?

Jack is barely surviving. he was nearly killed once. His father seems to hate him, he wallows in self pity, he ticks off everyone he encounters. Hope knocks him down a bit and it stings, as he recognizes the truth in it. He looks to his father for guidance, but his father wants him gone. Jack looks to leave; but, he stays, despite his best judgement. The Mist's men are attacking his mother's legacy and we sense that he is POd. In future issues, we will see why that resonates so much more. Even so, the Mist has attacked his family. Jack has been shocked into growing up. He fights and he fights hard, and he does well, for someone with no training or inclination. Then, Kyle shows up and gets the better of him, again. Still, jack survives. Kyle can't seem to get the job done. Jack heeds his father's advice and starts heading out, then turns back to see the city in flames. He comes back.

One of the things I truly loved about this series is Jack's journey from self-centered a-hole into true hero. Jack ran from the family legacy for most of his life; but, we will learn there is more to it. We will learn that there are great depths to Jack, that he is more than an obnoxious collectibles dealer. he is a fighter, he is a hero. He girds himself in nostalgia and cynicism; but, there is a joy to all of this, as he is coming to life. here, at the beginning, it is survival. Soon, it will be much more.

The other element is The Shade. Robinson turned a one-dimensional gimmick villain into one of the most complex supporting characters in comics. This is a man who does heroic deeds, but delights in matching wits with a speedster. He loves art and fine living, and the thrill of a caper. However, not in Opal City. This is home and he loves it. We will learnmore of the Native American lawman and the Shade's history with him, and the rest of Opal. In fact, his history will stretch back farther than Jay Garrick and Ted Knight.

This is a book with a lot going on. Robinson gets right what Knightfall didn't: the chaos orchestrated by a mastermind, that is tearing a city apart. This is a morality play, a wrestling match, and the heels have the babyface reeling, bouncing off the ropes and the canvas. However, the face is getting a few licks in, working towards staging his comeback. Robinson makes us feel like he will stage a comeback and we want to see it. The Shade is a wildcard; will he help the babyface or the heels?

I know I'm a minority, but I hate this version of the Shade. I think Robinson's showing off his attempt to do a melodramatic gothic morally ambiguous character, and it always strikes me as being forced. Moreover, the Shade is a murderer (so far as the JSA is concerned), and I never once believed the Ted and Jay would just be willing to get over that and work with him.

It also irks me that the two big bads outside of the Mist are both Flash villains. It makes me feel like Robinson was too lazy to actually research the characters Ted fought in his own career.

The Shade was up for grabs, as he hadn't been used, much, in some time.  Much of his history was altered; so, Ted's acceptance is not so unbelievable.  As we will see, Robinson was one of the few writers to really get into the heads of even minor villains, as he did with Copperhead, later on.  Quite frankly, that ambiguity and more complex layering of personality appealed more to me than the previous Shade, and he really does a number with Ragdoll, though he kind of abandoned where he seemed to be heading with him, by the time Grand Guignol came around.  The Shade had been in the Injustice Society, so he wasn't exclusively a Flash villain.  Thing is, Robinson establishes that the Shade didn't operate in Opal City and Starman wasn't that active a member of the JSA (about 16 issues).  Even so, he is wary of the Shade, at first.

I understand your point and have similar feelings about certain other characters; but, Robinson, for me, made the character so much more interesting and is probably the reason the character was used in Jthe Justice League cartoon, when they introduced the Injustice Gang.

Starman #2



Jack Knight is in his apartment, grabbing some clothes to protect himself, trying to tell himself he is only continuing the fight temporarily. he's no hero, he tells himself. He picks out a black leather jacket with an astrological emblem on the back, with a large central star. He figures the thick leather will provide protection and help keep him warm in the night skies. He's not sure the astrological emblem will please his father. For a man intent on not being Starman, Jack certainly seems concerned about what his father will think. He soon finds something that will please his father: a vintage Crackerjack prize sheriff's badge. It's a star in a circle and he knows Ted will like that. O, maybe, Jack likes the idea of being a lawman, of a sort. Jack ads some WW2 anti-flare goggles, which helps cut down on the affect of the light from the Cosmic Rod, should he get his hands on another one. It's just temporary, though.

We see the Mist meet with the Shade. The Mist seems.....odd. He speaks of old times, times in which the Shade did not partner with him. His memory seems blurred. We cut back to Jack, who has been seen moving inside his apartment, by the Mist's men. They are waiting for him on the roof. Jack thought they'd watch from the street and he'd sneak away on the roof. Dumb, dumb; Ted wouldn't make that mistake, even David wouldn't, Jack says to himself. Jack fights hard, uses martial arts training from his youth, never thinking he'd ever use it in the future, to be a hero.

During the fighting, Jack gets a whiff of seas salt, limes, and caraway seeds. We see the Mist's men on the roof, waiting for Jack, when they are struck down by a shadowy figure, with a heavy sword. Curious. We will learn more about this mysterious figure, later.

Jack fights his way through; but, runs into Nash, the Mist's daughter. She has a pronounced stammer, as she has Jack at point blank range,a Glock 17 pointed at him. She speaks of fathers and hate, war an opera, saying they are footsoldiers, they do the killing and dying. Jack surprises her and asks why she, Nash, is doing this and Nash doesn't have an answer. She lifts her gun and tells Jack to go. Jack takes the gift and runs on and soon finds himself at a fortune teller's shop.



He goes inside and meets Charity. She tells fortunes and forbidden tales. They speak of the South and Robinson proceeds to insult much of it, while giving shout-outs to Faulkner and Salinger. Okay, so they were all rubes who chased their cousins (Robinson's words), according to Charity, yet they produced some fine literature. Uh-huh. No stereotypes there....

Anyhoo, before Jack leaves, Charity tells him that he will be Starman, into the future and will wield the Cosmic Rod well. He will go into space, a winged man will come to Opal, Jack will have a night at the circus, though some things aren't quite clear. Jack leaves and meets up with Ted, at the hospital. he tells him what happened and his father asked why he came back. Jack says the museum wing was his mother's gift to the city; he had to at least try, though he failed to stop the damage. ted says he tried and that is what's important. Jack says he isn't going to be Starman; but, he will continue the fight and asks where another Cosmic Rod might be. Ted chuckles at the question, since it seems odd for someone who isn't going to be Starman. He says they are all gone, then remembers a prototype, in a storage warehouse and gives Jack the address. He speaks of using and damaging a twin of it, in Washington, in 1950. Jack goes off and finds a treasure trove in the warehouse. All kinds of old thing: robots, harlequin heads, biplanes, and the Cosmic Rod.



Meanwhile, the Mist and the Shade make a deal; a percentage of the booty, as long as he helps spread fear and terror. We then see Ted in the hospital, asleep, thinking of Jack. We find out that he knew his son would be a hero at birth, as his mother held him and said he would be an artist. Ted saw his destiny and gave him a hero's name: Jack. We learn this was why he was so mad at Jack; David wasn't a hero and he was doing it because Jack wasn't. Ted's slumber is interrupted by the Shade, who disables the O'Dares, but leaves them alive. He whisks Ted away. Jack later receives a call from the Mist, telling him he has Ted. Jack makes a bargain, but warns that if Ted is hurt or killed that he will kill the Mist. The Mist sets up for a meeting between Kyle and Jack, as the story ends.

Terrific chapter, as Robinson puts more pieces on the table. We get our first hint of a mysterious figure moving about Opal City. It protects Jack and he gets a whiff of the sea and limes. Whoever this person is, he has something to do with the sea, and citrus fruit. We meet Charity, who will come back on many occasions. The character, herself, was the host of DC's Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion, a romance/horror anthology of the early 70s. It started as a romance title, then switched to "mystery" (Code-approved horror, since the word "horror" could not be used in comic titles). The book was a minor series; but, Robinson mines it for yet aother interesting figure. She gives Jack and us glances at his future. Jack will go into space ("To the Stars"), a winged man will come to Opal (though that changed to a different one than intended) and Jack will soon have his night at the circus, which will introduce another key figure, with a connection to 1970s DC.

Robinson speaks of Ted and Washington, 1950 (the first week) and a staff-version of the Cosmic Rod. He is referring to his and Paul Smith's mini-series, The Golden Age, where we see the post-war JSA, as well as other golden age heroes, as Dan the Dyna-Mite is transformed into Dyna-Man, the hero for the Atomic Age, as part of a campaign, orchestrated by Tex Thompson, the Americommando (and former Mr. America). Ted is in a mental institution atthe beginning of the story, after a nervous breakdown. he is plagued by guilt for his involvement in the Manhattan Project and that the cosmic radiation he drew to Earth to harness (leading to the Cosmic Rod), in his words, led to people, good and evil, gaining superpowers, from methods that should not have worked but did. At the climax of the story, Ted returns to the fight and his Cosmic Rod turns the tide, though it is destroyed in the battle. Jack now has a twin of it, which makes for a rather phallic weapon (as Robinson comments, with an "Actress and Bishop" joke.

The Shade seems to align with the Mist, though we see a reluctance there. His meeting with the Mist is puzzling, as the Mist seems less threatening. In fact, he appears to be senile. The Mist's daughter, Nash, lets Jack go, when he confronts her with the question of why she is taking part in this, personally. he touches something inside her. Robinson isn't done with that, yet, though.

So, the fight moves to the climax. We see more of Jack moving into the role of hero, despite what he tells himself. He choses his armor wisely, thinking he is being cool; but, there is a method to his sartorial choices. he thinks he left martial arts behind, yet he wields those skills well. Ted knows what Jack won't admit; he was born to be a hero. He was born to be Starman.

Robinson finishes with the first of the Shade's journal entries. He speaks of Oscar Wilde and Times Past. he speaks of killing a man who was abusing his own bear, killing it because it couldn't perform anymore and he was losing money. He speaks of the women who worked in match factories, whose exposure to phosphorus resulted in decaying bones, leaving them disfigured. The Shade admits to weeping at the sight of them, telling us that he has a heart and soul. He speaks of hearing about David Knight's death and thinks of the Starman of the 1950s, who served for one year and a week. We will learn more about him, after a few vague references; but we will wait until the final Times Past story.

Robinson uses the Shade's Journal to fill in some of the past and even comment on the present, in a way. It was a fascinating element, as were the Times Past stories, which will be coming up. Robinson created a hero of the times, yet never lost sight of the past. That was one of the things that really drew me to the series and made it special, as was The Golden Age, Robinson has a real love for these old heroes and villains and a respect for what came before. Many writers would have retconned away the lesser stories and characters, especially the failed Starmen. Robinson embraces them and brings their past into the presen. Oh, he tweaks it a bit; but rarely in contradiction to their past stories. Motivations changed, events might have occurred differently, but were reported as seen in those comic stories. There was a Starman in 954, who wasn't Ted Knight, though Robinson changes him from who he really was (Batman, in disguise)

Tony Harris' art continues to evolve and his action scenes are like no others. He spends a lot of time drawing conversations, thanks to Robinson's scripts; but, he stages them in interesting ways and his pages are complete designs, not just panels placed together. he adds elements from various art styles; but, especially from the Art Nouveau era, that of Mucha and Beardly. Later, we will see some Howard Pyle (a hint of our mysterious sword-wielding figure). Opal is a mixture of Art Deco and Art Nouveau, the stories mixing Chandler and Hammett with Fox and Finger.

So, the preliminaries are over and we are about to enter the main event, with the next issue.

Starman #4



Tony Harris has Jack looking all cool and hip, on the cover, proving that if you are going to give a superhero a leather jacket, leave the spandex at home!

Our story begins with a history lesson, about a crazy artist, named Harry Ajax, who turned up in hawaii and ended up designing Hawaiian shirts. He created one that was said to be mystically endowed; and, in the present, a man named Bekker sends another, named Sands, to go find it, in Opal City.



Now that's a city worthy of superheroes!

Of course, Jack Knight is there, wheeling and dealing for new stock, arguing about Pez. In the background is a poster, which is a clue to the mysterious human shape who saved him during the fight with the Mist's henchmen. Meanwhile, a young woman goes into one of the pedestrian tunnels in Opal (rather like those in London and Europe), where she comes across a wild poster and is devoured by a dragon image. A sinister bald, bearded man (looking rather like Rasputin, in Hellboy) comes along and takes the poster down and we will have to wait for another future issue to find out what happened. Eat your heart out Chris Claremont!

Jack feels a chill in the air and suddenly the Shade is there. Jack calms down when the Shade says he bears him no ill will and they sit down to discuss whether Jack dreams of past lives; specifically, a 19th Century western lawman, raised by indians. Jack says no, though he does ream about being a Napoleonic spy, named Rosa. Robinson throws out some European art cinema references and the Shade leaves Jack a volume of his journals, so Jack can better know the history of Opal. He also leaves him the dedication plaque to the Adele Knight Wing of the Opal City Museum.

We see more of Jack's day to day life, then he encounters Mr Sands, in his own place, looking like something out of Andy Warhol, with mirrored flip up round sunglasses (with geometric shapes), painted ties, and a colorful hipster suit. Sands wants the mystical Hawaiian shirt that his boss believes is a gateway to heaven. Jack doesn't want a mystical shirt, but isn't going to let Sands rob him. Sands then offers to buy the shirt, as the weirdest Mexican standoff is diffused and Sands buys the shirt. Later, we learn that Bekker got the shirt and disappeared into thin air. We end with Jack relating his recent experiences to Ted, who tells him the weirdness will find him, which thrills Jack to no end.

Nice little calm moment, before we move on to the next storyline. Robinson and Harris take us on a small tour of Opal, name dropping neighborhoods and past history. Opal is a mish-mash of European touches, New York, San Francisco, and other cities with their own character. We also get a bit of collector mania, another staple of this. it's part of why this series epitomizes the 90s, as collector frenzy was feverish, in comics, and in other areas, as we see trading cards go ape (then the bottom falls out) and end the decade with Beany Babies (before the market drops out). Robinson was a collector, just like his readers and it infuses the series, with references to posters, comics, bakelite goods, old tvs, transistor radios, cameras, Viewmaster reels, Depression-era glassware, etc, etc...

This is mostly a character piece, giving us further looks at Jack, without lots of fighting. Sack still denies that he is a hero, as the Shade suggests otherwise. The Shade drops hints about Times Past and he seems obsessed with the idea of a reincarnated 91th Century western lawman, raised by indians. It isn't Jack, though. He also teases us with a demonic poster, which Harris gives the proper horror movie feel. That story will wait a bit.

Up next, the birth of an annual tradition and a bit of closure. Stay tuned.

Prince Gavyn and Will Payton get their day, when Robinson and Peter Snejbjerg do "To the Stars."  We will also get to see Adam Strange, Jor-El and even Space Cabbie!  Mikaal Tomas gets lovin' firtst, though, in stories that will begin soon.  One of the great things here is that Robinson and his collaborators have a real love for some of the obscure and forgotten characters of the DCU.  Who else wanted to use Alias the Spider or the Jester?  Robinson latched onto characters who appeared once, in First Issue Special or elsewhere and made them interesting, without leaving behind that one appearance.  He made a coherent saga out of Ted Knight, the 1951 Starman, Mikaal Tomas, Prince Gavyn, Will Payton, David Knight and Jack and made Star Boy and Courtney Whitmore far more interesting than her own series did (my opinion, anyway).  Starman is a book that locks onto the generational aspect of DC Comics, which is one of its strengths and one area it has all over Marvel.