Starlord (comics)


Starlord was a short-lived weekly British science fiction comic book magazine published by IPC in 1978 as a sister title to 2000 AD, which had been launched the previous year in anticipation of a science fiction boom surrounding Star Wars.
Starlord was planned as a fortnightly title for older readers, with longer stories and higher production values than 2000 AD and the rest of the IPC boys' comics stable, but this proved too ambitious. Episodes were shortened, the number of colour pages was reduced, although the better quality paper and printing were retained, and Starlord was published weekly at a higher cover price than 2000 AD.

Stories

Stories included:
As well as 22 regular issues, there were also three Annuals dated 1980–1982 and one Summer Special in 1978.

Merger

IPC found that publishing two weekly science fiction titles split the market, and Starlord, with its higher cover price, was cancelled after 22 issues and merged with 2000 AD in issue 86 of that title. Its last issue was dated 7 October 1978. Starlord was actually the better selling of the two titles, the decision to end it being dictated by the higher production costs of Starlord as opposed to 2000 AD's cheap newsprint format. 2000 AD's line-up was strengthened by the merger: Strontium Dog became one of its most popular and long-running series; and Ro-Busters continued on in 2000 AD for a while and led to an enduring spin-off, ABC Warriors, which still features today. Timequake also briefly featured in issues 148 to 151. By that time the title Starlord had been dropped from the cover of 2000 AD with issue 127 in August 1979.

Collected editions

Two series, those that carried on into 2000 AD, have been collected by Rebellion Developments into trade paperbacks:
The series Mind Wars was reprinted in the supplements to issues 408 and 409 of the Judge Dredd Megazine in 2019. The episode in the Annual was reprinted in the supplement to #411.

Editor

Starlord was edited by Kelvin Gosnell, who was also editor of 2000 AD, although he mostly concentrated on Starlord and left 2000 AD to assistant editor Nick Landau. After Starlord merged with 2000 AD, Gosnell became editor of new comic Tornado.
Like 2000 AD, Tornado and Scream!, Starlord had a fictional editor, a bouffant-haired superhero also called Starlord, and each issue was supposed to be a primer for survival in the galaxy. When the title was cancelled and merged with 2000 AD, Starlord announced that his mission on Earth had been successfully completed and he was off to battle the evil Interstellar Federation on other worlds, though he urged his readers to "keep watching the stars". When a 2000 AD reader asked after Starlord's whereabouts in a 1999 issue though, 2000 AD editor Tharg claimed that "While Starlord has not been sighted on Earth since 1979, rumours that he was seen in a McDonalds in Basingstoke cannot be entirely discounted". On another occasion, it was claimed that he was "out in the Rakkalian Cluster, singing lead soprano with an Alvin Stardust tribute band". Heralding the 40th anniversary of the comic, and satirising the flurry of revelations regarding 1970s children's entertainers, it was suggested in a satirical story that Starlord was in fact a warmongerer who brainwashed children to become child soldiers and had been imprisoned as a war criminal for the past four decades.

Story index

Regular issues

Planet Of The Damned
Issues: 1-10
Episodes: 10
Pages: 49
Script: R. E. Wright
Art: Lalia 1; Pena 2, 5, 6, 8, 10; Azpiri 3, 4, 7, 9
Cover dates: 13/5/78 to 15/7/78
Timequake
First story
Issues: 1-3
Episodes: 3
Pages: 18
Script: Jack Adrian
Art: Ian Kennedy 1, 3; John Cooper 2
Dated: 13/5/78 to 27/5/78
Second story
Issues: 4-9
Episodes: 6
Pages: 36
Script: Jack Adrian
Art: Magellanes Salinas
Dated: 3/6/78 to 8/7/78
Third story
Issues: 10-13
Episodes: 4
Pages: 28
Script: Ian Mennell
Art: Magellanes Salinas
Dated: 15/7/78 to 5/8/78
Strontium Dog
Max Quirxx
Issues: 1-2
Episodes: 2
Pages: 10
Script: John Wagner
Art: Carlos Ezquerra
Dated: 13/5/78 to 20/5/78
Papa Por-ka
Issues: 3-5
Episodes: 3
Pages: 15
Script: John Wagner
Art: Carlos Ezquerra
Dated: 27/5/78 to 10/6/78
No Cure For Kansyr
Issues: 6-7
Episodes: 2
Pages: 10
Script: John Wagner
Art: Carlos Ezquerra
Dated: 17/6/78 to 24/6/78
Planet Of The Dead
Issues: 8-10
Episodes: 3
Pages: 15
Script: John Wagner
Art: Carlos Ezquerra
Dated: 1/7/78 to 15/7/78
Two-Faced Terror!
Issues: 12-15
Episodes: 4
Pages: 23
Script: John Wagner
Art: Carlos Ezquerra
Dated: 29/7/78 to 19/8/78
Demon Maker
Issues: 17-19
Episodes: 3
Pages: 15
Script: John Wagner
Art: Brendan McCarthy 1; Ian Gibson 2-3
Dated: 2/9/78 to 16/9/78
The Ultimate Weapon
Issues: 21-22
Episodes: 2
Pages: 10
Script: John Wagner
Art: Carlos Ezquerra
Dated: 30/9/78 to 7/10/78
Ro-Busters
First story
Issue: 1
Episodes: 1
Pages: 11
Script: Pat Mills
Art: Carlos Pino
Dated: 13/5/78
Second story
Issues: 2-4
Episodes: 3
Pages: 18
Script: Pat Mills
Art: Carlos Pino
Dated: 20/5/78 to 3/6/78
Third story
Issues: 5-6
Episodes: 2
Pages: 10
Script: Bill Henry
Art: Ian Kennedy
Dated: 10/6/78 to 17/6/78
Fourth story
Issues: 7-12
Episodes: 6
Pages: 38
Script: Pat Mills
Art: Carlos Pino
Dated: 24/6/78 to 29/7/78
Fifth story
Issues: 13-14
Episodes: 2
Pages: 14
Script: V. Gross
Art: Ian Kennedy
Dated: 5/8/78 to 12/8/78
Sixth story
Issues: 15-19
Episodes: 5
Pages: 34
Script: Jack Adrian
Art: Carlos Pino 1, 3, 5; Ferrer 2, 4
Dated: 19/8/78 to 16/9/78
Seventh story
Issues: 20-22
Episodes: 3
Pages: 23
Script: Jack Adrian
Art: Ferrer 1, 3; Carlos Pino 2
Dated: 23/9/78 to 7/10/78
Mind Wars
Issues: 2-22
Episodes: 21
Pages: 129
Script: Alan Hebden
Art: Jesus Redondo 1-19, 21
;
Mike White 20
Dated: 20/5/78 to 7/10/78
Good Morning, Sheldon, I Love You!
Issue: 11
Episodes: 1
Pages: 6
Script: John Wagner
Art: Casanovas
Dated: 22/7/78
Holocaust
Issues: 14-22
Episodes: 9
Pages: 69
Script: Alan Hebden
Art: Lalia 1-4; unknown artist 5, 8-9;
Madigllianes 6; Luis 7
Dated: 12/8/78 to 7/10/78
Earn Big Money While You Sleep!
Issue: 16
Episodes: 1
Pages: 6
Script: Alan Grant and John Wagner
Art: Casanovas
Dated: 26/8/78
The Snatch
Issue: 17
Episodes: 1
Pages: 3
Script: Alan Hebden
Art: Pena
Dated: 2/9/78
Skirmish!
Issue: 20
Episodes: 1
Pages: 5
Script: Alan Hebden
Art: Pena
Dated: 23/9/78

Summer special

Timequake
Pages: 9
Script: Patterson
Art: John Cooper
Ro-Busters
Pages: 10
Script: V. Gross
Art: G. Campion
Trash
Pages: 7
Script: D. Hooper
Art: Magano
Strontium Dog
Pages: 10
Script: Bill Henry
Art: Brendan McCarthy
Neutron Tide
Text story by Arthur C. Clarke