Wednesday Worlds of Wonder STAR RAIDERS "Beginning...the Saga of the Star Raiders!" Part 2

We Have Already Seen...

...we encounter Captain Jed Poole, his "friend and companion as well as navigator/gunner/bodyguard Tomorrow Hardtack, who meet immortal librarian/know-it-all Ezikial Vicker, who has knowledge of the Zylons!

Vicker also has a unique fighter craft called the Star Raider, which had been uncovered and used by the Atari Force against the Zylons, who had been mind-controlled by the Dark Destroyer, as shown HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE!
When they believed they had destroyed the Zylons, the Atari Force left the fighter behind, and now the Zylons want it...

 As you can see things are about to get really bad!
To Be Continued...Next Wednesday!

Written by Eliiot S! Maggin and beautifully-painted by Jose Luis Garcia Lopez, this never-reprinted 1983 graphic novel was apparently-meant as the original follow-up to the previous Atari Force mini-comics which were included with video game cartridges!
None of these characters ever reappeared in the later Atari Force series, though more of the cute aliens created for the Atari Force mini-series, the Hukkas, appear here.

Support Atomic Kommie Comics

Visit Amazon and Order...

Modern Masters Volume Five

Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez

Paid Link

Wednesday Worlds of Wonder STAR RAIDERS "Beginning...the Saga of the Star Raiders!" Part 1

This Month...a never-reprinted Interstellar Adventure...

...that was meant to be a series, but, sadly, didn't work out that way!

To Be Continued...Next Wednesday!

 These opening pages introduce the protagonists, the state of the universe they're in, and the current situation.

Written by Eliiot S! Maggin and beautifully-painted by Jose Luis Garcia Lopez, this never-reprinted 1983 graphic novel was apparently-meant as the original follow-up to the previous Atari Force mini-comics which were included with video game cartridges!
None of these characters ever reappeared in the later Atari Force series, though more of the cute aliens created for the Atari Force mini-series, the Hukkas, appear here.
When the Atari Force was revived as an ongoing regular-format comic series with a different storyline more related to the mini-series, Garcia Lopez was brought in as penciler with Ricardo Villigran as story page-inker, though Jose penciled and inked covers for the first three issues.
After that, Garcia Lopez's heavy workload on licensing and other projects kept him from doing more than occasional inking of others' pencils or pencils & inks on a cover!

Support Atomic Kommie Comics

Visit Amazon and Order...

Modern Masters Volume Five

Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez

Paid Link

Whatever Happened to MANHUNTER 2070 ?

You thought this was the end of Manhunter 2070?

For twenty years, you would've been correct, except for a cameo in the revived Showcase's 100th issue, during a multiverse and time-spanning tale featuring almost every character who headlined a strip in the comic* (and considered "out of continuity" even then by the authors and DC), Starker had disappeared from the Multiverse.

But in 1990, Howard Chaykin and Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez did Twilight, a mini-series combining and "updating" an assortment of DC Comics' 21st Century-based characters including (from left-to-right) Star Hawkins & Ilda, Tommy Tomorrow, Karel Sorenson (and the rest of the not-pictured Star Rovers), and Manhunter 2070, who apparently survived the ambush, along with the Space Cabbie, Knights of the Galaxy, Space Ranger, and even the Space Museum!

It was also revealed that private eye Star Hawkins was actually Axel Starker, brother to Manhunter 2070, whose full name was Jon Starker, contradicting the only-child storyline from the Showcase series.

(Note: Star Hawkins was co-created by artist Mike Sekowsky [who, as a writer/artist/editor created Manhunter 2070] and writer John Broome, so the two characters were "brothers" sharing a "father", as it were.)

Chaykin had already radically re-envisioned several other characters, including Blackhawk, and The Shadow, and while his controversial Shadow updating (continued by Andy Helfer, Bill Sienkiewicz, and Kyle Baker) wasn't considered "official", the changes he introduced into Blackhawk became part of post-Crisis on Infinite Earths canon.
As to where Twilight stands in terms of continuity...well, we're not sure.
The events in the story have never been referenced in any other DC titles, nor has it ever been reprinted.
Which may be just as well, since Jon Starker dies during the tale.
But, Manhunter 2070 still had one more life left...as you'll see Tuesday!

*One character didn't appear...James Bond, who appeared in an adaptation of Dr No in Showcase #43 (1962).
You can read the reason 007 popped up at DC HERE.