KEVIN J. ANDERSON ON THE RETURN OF THE STARJAMMERS

[MattBrady]

by Benjamin Ong Pang Kean

Leaked a while back, acclaimed sci-fi writer Kevin J. Anderson has confirmed for Newsarama that he is writing a new Starjammers miniseries for Marvel Comics to begin in July. Teaming up with the writer is artist Ale Garza.

For those who came in late…or only have caught glimpses of the Starjammers crew, the group first appeared in X-Men #104 (first series, now known as Uncanny X-Men). Led by Christopher Summers aka Corsair (and the father of Scott Summers, aka Cyclops – and that’s a long story), the Starjammers are a small band of space pirates with noble intentions.

Apart from numerous appearances in the various X-titles, the Starjammers starred in two miniseries in the past, namely the two-part X-Men Spotlight On… Starjammers by Terry Kavanagh and Dave Cockrum in 1990 and the Starjammers four-issue limited series by Warren Ellis and Carlos Pacheco in the mid-1990s. Former teammates include Professor X of the X-Men, Binary (Carol Danvers) and Shi’ar Empress Lilandra Neramani.

Don’t expect to see the regular band of space pirates in Anderson and Garza’s new Starjammers however. “First off, readers have to be prepared that this is a completely new version of Starjammers, retooled from scratch,” Anderson told Newsarama. “In fact, my instructions from the Powers that Be were to scrap everything, keep the good stuff, and begin over. This has no continuity with the old series or with other parts of the Marvel Universe. No Shi'ar Empire, no "Corsair" Summers -- it's an original science fiction tale that will have some familiar aspects for those who remember the old issues, but new readers don't have to haunt comic shops to pick up all the back issues. It's standalone in the Marvel universe, with no continuity with other titles.

”In general, this story is inspired by the British Empire in India; our main character - Tolo Hawk, has completely bought into the Royal Army, doesn't understand these rebels in India, why they would object to the British way... until he is faced with a situation that throws him in with the opposite side, the ‘bloodthirsty pirates’ and is forced to see things in a different light. Oh, and there's also plenty of fights, explosions, all the good stuff, too.”

The British Empire? “I meant metaphorically -- this is set in the far future out in deep space in a large galactic empire.”

Other than Tolo Hawk, who are in the new Starjammers comic? “Princess Sabra is a charming girl born to privilege, not realizing she is the pawn of a villainous shadow government organization, the Committee, run by Anazar Prime. Sabra's sexy and tough-as-nails bodyguard is Lenise. Tolo's father, Darby Hawk, is accompanying him to the capital world where Tolo will join the Defense Corps of the Union of Intelligent Races.

“They're stuck fighting a hopeless war against a corrupt empire... but nothing is exactly black and white, and they find allies in unlikely places. You'll see several of the main characters -- but they're in different roles, now. Raza, Cho'd, Hepzibah. From the outset though, I was told not to include Chris Summers.”

The 42 year-old Anderson is acclaimed for his international bestsellers such as the Star Wars: Jedi Academy trilogy, the Star Wars: Young Jedi Knights series with wife and co-writer Rebecca Moesta, the prequel trilogy to the Frank Herbert's classic SF novel Dune, coauthored with Herbert's son Brian, X-Files: Ground Zero and his multi-volume galaxy-spanning sci-fi epic The Saga of the Seven Suns. His comic works include Saga of the Seven Suns: Veiled Alliances and Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Gorn Crisis for DC/Wildstorm, the Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi series of miniseries and Predator: Primal for Dark Horse and Grumpy Old Monsters for IDW.

“It's a long and roundabout path -- an editor at Marvel had read my Dune prequels with Brian Herbert and also some of my other novels, so he wrote me from out of the blue and asked if I would like to take a crack at writing some issues of X-Men, Hulk or other core characters,” Anderson said when asked how he came to work on Starjammers for Marvel. “I was thrilled with the opportunity, and we bounced around some ideas... but then he moved to a different job, and my proposals were handed off to another editor.

"Eventually, Marvel came back and said what they were more interested in was to have me pick up one of their ‘mothballed’ titles and retool it from scratch. Then we spent several months looking at several possibilities. I was interested in Killraven, because - as you can tell from some of my novels and short stories, I have a real connection with H.G. Wells and the War of the Worlds, but either there were copyright issues or Marvel had other plans for Killraven. Then we looked at trying to do something interesting with Man Wolf, and then I got a phone call from the editor: "Kevin, I have two words for you -- Space Pirates!" And that's how we settled on Starjammers.

“Because of my background in Star Wars and Dune, I was a natural choice for writing a big science fiction epic,” Anderson continued. “My approach to it is to tell a large story with amazing alien worlds and creatures, not just a small story with a group of core characters having an adventure. I believe there's a big readership for something that hits squarely in the science fiction genre, beyond superhero adventures - hey, I love reading about superheroes, too... but this is different. Make no mistake, Starjammers is not superheroes in space -- it's a coming-of-age tale for a young man thrown into a situation that goes utterly against his training and upbringing, and you'll see his character shift from hating a group of murderous pirates to understanding them.”

“I'm writing it as a monthly book, and Marvel has committed to six issues,” he added. “Obviously, we hope it's popular enough to continue. I've already got the story arc plotted for about fifteen issues. Because of the scope and the number of characters, the plotlines can go in plenty of different directions.

“I’ve done some big SF comics – Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi for Dark Horse, my Seven Suns graphic novel Veiled Alliances from Wildstorm, even Star Trek: The Gorn Crisis. I think big SF is just made for comics -- you can include spectacular landscapes, great space battles and ships, weird aliens. I tried to include those details in prose, in my Dune prequels with Brian Herbert, in all of my Star Wars novels, and in my Saga of Seven Suns series. I think I understand how to tell big epics spanning many characters and many star systems. Ale's artwork will convey that sense of "bigness" in the galaxy. He is fast and good and very enthusiastic.”

The first two issues of Starjammers are set to hit in July.

Updated: Check out an interview with artist Ale Garza by clicking here

[Justice]

I don't see any reason from what Anderson said that this couldn't have been an in continuity book without many changes. And I'd have liked it better that way.

But the creative team certainly seems interesting, so I'll give it a fair shake.

[Soulwielder]

Well, as much as I have found Anderson's novels to be lacking, I was actually excited about this headline...until the article stated that this will NOT be the Starjammers that fans know from the MU.

The art looks good, bringing the Starjammers back is good, but why are they not the MU Starjammers?! Why even say they are the Starjammers? Why not have Anderson invent completely new characters? (I can probably answer my own question, Marvel needs to publish an SJ book to keep the rights...)Marvel just lost a sale that would have been guaranteed otherwise.

Just the other day I was thinking how AWESOME a new Starjammers ongoing by the Negation team of Bedard, Pelletier, Meikis, and Rochelle would be...

[Falkner]

Originally posted by MattBrady
“First off, readers have to be prepared that this is a completely new version of Starjammers, retooled from scratch,” Anderson told Newsarama. “In fact, my instructions from the Powers that Be were to scrap everything, keep the good stuff, and begin over. This has no continuity with the old series or with other parts of the Marvel Universe."

This is getting ridiculous. The Starjammers hardly have ANY history. What's the friggin' point?

The art looks fantastic.

[IanZL]

Marvel doesn't need to publish Starjammers to keep the rights, there is no danger of it going anywhere. This isn't something that is slippinging into the public domain and it isn't a title that has any sort of legal issues behind it (Captain Marvel who DID have at least 1 book published to keep the writes).

I think instead, Marvel just wanted to give someone a fair shot at a Starjammers book and not have them constrained by everything else that is going on in the marvel universe, and thus limiting the stories.

And hey, anything that helps us ignore the fact that someone thought it was a good idea to make nice grounded Scott Summers to have his father be a SPACE PIRATE (?!?) is a good idea.

[SpyGuy]

Originally posted by Soulwielder
The art looks good, bringing the Starjammers back is good, but why are they not the MU Starjammers?! Why even say they are the Starjammers? Why not have Anderson invent completely new characters? (I can probably answer my own question, Marvel needs to publish an SJ book to keep the rights...)Marvel just lost a sale that would have been guaranteed otherwise.

The reason that these aren't the Marvel Universe Starjammers seems pretty obvious (to me, anyway)...Marvel wants to have a STARJAMMERS concept that can be sold as a stand-alone movie or TV property without any ties to the X-Men. If you think about it, STARJAMMERS has a FARSCAPE-type feel to it and would probably do well as a weekly series on the Sci Fi Channel. (Provided, of course, that Sci Fi doesn't want to take away from such groundbreaking television as TREMORS: THE SERIES...)

The bottom line for me, however, is that a STARJAMMERS series without Christopher Summers isn't the Starjammers. I'm passing on this one...

[Yor!]

I'm a fan of Ale's artwork so I'll give it a shot. The dude seems to have improved bigtime.


Never digged the spacepirate Corsair btw...

[thunderkid32]

What happened to the no more Manga art? Just another Quesada lie?
And yes please, lets scrape all that huge, dragging, complex yet totally non existent continuty.
When is Marvel going to fire Quesada and stop the bleeding?

[marioboon]

so, This is a sort of Doom Patrol scenario for the Star Jammers, no?

Then you guys must be cursing Marvel over this too, to be fair

[MudshovelForYou]

Is it possible that this could just be a what happened before Corsair joined and that's why they didn't want him included? Almost an origin story?

Simpler to tell a story that doesn't involve Cyclops father, kidnapped from a plane by aliens (which sent the plane crashing, making orphans of his sons, as well as stopping scott from having control over his powers), rescued by the Starjammers, who he know leads, etc..

They may not have a lot of continuity as a whole, but Corsair does. I dunno..

[Chris]

...the HELL? I LOVED the cast of the Starjammers, and the fact that they have some continuity behind them makes them even better. I was fully planning on buying it, but these aren't the Starjammers I wanted to read. So unless they call it ULTIMATE STARJAMMERS, I'll pass... (because then it'll at least have a chance to be connected to something I already know and love)



Chris

[mrvlvsdc]

Although I have never been a big Starjammers fan I am willing to give this a try as the art looks great and it sounds like Anderson might have some good ideas on where to take the book.

[1genxer]

Isn't it funny that Marvel thinks continuity is unimportant, when that is what drives the movie and television industries. Think about it. Why do people watch a TV show every week? They watch it because they learn to love the characters and want to see how they will handle next weeks situation. Each episode builds on the experiences those characters had previously. Movies franchises are the same. For all of Marvel's talk of wanting to be morelike movies and TV they sure aren't doing a good job of it, of course there are exceptions like Ulitmate Spidey, Amazing Spidey, Exiles, etc.
I agree totally that you can't have the Starjammers without Corsair. He freaking made them!!!! Checkout your old issues...Corsair, Cho'd, and Hepsibah were prisoners of the Shi'ar that escaped and became the Starjammers. But of course old issues and continuity don't matter to sales.
On a positive note, the art looks great. Kevin Anderson has great plots, but sometimes his dialogue lacks. If continuity and Corsair existed this is one I would pick-up. The creators will do a great job I am sure, but without continuity this series won't last.

[Michael P]

Originally posted by SpyGuy
The reason that these aren't the Marvel Universe Starjammers seems pretty obvious (to me, anyway)...Marvel wants to have a STARJAMMERS concept that can be sold as a stand-alone movie or TV property without any ties to the X-Men.

Bingo.

That being said, I'm gonna keep an eye on the reviews for this one, and maybe give it a try. Anderson's established cred with me from his novels, Garza's art there looks pretty cool, and hey, it's not like there's that much space opera in comics to begin with. (Yeah, there's Star Wars; now name me three others.)

[Vyper]

My only knowledge of Kevin J. Anderson's work comes from his Star Wars books - and I think that, along with Timothy Zahn, he wrote the best SW stories. (R.A. Salvatore killed Chewie - I still can't get over that).

Anyways, for those who complain about this not being the original Starjammers - just treat it as a stand-alone story. Personally, I think this will be a lot of fun, and one of the very few Marvel books I'll pick up.

[Vyper]

Originally posted by Michael P
Bingo.

That being said, I'm gonna keep an eye on the reviews for this one, and maybe give it a try. Anderson's established cred with me from his novels, Garza's art there looks pretty cool, and hey, it's not like there's that much space opera in comics to begin with. (Yeah, there's Star Wars; now name me three others.)

Ever read Negation? There's one for you.

[Layters]

Originally posted by thunderkid32
What happened to the no more Manga art? Just another Quesada lie?
And yes please, lets scrape all that huge, dragging, complex yet totally non existent continuty.
When is Marvel going to fire Quesada and stop the bleeding?

I agree totally. The guy either never learns of never stops bullshitting. This is the one thing you could do to make sure i enver buy this book. A sepearate sci-fi book i might have been interested a real Starjammers book definately but a this Nu Marvel crap i have zero interest in. Remember Thunderbolts, Joe....

[Dave Cummings]

Originally posted by thunderkid32
What happened to the no more Manga art? Just another Quesada lie?
And yes please, lets scrape all that huge, dragging, complex yet totally non existent continuty.
When is Marvel going to fire Quesada and stop the bleeding?

Well, the no manga art line was something that the people who were covering the 'cup of joe" panel assumed that he meant. He never actually said he is getting rid of manga style art.

Besides, Ale Garza's work is not manga art. Granted, it is an influence among some of his other artistic influences, but calling it 'manga' art is just labeling.

And about the continuity, why are you getting all bent out of shape about it? Maybe they didn't want to tell it in continuity because the connection to the Shi'Ar empire and it being royally screwed right now, so they would have to make a bunch of mentions to that, as well as the fact that Corsair is Cyclops father. It would just make it really hard for new readers to get into.

Jeez, I never heard of anyone getting into a tissy fit about the continuity to the frickin' Starjammers.

~Dave

[MudshovelForYou]

Originally posted by Dave Cummings
Jeez, I never heard of anyone getting into a tissy fit about the continuity to the frickin' Starjammers.

~Dave

Just wait till the new Squirrel Girl series comes out.

[Dave Cummings]

Oh, and I love how people are condemning the book before it actually comes out. God forbid you actually read it. What. Are you afraid that you might actually like it? So, then you couldn't whine about it?

~Dave

[starvenger]

Not a big fan of Anderson's novels (except for the Jedi Academy trilogy) but his comic work has been pretty decent, so I'll take a wait-and-see approach to this one.

What happened to the no more Manga art? Just another Quesada lie?

Probably. I mean, they still hire UDON to do stuff, right?

[MudshovelForYou]

Originally posted by starvenger
Not a big fan of Anderson's novels (except for the Jedi Academy trilogy) but his comic work has been pretty decent, so I'll take a wait-and-see approach to this one.


Probably. I mean, they still hire UDON to do stuff, right?

Joe talked about seeing more traditional art. He never said they were going to clean house on all eastern-inspired art.

[Layters]

Originally posted by Dave Cummings
Oh, and I love how people are condemning the book before it actually comes out. God forbid you actually read it. What. Are you afraid that you might actually like it? So, then you couldn't whine about it?

~Dave

Actually i have no interest in these characters. I spend too much money on comics as it is and make the choice not to support these rip offs of characters i would much rather be reading. As long as this book is around there is no chance of a real Starjammers book or probbaly even Starjammers apearences so i choose not to support i.

[Crusader]

Originally posted by SpyGuy
The reason that these aren't the Marvel Universe Starjammers seems pretty obvious (to me, anyway)...Marvel wants to have a STARJAMMERS concept that can be sold as a stand-alone movie or TV property without any ties to the X-Men.

Eh, I don't know about that. Big-screen Marvel properties always end up with differences from the comics. Marvel didn't need to re-launch Spider-Man with organic webshooters in the comics or re-launch the Punisher as an FBI agent in the comics, so I don't see why a Starjammers comic would have to change to make it more suitable for other mediums. It's a given that a big-screen Starjammers project would have differences from the comic regardless.

And, most likely, if a Starjammers film or TV show ever appears, it will feature changes from this Kevin Anderson version anyway.

[Layters]

Originally posted by Dave Cummings
Well, the no manga art line was something that the people who were covering the 'cup of joe" panel assumed that he meant. He never actually said he is getting rid of manga style art.

Besides, Ale Garza's work is not manga art. Granted, it is an influence among some of his other artistic influences, but calling it 'manga' art is just labeling.

And about the continuity, why are you getting all bent out of shape about it? Maybe they didn't want to tell it in continuity because the connection to the Shi'Ar empire and it being royally screwed right now, so they would have to make a bunch of mentions to that, as well as the fact that Corsair is Cyclops father. It would just make it really hard for new readers to get into.

Jeez, I never heard of anyone getting into a tissy fit about the continuity to the frickin' Starjammers.



Well put it this way they just lost the fanboy vote. Hope all the fans of Andersons novel read this or this book is going to bomb.
~Dave