“Starlight” #4 continues the inter-dimensional adventures of Captain Duke Mcqueen and his teenage side-kick Krish the Space Boy.  Duke is rescued from his malevolent captor Admiral Pindar by the resistance and set to lead them in their rebellion. Writer Mark Millar makes notable strides to add emotional weight and intrigue to this hastily plotted series.  Despite the inconsistent tone between issues, perhaps there is still hope for a unique and complex narrative.

WRITTEN BY: Mark Millar

ART BY: Goran Parlov

PUBLISHER: Image

PRICE: $2.99

RELEASE: June 11, 2014

Reviewed by Epic Switzer

I’m still not sure what kind of book “Starlight” is.  While being uncategorical isn’t always a bad things in comics, I’m finding this series to be more confused than unique.  Going by the solicts you might guess “Starlight” is a throwback to the golden age of sci/fi adventure stories; simple, straightforward, but captivating in their imaginative settings.  “Starlight,” I think, strives to be more than that however.  The book occasionally  has the hyper sexualized and ultra-violent signature of Mark Millar while sometimes slowing down for a moment of catharsis for our deeply troubled protagonist.  The latter moments are where this book truly shines.

Gone are the severed torsos and sex orgies from issue #3 and in it’s place is a cartoonish super-villain, cheeky gaffs about Tom Cruise’s love life, and dialogue like “See you later, alligators!” and “Take that, bad guys!”  This tonal shift from one issue to the next makes it difficult to determine what kind of book “Starlight” wants to be.  In this instance that sort of incongruous storytelling ultimately hurts this title: had you asked me after issue #3 if the book would be appropriate for an all ages audience, I would have said absolutely not.  But reading issue #4 as an indication to what the series might be I find no reason not to recommend it to your nephew, and possibly might even suggest its actually geared towards younger readers.

My biggest problem with this particular issue has to do with the narrative principle of delayed gratification.  Twice in this book something is foreshadowed, and by the end both plot points are revealed.  It is important to establish mysteries about characters’ backgrounds; it makes them dynamic and encourages readers to keep reading. It can be fun to look for these clues about what the future may hold, but when the payoff happens 8 pages later, it isn’t much of a payoff at all.  In fact, both reveals have the opposite effect in making the book feel predictable and contrived.

On the other hand this issue returns to the pathos that initially attracted readers back in Starlight #1.  Duke’s central emotional conflict is both unique and interesting: after returning to earth a hero from his first interstellar adventure, Duke becomes a discredited laughingstock in the media.  His identity is challenged and dismissed by everyone, including his own children, and he is forced to fade into obscurity.  Only his late wife believes his story, and it is this idea illustrated so powerfully in one particular scene that in fact warrants pause for consideration.

This is by no means a bad book, just one that hasn’t found its feet yet.  The potential for something more than a alien slugfest is certainly there, and in this instance it would be wise to give Millar the benefit of the doubt.  If he continues to capitalize upon the intriguing premise, and delivers a tonally consistent story, I see no reason why “Starlight” won’t be worthy of the already optioned 20th Century Fox adaptation.

Epic Switzer AKA Eric is an aspiring filmmaker and screenplay writer living in Los Angeles.  His work tends to focus on the lighter side of entropy, dystopic futures, and man’s innate struggle with his own mortality.  He can be found on twitter @epicswitzer or reached via email at ericswitzerfilm@gmail.com.