The Best Of Star*Studded Comics!

Star*Studded Comics was arguably the finest of the classic fanzines dedicated to just presenting amateur art and story. Fantasy Illustrated was in that class but was more catholic in the kinds of strips it offered. Star*Studded was able to get the best of the up and coming talents and get them to draw good old fashioned superhero strips with a few exceptions. The fanzine was the product of the "Texas Trio" which was primarily comprised of Harry Keltner, Larry Herndon and Buddy Saunders. In actual fact there were more than three in this "trio" with guys like Gary Accord and Howard Waldrop among others providing critical help in the practical nature of getting a zine manufactured and delivered. 

Bill Schelly's book attempts to offer up what he sees as the very finest of the work offered in Star*Studded while at the same time providing a range of the various kinds of items offered and all the while focusing on several fan artists of note. Alan Lee Weiss is interviewed and four of his stories are offered up. But I'd have to say this book is dedicated, if not literally, then practically to the compelling comics talent Richard "Grass" Green who had passed away while this volume was being composed. There are five "Grass" Green pieces included, some of his best stuff. 

The volume begins with an issue by issue breakdown of the contents of the sixteen issues of Star*Studded produced between 1963 and 1972. Then we go on to two stories which have been collected by Schelly before but which he felt were crucial to any collection hoping to represent what Star*Studded had been about. The first is the Liberty Legion story which brought together many heroes as well as top fan talents to tell a story reminiscent of a vintage Justice Society story or the more recent Justice League. Also we get a story about The Eye by Biljo White. 

After that the focus shifts to a Xal-Kor the Human Cat story by Richard "Grass" Green and then a very nice Dr. Weird story drawn by Landon Chesney. There are some splash pages and covers featuring other characters tucked in between these dandy tales as well. 

The first of several interviews is next focusing on Gary Acord, considered the "fourth member" of the Texas Trio. That is followed by another Biljo White effort, this story starring The Blade a hero in the classic swashbuckling style. Then it's the first of two Powerman stories featuring his battle with "The Transmuter" drawn by Bill DuBay and written by Dave Kirby. 

A prose story titled "The White Dragon Strikes Back" written by John Wright is included to represent the prose which did appear at times in the fanzine. This is followed by another "Grass" Green Xal-Kor story and then the second Powerman story, this one drawn by Larry Hutchinson from a Larry Herndon script. Powerman is forced to kill his opponent and this proves to be a moral dilemma for him. The second Dr. Weird story is next, but this one is really different as it's drawn by future Underground artist George Metzger. 

What follows is a big section dedicated to Alan Lee Weiss. First is an interview with Weiss about his fanzine days and then we get five stories of a wide variety. There are two more Dr. Weird stories in which the "Golden Ghost"  takes on first two mystical foes and then has to have a second bout with the scary Skullwing. That first encounter had been reprinted by Schelly in an earlier volume. My favorite piece is a western by Weiss titled "The Battle of Credibility Gap" which shows off some of Weiss's art chops to great effect. The section ends with another superhero, this one called Dragonfly. 

Following this heady section we get some more vintage "Grass" Green and his two sturdy superheroes Wildman and Rubber Boy. After that there's a Roy Thomas interview in which he discusses how he came to adapt Gardner Fox's novel Warrior Llarn. Ronn Foss was supposed to do the adaptation but dropped out when some money issues over possible overseas reprints came up clearing the way for Sam Grainger to step in. We have the entire twelve-page adaptation here in all its glory. This first section wraps with a Ron Foss story titled Excel, a truly fine yarn and one that had been reprinted by Schelly before. 

Schelly wraps up this book with some high-quality fan stories that actually did not appear in Star*Studded Comics, but in Schelly's mind were good enough and to do so and too good leave out of what proved to be his final fanzine anthology. There's a story written by Mike Vosburg featuring his hero named The Cowl as drawn by Ronn Foss who is at his finest here. Then we get more Biljo White with The Lion, a one-shot hero who had appeared in ditto form, but we get an inked version this time. There's a character named Ace of Spades with his sidekick Joker who fight crime in stories written by Mike Kelez and drawn by Mickey Schawberow. Next is a MAD-like yarn starring a vampire named only "The Count" by Steve and Dave Herring. The Spook by James and Alan Hanley calls to mind Eisner's Spirit. There's a story of Powerman drawn by Jim Starlin. 

The finale of the rich tome brings us back to Richard "Grass" Green. Green had passed away recently before this book was wrapped and as a tribute Schelly gives us one more story by him starring a hero named Crime Crusher who fights a vintage Yellow Peril type baddie dubbed the Black Dragon. And after a few closing comments that wraps up this look back at a great fanzine from which nearly spanned the entirety of the Silver Age of Comics. It's a fun read for fans of old-fashioned comic yarns.

Here the rest of the covers from that Star*Studded illustrious run. 

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