A Starr Is Born!

It all began in The Chamber of Darkness in 1968. "The Sword and the Sorcerer" appeared by the duo of Roy Thomas and Barry (Not-Yet-Windsor) Smith. It was a warm-up for Conan the Barbarian, a comic which changed the landscape of comics. In 2010 Starr was revived by Daniel Way and the late great artist Richard Corben. Published under Marvel's MAX Explicit Comics label, this story is not your Mother's barbarian story. It's like National Lampoon made a barbarian comic. It's got a flavor of the underground and any reader should be prepared for foul language and extreme violence. 

The first issue introduces us to Morro, a minstrel who speaks in rhymes mostly and he tells how Starr's family came to the city of Kulmurud the capitol city of Zardath. The savage Starr kills the brother of Trull and soon the entire family is arrested and executed. Starr is only saved because he is seen as a potential gladiator. We also meet Len Carson, an aging and desperate writer who once upon a time created Starr and was met with great success until his ego got the better of him and he tried to go "legit" and hawk his great American novel. His career was ruined, and he'd saved very little of his money. 

Starr is trained but has little interest in fighting which makes him look like a wimp to Tira, a gladiator chick with potent moves. Trull uses his magic to bring Len Carson's soul to Zardath and inhabit the body of a helpless victim. He forces Carson to change the story of Starr and the history of Zardath by engaging in a magical "retcon". Starr is liked by Moonja who helps him escape to the Darlands again, but not before he spurned her advances. 

Trull begins a steady and brutal process of ascending to the throne. The body count is enormous as he kills his way to the top using cunning and magic. He is assisted by a powerful man-dragon. It is at this point that Morro's story ends and we are caught up. But things have been changing in the Darklands and Starr is at last poised to wreaks some vengeance upon Trull. 

In the finale Starr confronts Trull with lethal consequences. Len Carson gets free of his magic trap and writes the story in a way in which Starr comes out on top. It's a bloody path to the end of this yarn, but Carson makes sure there's room for a sequel. 

Let me quickly say this book ain't for everyone. The foul language in this story at times stunning, at least for reader used to the sanitized world of mainstream comics. There's a blend of modern idioms and classic barbarian tropes. Daniel Way is a controversial writer, but the MAX imprint is the ideal home for him. Or I guess it was since it is no more. 

Above is a preliminary sketch by Marie Severin for issue four of Chamber of Darkness. Originally Starr the Slayer was to get the cover treatment, but instead the cover spot was given to a story by Jack "King" Kirby.

As I mentioned before Chamber of Darkness is from 1968 was an important comic book in a number of ways. "The Sword and the Sorcerers!" (called "The Secret of the Silver Sword!" on the cover) which really is remembered from this issue. Written by Roy Thomas, the story was a practice run for Barry (Not-Yet-Windsor) Smith before he and Roy teamed up to bring the world the most famous barbarian of all -- Conan the Barbarian. Below is that actual story. Enjoy!

The story has a wild energy thanks to Smith's offbeat layouts. He wasn't afraid to try things, that's for sure. It's easy to see how the design of Starr would influence Conan who would debut on the stands in just a few months.

Corben's Starr is much different than Smith's for obvious reasons, but they both share that wild energy. Corben's underground comix roots make him a great choice for such bloody work. The underground artists made their names showcasing the real world in all its savage glory. Way's and Corben's Starr is a flawed work but it does much the same. It's an underground version of a barbarian story, full of grim realities of life and lore. 

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