Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Jack Burnley, the original Starman, Ted Knight, is now old and his son had to take over the Gravity Rod he invented in order to become the new Starman, protector of Opal City.
Created by British writer James Robinson and artist Tony Harris, Jack Knight is a sort of reluctant hero who didn’t have a secret identity and didn’t really wear a proper costume.
Here is the official synopsis: When the original Starman’s old foe The Mist continues an old vendetta, Jack Knight is forced into a role he’s spent his whole life denying… Jack will have to pick up Starman’s Cosmic Rod. When Jack Knight is forced to pick up the Starman’s Cosmic Rod, he finds himself flung into a life he never wanted for himself … but it just might be his destiny!
Jack’s true passion is collectibles and he became the owner of an antique and collectibles store. He was not prepared for taking the mantle of Starman, but he learned with the help of his father. He took his time but found the hero that he was destined to become and did good things for others.
What to read before James Robinson’s Starman?
Before writing the ongoing Starman series, James Robinson collaborated with Paul Smith on The Golden Age miniseries in which they revisited the Golden Age Justice Society. It’s part of the Elseworlds collection, but he still used elements of that story in his work. It’s not obligatory reading, but it gives a good insight into the old-school characters.
- JSA: The Golden Age
Collects The Golden Age #1–4
Starman Reading Order:
Starman Reading Order: Compendium Editions
- Starman Compendium One
Collects Starman (vol. 2) #0–42, Annual #1; The Shade #1-4; Starman Secret Files and Origins #1; Showcase ’95 #12, Showcase ’96 #4, Showcase ’96 #5,The Power of Shazam! #35-36
- Starman Compendium Two
Collects All-Star Comics 80-Page Giant #1, Batman/Hellboy/Starman #1-2, JSA All-Stars #4, Starman #43-81, Starman #1 (1998), Starman/Congorilla #1, Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. #0, and The Shade #1-12.
Starman Reading Order: Omnibus Editions
- Starman Omnibus Volume 1
Collects Starman (vol. 2) #0–16. - Starman Omnibus Volume 2
Collects Starman (vol. 2) #17–29, Annual #1; relevant stories from Showcase ’95 #12, Showcase ’96 #4–5.
- Starman Omnibus Volume 3
Collects Starman (vol. 2) #30–38, Annual #2; Starman Secret Files and Origins #1; The Shade #1–4. - Starman Omnibus Volume 4
Collects Starman (vol. 2) #39–46; Starman 80-Page Giant #1; Starman: The Mist #1; The Power of Shazam! #35–36; Batman/Hellboy/Starman #1–2. - Starman Omnibus Volume 5
Collects Starman (vol. 2) #47–60, 1,000,000; Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. #0; All-Star Comics 80-Page Giant #1; JSA: All Stars #4. - Starman Omnibus Volume 6
Collects Starman (vol. 2) #61–81.
Starman Reading Order: Paperbacks Editions
- Starman: Sins of the Father
Collects Starman (vol. 2) #0–5. - Starman: Night and Day
Collects Starman (vol. 2) #7–10, 12–16. - Starman: A Wicked Inclination
Collects Starman (vol. 2) #17, 19–27. - Starman: Times Past
Collects Starman (vol. 2) #6, 11, 18, 28, Annual #1; Starman Secret Files and Origins #1. - Starman: Infernal Devices
Collects Starman (vol. 2) #29–35, 37–38.
- Starman: To Reach the Stars
Collects Starman (vol. 2) #39–41, 43, 45, Annual #2; The Power of Shazam! #35–36. - Starman: A Starry Knight
Collects Starman (vol. 2) #47–53. - Starman: Stars My Destination
Collects Starman (vol. 2) #55–60. - Starman: Grand Guignol
Collects Starman (vol. 2) #61–73. - Starman: Sons of the Father
Collects Starman (vol. 2) #75–80. - The Shade
Collects The Shade (vol. 2) #1–12.
Starman Reading Order: Issue by Issue
- Starman (vol. 2) #0-11
- Showcase ’95 #12
- Starman (vol. 2) #12-19
- Showcase ’96 #4-5
- Starman (vol. 2) #20-23
- Starman (vol. 2) Annual #1
- Starman (vol. 2) #24-35
- The Shade #1-4
- Starman (vol. 2) #36-37
- Starman (vol. 2) Annual #2
- Starman (vol. 2) #38-39
- Power of Shazam #35
- Starman (vol. 2) #40
- Power of Shazam #36
- Starman (vol. 2) #41
- Starman Secret Files and Origins #1
- Starman (vol. 2) #42
- Batman/Hellboy/Starman #1-2
- Starman 80-Page Giant #1
- Starman (vol. 2) #43
- Starman: The Mist #1
- Starman (vol. 2) #44-47
- Starman 1,000,000
- Starman (vol. 2) #48-60
- Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. #0
- All-Star Comics 80-Page Giant #1
- JSA: All Stars #4.
- JSA Secret Files #1
- JSA #1-12, Hourman #18, JSA #13-15
- Starman (vol. 2) #61-81
- The Shade #1-12
After Starman
As you may have noticed with the issue-by-issue reading order of the Starman series, Jack Knight briefly joined the JSA, but not for long. He soon retired at the end of the Starman series, passing along his cosmic rod to the JSA’s young heroine, Stargirl.