Trippin' the Starlite Fantastic
Or, Melt My Heart with a High Note of Ecstasy
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Starlite: Issue 7 FINAL BOOK! 36 PAGES! Complete the Series!
The mind-bending conclusion to the story of a teenage ex-child superhero kidnapped by Trans-Dimensional Spider-Wizards!
The book is as bonkers as that Kickstarter logline, I promise.
Travis came to me via DM (we are in a common group together) after I wrote my Night Wolf review and offered to let me read Starlite 1-6 for a review if I was interested. Of course I said, “yes,” and then found myself reading issue after issue in a giddy, cracked-open-a-beer, done-with-my-chores geek frenzy.
My Synopsis
Starlite is what happens when the Power Pack meets the Aquadolls and Lost In Space while on a hyper-speed boomeranging rollercoaster of recreational pharmaceutical effects facing off against alien-spider-wizards after being kidnapped by alien big-eared-fox-people and stuck with the only adult being a jackass conspiracy-theorist TV show host.
If you caught any of those references, give yourself +1.
My Review
I honestly had no information about this series until Travis DM’d me. I didn’t ask for a synopsis, and I [honestly] didn’t even realize there was an active Kickstarter campaign at the time. Shame on me, for sure, and it’s even more embarrassing having now read the series.
For the record, I’m now a Backer of the complete series, even though I’ve already read the first six issues.
When I opened the first issue I found myself loving Brett’s art right off the bat. So, I just thumbed (digitally) through the book looking at the pretty pictures. I’m officially a Brett fan, now. I’ll be damned if I don’t find a cover or pinup or something to work on with them at some point in the near-future!
I also loved the design choice to use stroke-less word balloons.
The overall aesthetic of the book is just delightful. I honestly couldn’t get enough of the art. The lettering in the first couple of issues had some problems — and those of you who follow me on social media know how much of a critical b*tch I can be about lettering — but those issues were minor, few, and corrected by the time we get to Issue #3 (when Tom Orzechowski picked up the lettering chores).
I shared all of my concerns with Travis and he was super-receptive, understanding, and even commented that they may go back and do some additional edits and re-letters if they do a trade paperback collected edition (this is up to you, people!). Dude has a professional attitude…
…okay, back to the book. The premise is refreshing and well-done. There’s an issue with drug usage that may bother some, but I think it’s handled nicely and not just thrown in for the hell of it.
The alien spider creatures reminded me a lot of the ones from X-O Manowar of Valiant lore (and, in fact, they’re both referred to as The Vine — make of that as you will). But this is a minor pinprick. The fox-like humanoid ones are a somewhat tragic race, one you might find pity for if you have a heart. Heh.
(No, I can’t remember the name of the fox-alien race off-hand. It was very alien-y, IIRC.)
There are some really good heartstring-pulling moments, some good twists in the plot, and the character dialogue is really strong.
The book drew me in so much that it actually triggered my misophonia when I read some of the panels with Sara chewing on her silicon pacifier (I got tingles in my jaw just now posting that image). My wife laughed at me because I kept getting goosebumps reading a comic.
My Rating
Despite some early lettering issues (for me) and some minor editorial tweaks needed, this book is one of the best-crafted, most underrated, sci-fi “superhero” adventures I’ve ever read. I’m sorry I had never found it sooner, but I’m locked in now and I hope Travis, et al., can forgive me for being late to the game.
🌰🌰🌰🌰🌰 (5/5 Acorns)
You should consider backing the Kickstarter campaign right now while it’s still live on Kickstarter (just over 2 weeks to go as of this writing).
I'm glad you found this comic. I've loved it from the get go & an looking forward to the last chapter!! 😸