Jim Starlin was born on October 9, 1949, inDetroit,Michigan.[2] He had aCatholic upbringing.[3] In the 1960s, Starlin served as an aviation photographer in theUS Navy inVietnam.[4][5] During his off duty time, he drew and submitted various comics.[6]
After leaving the navy, Starlin sold two stories toDC Comics.[6]
After writing and drawing stories for a number of fan publications, Jim Starlin entered the comics industry in 1972, working forRoy Thomas andJohn Romita atMarvel Comics.[7] Starlin was part of the generation of artists and writers who grew up as fans ofSilver Age Marvel Comics. At aSteve Ditko-focused panel at the 2008Comic-Con International, Starlin said, "Everything I learned about storytelling was [due to] him or Kirby. [Ditko] did the best layouts."[8]
Starlin's first job for Marvel was as a finisher on pages ofThe Amazing Spider-Man.[9] He then drew three issues ofIron Man which introduced the charactersThanos andDrax the Destroyer.[10] He was then given the chance to draw an issue (#25) of the "cosmic" titleCaptain Marvel.[11] Starlin took over as plotter the following issue, and began developing an elaborate story arc centered on the villainous Thanos which spread across a number of Marvel titles. Starlin leftCaptain Marvel one issue after concluding his Thanos saga.
Concurrently in the mid-1970s, Starlin contributed a cache of stories to the independently publishedscience-fiction anthologyStar Reach. Here he developed his ideas of God, death, and infinity, free of the restrictions of mainstream comics publishers' self-censorship arm, theComics Code Authority. Starlin also drew "The Secret of Skull River", inked by frequent collaboratorAl Milgrom, forSavage Tales #5 (July 1974).[12]
After working onCaptain Marvel, Starlin and writerSteve Englehart co-created the characterShang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu,[13][14] though they only worked on the early issues of theMaster of Kung Fu series. Starlin then took over the titleWarlock,[15] starring agenetically engineered being created byStan Lee andJack Kirby in the 1960s and re-imagined byRoy Thomas andGil Kane in the 1970s as a Jesus Christ-like figure on an alternate Earth. Envisioning the character as philosophical andexistentially tortured, Starlin wrote and drew a complexspace opera withtheological and psychological themes. Warlock confronted the militaristicUniversal Church of Truth, eventually revealed to be created and led by an evil evolution of his future–past self, known asMagus. Starlin ultimately incorporated Thanos into this story. Comics historianLes Daniels noted that "In a brief stint with Marvel, which included work on two characters [Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock] that had previously never quite made their mark, Starlin managed to build a considerable cult following."[16]
Death and suicide are recurring themes in Starlin's work: Personifications of Death appeared in his Captain Marvel series and in a fill-in story forGhost Rider; Warlock commits suicide by killing his future self; and suicide is a theme in a story he plotted and drew forThe Rampaging Hulk magazine.
The new decade found Starlin creating an expansive story titled "theMetamorphosis Odyssey", which introduced the character of Vanth Dreadstar inEpic Illustrated #3. From its beginning inEpic Illustrated, the initial story was painted in monochromatic grays, eventually added to with other tones, and finally becoming full color.[21] The storyline was further developed inThe Price[22] andMarvel Graphic Novel #3[23][24] and eventually the long-runningDreadstar comic book, published first byEpic Comics,[25][26] and then byFirst Comics.[27][28]
Starlin andBernie Wrightson producedHeroes for Hope, a 1985 one-shot designed to raise money for African famine relief and recovery.[30] Published in the form of a "comic jam," the book featured an all-star lineup of comics creators as well as a few notable authors from outside the comic book industry, such asStephen King,George R. R. Martin,Harlan Ellison, andEdward Bryant.[9] In 1986, he and Wrightson produced a second benefit comic for famine relief.Heroes Against Hunger, featuring Superman and Batman, was published by DC and like the earlier Marvel benefit project featured many top comics creators.[9][31]
Starlin became the writer ofBatman, and one of his first storylines for the title was "Ten Nights of The Beast"[32] in issues #417–420 (March – June 1988) which introduced theKGBeast. Starlin then wrote the four-issueminiseriesBatman: The Cult (Aug.–Nov. 1988) drawn by Wrightson,[33] and the storyline "Batman: A Death in the Family" inBatman #426–429 (Dec. 1988 – Jan. 1989),[34] in whichJason Todd, the second of Batman'sRobin sidekicks, was killed by theJoker. The controversial storyline was suggested by editorDenny O'Neil and lined up with Starlin's well-known desire to remove the Robin character from Batman's storyline.[35] The death was decided by fans, as DC Comics set up a hotline for readers to vote on as to whether or not Jason Todd should survive a potentially fatal situation. Starlin was fired off theBatman title soon afterward.[36]
Other projects for DC included writingThe Weird drawn by Wrightson[9] andCosmic Odyssey drawn byMike Mignola.[37] Starlin wrote and drewGilgamesh II in 1989 before returning to Marvel.[9]
In 2003, Starlin wrote and drew the Marvel Comics miniseriesMarvel: The End.[9] The series starred Thanos and a multitude of Marvel characters, and subsequently, Starlin was assigned an eponymousThanos series.[9] Starlin then worked for independent companies, creatingCosmic Guard (later renamedKid Cosmos) published byDevil's Due and thenDynamite Entertainment in 2006.[9]
Starlin returned to DC and, with artistShane Davis, wrote the miniseriesMystery in Space vol. 2, featuringCaptain Comet and Starlin's earlier creation, the Weird.[40] In 2007–2008, he worked on the DC miniseriesDeath of the New Gods[41] andRann-Thanagar Holy War,[9] as well as a Hawkman tie-in which altered the character's origins.[42] He wrote the eight-issue miniseriesStrange Adventures in 2009[43] and in 2013, became the writer ofStormwatch, one of the series ofThe New 52 line, beginning with issue #19.[44]
In 2016, Starlin's drawing hand was injured in an accident, which limited him to writing stories without the opportunity to illustrate them. "It takes me two minutes to write the sentence and will take the artist a day and a half to draw the scene. But there is a certain satisfaction to the drawing part … you get up from the drawing board at the end of the day and there’s this image there that wasn’t there before. That’s very satisfying and I miss that."[45][46]
In early 2020 it was announced that Starlin had rehabilitated his drawing hand and would be publishing a new Dreadstar graphic novel,Dreadstar Returns, backed by a successful Kickstarter campaign. The book was published in June 2021.[47]
In 2024, Starlin announced that he plans to usegenerative AI technology for future projects, includingDreadstar vs. Dreadstar.[48]
Starlin co-wrote four novels with his then-wife Daina Graziunas (whom he married in October 1980):[49]Among Madmen (Roc Books, 1990),Lady El (Roc Books, 1992),Thinning the Predators (1996,Warner Books; paperback edition entitledPredators); andPawns (1989, serialized in comic bookDreadstar #42–54).
Marvel Premiere Classic vol. 46: The Infinity Gauntlet, 256 pages, July 2010, Marvel Comics,ISBN978-0785145509
Marvel Premiere Classic vol. 47: Silver Surfer: Rebirth of Thanos, 224 pages, July 2010, Marvel Comics,ISBN978-0785144786
Infinity Gauntlet Omnibus, 1248 pages, July 2014, Marvel Comics,ISBN978-0785154686
Softcover
Batman: A Death in the Family, 144 pages, March 1988, Re-released in November 2011 with "A Lonely Place of Dying" story added, 272 pages,ISBN1401232744
Batman: Ten Nights of the Beast, 96 pages, October 1994,ISBN1563891557
^"Gangway, World! Madcap Marvel Marches Merrily On!" ("Bullpen Bulletins" page inSgt Fury and his Howling Commandos #104 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated November 1972)
^Sanderson, Peter; Gilbert, Laura (2008). "1970s".Marvel Chronicle A Year by Year History. London, United Kingdom:Dorling Kindersley. p. 158.ISBN978-0756641238."In [Iron Man #55], scripted by Mike Friedrich, plotter and penciler Jim Starlin introduced a miniature mythos of his creations.
^Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 159: "In March [1973], the first of artist Jim Starlin's many sagas of the Marvel heroes' wars against Thanos began."
^Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 161: "Capitalizing on the popularity of martial arts movies, writer Steve Englehart and artist/co-plotter Jim Starlin created Marvel'sMaster of Kung Fu series. The title character, Shang-Chi, was the son of novelist Sax Rohmer's criminal mastermind Dr. Fu Manchu."
^Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 168: "Adam Warlock returned in a new series, taking overStrange Tales for four issues...The originalWarlock comic book would return with issue #9 in October [1975]."
^Cooke, Jon B. (October 2000). "Simonson Says The Man of Two Gods Recalls His 25+ Years in Comics".Comic Book Artist (10). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing: 25.
^Manning, Matthew K.; Dougall, Alastair, ed. (2014). "1970s".Batman: A Visual History. London, United Kingdom:Dorling Kindersley. p. 130.ISBN978-1465424563....and another Batman adventure by writer/layout artist Jim Starlin and finisher P. Craig Russell.{{cite book}}:|first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Manning, Matthew K.; Dolan, Hannah, ed. (2010). "1980s".DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. London, United Kingdom:Dorling Kindersley. p. 188.ISBN978-0-7566-6742-9.Artist Jim Starlin displayed his penchant for portraying powerful cosmic villains with the debut of Mongul, a new threat to plague Superman's life, in a story written by Len Wein.{{cite book}}:|first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^DeFalco, Tom "1980s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 208: "The first title produced for [the Epic Comics] line wasDreadstar, a space opera by writer/artist Jim Starlin."
^Dreadstar Epic Comics series at the Comics Database
^Dreadstar First Comics series at the Grand Comics Database
^DeFalco "1980s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 207: "This title by Jim Starlin was the first of a new series of Marvel Graphic Novels. Running between forty-eight and ninety-six pages, these paperback books were an attempt to compete with the European-style graphic albums."
^DeFalco "1980s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 223: "Horrified by the plight of starving children in Africa, writer/artist Jim Starlin and illustrator Bernie Wrightson convinced Marvel to publishHeroes For Hope. It was a 'jam' book...and all of Marvel's profits were donated to famine relief in Africa."
^Manning "1980s" in Dolan, p. 219: "Plotted by Jim Starlin, with dramatic designs by Bernie Wrightson...Heroes Against Hunger featured nearly every popular DC creator of the time."
^Manning "1980s" in Dolan, p. 233: "Using the Cold War as their backdrop, writer Jim Starlin and artist Jim Aparo crafted the four-part storyline 'Ten Nights of the Beast'."
^Manning "1980s" in Dolan, p. 234: "Writer Jim Starlin took the Dark Knight into the depths of Gotham for the four-issue prestige formatBatman: The Cult...with horror artist Bernie Wrightson."
^Manning "1980s" in Dolan, p. 235: "Written by Jim Starlin, with art by Jim Aparo and haunting covers by Mike Mignola, 'A Death in the Family' proved a best seller with readers in both single-issue and trade paperback form."
^Manning "1980s" in Dolan, p. 235: "Writer Jim Starlin and artist Mike Mignola teamed up for a sci-fi miniseries that spanned the [DC Universe]."
^Manning, Matthew K. "1990s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 254: "Written by Jim Starlin, and with pencils by George Pérez and Ron Lim,The Infinity Gauntlet was born."
^Cowsill, Alan "2000s" in Dolan, p. 327: "[Mystery in Space] returned for an eight-issue run featuring Captain Comet, and was written by Jim Starlin and drawn by Shane Davis. It also contained a back-up strip starring the Weird, written and drawn by Starlin."
^Cowsill "2000s" in Dolan, p. 331: "Writer and artist Jim Starlin helmed this eight-part series as a mysterious force brought destruction to the inhabitants of the Fourth World."
