Tags
Chris Claremont, guardians of the galaxy, John Byrne, kraken, Star-lord, Starlord, starlord special edition, Terry Austin
We were late to the Guardians of the Galaxy party in 2014. Like, so late, everyone else went home and there’s no beer left. By now, you have surely combed the Star-lord Archives at Longbox Graveyard and discovered panels from a black-and-white version of Claremont & Byrne’s mini-masterpiece. Only a total n00b would fail to behold the glory that is the vintage Star-lord Archive at Diversions of the Groovy Kind.
But you know what? The Star-lord party may be over, but we’re just going to hang out on the front lawn and get cosmic anyway. Because this was a favorite tale of ours for many years, and it still provides a certain nostalgic bliss: the emotional drama of that double splash against a burning horizon, the swashbuckling space opera, and yes – the awesomeness of unleashing the kraken!
We scanned about 2/3 of this micro-epic before the neighbors complained about the Star-lord party and we had to get off your lawn. You will just have to go buy the original if you want to finish frolicking across the galaxy. Our scans include the great essay at the end of the book which talks all about the cultural significance of Star Wars and the madness of putting together a comic book. Enjoy!
Mars Will Send No More 
This Star-Lord tale (whether it be the original b&w version or this nicely colorized reprint) is my favorite comic of all time. It, along with Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith’s Red Nails adaptation, are comicbook perfection to me. The perfect blend of pulp and comicbook sensibilities for (reasonably) mature readers, taken to the highest level. All comics should aspire to be this good!
Superior post, my friend!
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Thank you for dropping by, Groove! If not for your archives, we would have never discovered those great black and white Star-lord stories that came before this Special Edition. While anyone can easily get copies of this Special Edition or the Marvel Spotlight issues, those black-and-white magazine formats are a little harder to track down.
Red Nails was especially awesome in the over-sized Marvel Treasury Edition format. I’m pretty sure the favorite Thomas/Smith story over at Longbox Graveyard is Song of Red Sonja. Our favorite Thomas/Smith Conan story is probably Conan #13 with its focus on rising up against oppression and also stabbing giant spiders in the face: https://marswillsendnomore.wordpress.com/2013/12/18/dan-thing-archives-conan-the-barbarian-13/
Either way, if you are looking for Bronze Age examples of comic book perfection, we all agree you can find one in Marvel’s Conan!
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