It feels like a while since we last stepped foot into the world of Jack Knight. With the Shade miniseries out of the way, we return into the thick of James Robinson’s hefty Starman with a storyline that concludes loose ends and launches new plots. Solomon Grundy has been a consistent background feature of the run thus far, and Robinson certainly hasn’t written Grundy with a conventional pen. This softer and more emotional Grundy is no villain, yet he isn’t competent enough to be a hero. Robinson writes the enigmatic monster, and it’s in the issues of Infernal Devices where that mystery begins to slowly fade. But Grundy isn’t the sole focus of these six issues – as ever, we return to Robinson’s adoration of history. Throughout Starman (vol 2) Robinson reignites life into characters buried deep in the sands of the past. Yet, few of them are quite as unique as the Black Pirate, a sixteenth-century pirate created in the month when Hitler’s troops first marched into Norway. Nearly six decades on, Robinson – through his writing on Starman (vol 2) – brings modernity to history.
Starman (vol 2) 30-35 was published from May to October 1997. Written by James Robinson, with art by Tony Harris, Wade Von Grawbadger, Ray Synder, Mark Buckingham, Steve Yeowell, and Wayne Faucher. As ever, these issues have been collected in the wonderful Starman Omnibuses, specifically Volume Three. Although the stories of the Black Pirate and Solomon Grundy are separate, it’s difficult to detach them for reasons you’ll soon realise. So, get ready for a journey of diverse settings, characters, and stories…
Infernal Devices is a tale about a bomber, a mad bomber who unleashes destruction and terrorism on Opal City. But enveloped within these six issues are stories about personalities and characters – some familiar, some new. With Starman (vol 2) 30, Robinson puts the spotlight on Sadie Falk, a character who first appeared way back in Starman’s second issue. You’d be forgiven for not remembering Sadie, for Robinson wrote her in as a background character and one who would recur only for eagle-eyed fans to spot. Here, she and Jack Knight are closer to being a couple – it’s a relationship which is very important for the overall direction of the run, but it isn’t one which Robinson explores much. Still, it’s good to see Robinson planting the seeds of the future, for during this issue, a page is closed on a tale of the past. Jack receives a letter from Dian Belmont, the wife off Wesley Dodds. Jack teamed up with these two in Starman (vol 2) 20-23 and Robinson wrote the couple with such warmth that the letter – speaking of Wesley’s terminal illness before acting as a farewell note to Jack wishing him well. Robinson’s writing – conveyed creatively over two full page panels – of Dian’s farewell contains real weight because they are characters readers have met and care about. It provides some closure to the life of DC’s original Sandman. But then, we have the Black Pirate. The return of this golden age character is a surprise, especially since he is haunting the streets of Opal on a mystical quest of a kind. His path soon meets Jack, who – on a mission to find and defeat the bomb-making terrorist Doctor Pip – finds that the Black Pirate’s story is a complex one. Overall, while the first issue may act as a launch pad for the story of Opal’s bomb, it nicely ties up loose ends and begins new tales for the Starman saga.
At first sight, readers may think the Black Pirate is a villain of a kind. Although he is a fan of blood-sports – going as far as slicing a criminal’s arm off in the first issue – he isn’t a foe for Starman. The Black Pirate is a ghost, and an entertaining one at that. Once readers move past the often-unreadable pirate-styled dialogue which bogs down the story from time to time, Robinson delivers a unique character with a deep backstory that takes centre stage in Starman (vol 2) 31. Once known as Jon Valor, the Black Pirate roamed the seas in life fighting in the name of Queen Elizabeth I against the Spanish. The story of Jon Valor is one of riches and family, with the Black Pirate’s son, Justin, following in his footsteps. But tragedy strikes when Justin is murdered, and the authorities of Opal plant the murder on him. Condemned to death, Jon Valor places a curse on Opal, with his spirit to plague the city for eternity – or at least until his name is cleared. And that explains why he seeks the aid of Jack. The tale of Jon Valor is conveyed sporadically throughout this issue and Robinson writes it in a pleasant illustrated storybook format, with Harris providing some fantastic artwork, discoloured to create an aged mood. The Black Pirate isn’t a regular feature during Robinson’s run, but his presence remains constant in the background. Jack can do nothing for him yet, for Pip is out there terrorising the city, but again, Robinson begins a great tale of mystery which spans much of the title’s second half.
But for Starman (vol 2) 32, the spotlight must return to Pip. At times, Pip does feel like a sideshow – a strange choice given his explosive actions aren’t to be ignored. The Infernal Doctor Pip is an elderly gentleman whose goals are disguised, but his means certainly aren’t. But for his explosives to detonate, he needs to ensure Jack Knight is distracted. And that’s why he hires a mystery villain to help him. This mystery man emphasises his ‘s’s and hides his identity well – until the end of Starman (vol 2) 31 when it’s revealed to be Copperhead. This is a pleasant revelation and a genuinely surprising one, especially after Robinson left some glorious hints. Jack goes down to defeat, and Copperhead places the hero underneath an apartment store soon to be destroyed by Pip. Thankfully Robinson doesn’t use this moment for Pip to reveal his plans as all villains do. Instead, he leaves Jack to die under the rubble of concrete and carcasses soon to be unleashed. But happily, this is when the Black Pirate returns to rescue Jack, along with a surprise guest-star – Solomon Grundy. He had gone missing for quite some time, but he returns, fearing for his friend Jack. And this leads to one of the saddest moments in the entire run. Pip’s bomb detonates, and Jack searches for survivors. He finds some trapped, and but he cannot rescue them. This is where Solomon Grundy comes in and lifts up the rubble to rescue the innocent lives nearly claimed by Pip, but under the strain, Grundy cannot hold on.
Grundy’s sacrifice is a titanic moment in the run, marking the end of a personality who Robinson changed so radically from previous incarnations. It feels like a gut-punch of the highest order as Solomon Grundy – that famous criminal and killer who fought the JSA – ends his life saving innocent lives and finally becoming the hero which we readers have beckoned for since Robinson presented us with this warmer and friendlier character.
Pip suddenly moves to the sidelines – it is now time for mourn for Grundy. Starman (vol 2) 33-34 are not part of the Infernal Devices storyline, but they are part of an interlude story. Although Grundy is dead, he isn’t really dead. Grundy is an immortal – somehow the swamp waters of Slaughter Swamp made the dead gangster Cyrus Gold immortal and transformed him into Grundy. But this is where Robinson reveals a deeply clever idea – each time Grundy is reborn, his personality shifts. This finally gives an explanation for why writers have all written Grundy in their own unique ways over the decades – some write a hardened gangster with a grand use of language, while others pen a monster-like Grundy who only shouts his name before smashing skulls. Why does Robinson reveal all this? Because Jack Knight realises Opal want to make a hero out of Grundy and they want the heroic incarnation to return, not the villain. So Jack makes it his mission to enter Grundy’s subconsciousness and awaken the heroic Grundy to take the controls permanently. What makes this a good two-part interlude isn’t just an emotional story with its fair share of ups and downs, but also the cast. Here, Jack comes face-to-face with his personal hero – Alan Scott. Formerly the original Green Lantern, Alan Scott is now Sentinel and there are some great scenes between the veteran and the youthful, especially as Alan Scott has seen Jack grow into the persona of a hero after his rocky anti-establishment teenage years. But then we have another guest star – Batman. He is present to provide Ted Knight with Doctor Jason Woodrue, whose powers of the Green link to Solomon Grundy. Robinson writes Batman as moody as ever, but there is an interesting development of the relationship between Batman and Jack. At first, the knight of Gotham cannot stand the hero of Opal, with a sharp wit and a mouth that rarely stays shut. But over time, that relationship warms up and Batman begins to have respect for Jack. Witnessing events through the eyes of Jack and noticing how his reputation grows and improves is a marvellous consistency throughout the run. But at the end of Starman (vol 2) 33, by eating some fruit from the Green linked to Grundy, Jack, Sentinel, Woodrue, and Batman enter the mind of Grundy.
With all his varying personalities, Grundy’s mind isn’t a calm place. The four outsiders fight a battle they cannot win in Starman (vol 2) 34, retreading over some familiar ground over the origin of Grundy, but can they save the heroic Grundy? They cannot – there are thousands of different personas, the vast majority of whom are villains. Robinson thankfully doesn’t just write a dull series of fight scenes – he explores previous tales featuring Grundy and compares the different versions we have seen. It’s a great idea of energising a character who – to many writers – is simply a bloodless brute with no personality. Although success escapes the heroes, the story ends with the sweetest moment as Ted enters Grundy’s mind to rescue his friends. Ted – appearing young and in his red and green costume of old – comes to the rescue and there is a sombre farewell to the kinder and gentler persona of Grundy. Overall, the interlude may have a miserable ending, but it makes us thankful that we got to see a very different kind of Solomon Grundy, and it’s finally good to see Jack team up with other more famed cast members of the DC Universe.
But to round off, we have to come back to the Infernal Pip. Starman (vol 2) 35 finds Doctor Pip a broken figure – the explosion three issues prior have damaged him, but he is alive with another destructive device. It’s here where the motives of Pip are made clear – a rich man hired Pip to kill his wife and destroy the department store she was visiting. This explains the first page of the story which depicted Pip’s first blood, but then to divert attention away from her death, Pip was told to continue his bombing scene. The fact that the bombings aren’t down to some kind of villainous masterplan is refreshing – it just one mysterious millionaire who wants one person dead and the hitman has gone a bit crazy. Sure, we know very little about Pip’s hirer – aside from a name – but since the explanation behind the bombings is so simple, does that matter? Either way, just as the heroes unite to defeat Pip, they all suddenly lose their powers! This isn’t down to Robinson, but to the Genesis event that took place during the DC titles around this time. Either way, this surprise and its potential is quashed fairly quickly as the Shade appears and sends Pip to a shadowy realm of hell! You know you’re in a show when the Shade appears, and he certainly doesn’t disappoint!
Overall, the Pip storyline is a pretty good one with lots of excitement and great moments. But this final issue deals with the tragic aftermath of Grundy’s death, and it’s emotional toll on Mikaal. Perhaps Robinson should have made more of this, but the two characters became close friends and Grundy’s farewell has left a big hole. And the O’Dares have their scene too, with Hope O’Dare discovering the corruption of her brother Matt. There’s much mystery here - Robinson is keeping it secret for now, but when will the O’Dares actually feature in their own story?
But to me, there is one consistent problem with these six issues – it is too schizophrenic in its focus. Robinson darts quickly from Jack’s romance with Sadie to the Black Pirate, and then to Pip, then to Grundy, then to the O’Dares, and then back to Pip. Too much happens and there isn’t enough time or space for all of the events to be digested. It would have been preferrable if Robinson concluded the Pip storyline once-and-for-all in Starman (vol 2) 32 and then the following issues could focus on Solom Grundy without any interruption from Pip. It feels as if the Grundy story is placed right in the middle of Infernal Devices rather than at the appropriate time. It’s hard to claim that much here is bad or a failure, but I think structurally Infernal Devices would have benefited from being a bit more linear rather than slap-dash.
It’s mainly Tony Harris providing his usual best here again, with Wade Von Grawbadger adding those gorgeous dark shadows and inks which look superb. But there are some other artists present too like Mark Buckingham and Steve Yeowell, the latter of whom Robinson described as his “personal saviour” due to tight deadlines. Their pieces are fantastic and keep within the style of the Starman saga, with Yeowell providing the stunning visuals of the internal world of Solomon Grundy! We’ve come to expect the best from Starman’s artists, and as ever they don’t disappoint.
VERDICT
Overall, Starman: Infernal Devices is another good six issues of the saga. Sure, structurally it leaves something to be desired, but the stories contain some fantastic ideas. Pip is a threatening and solid villain, especially when tagged with Copperhead. The tragic ending to Solomon Grundy’s period in the Starman saga is very emotional and makes for one of the most memorable of stories in the run. Admittedly, I am partially annoyed at Robinson for these stories. I have enjoyed them, and I can’t really find many faults. I find myself approving of most of Robinson’s work in Starman (vol 2). Maybe I should review something by Frank Miller just to enjoy reviewing something terrible…
Next Week: Starman: Stars In My Eyes (Starman (vol 2) 36-38, Annual 2, Secret Files and Origins). Written by James Robinson, with art by Richard Pace, Wade Von Grawbadger, Tony Harris, Dusty Abell, Dexter Vines, Norman Lee, Mitch Byrd, Drew Geraci, Stefano Gaudiano, Gene Ha, Steve Yeowell, Lee Weeks, and Phil Jimenez.
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