04-19-2004, 07:59 PM
KEVIN J. ANDERSON ON THE RETURN OF THE STARJAMMERS
Reported 14/04/2004
Source Newsarama
by Benjamin Ong Pang Kean
Leaked a while back, acclaimed sci-fi writer Kevin J. Anderson has confirmed for Newsarama that he is writing a new Starjammers miniseries for Marvel Comics to begin in July. Teaming up with the writer is artist Ale Garza.
![[Image: Starjmers1_t.jpg]](http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/Starjmers1_t.jpg)
For those who came in lateâ¦or only have caught glimpses of the Starjammers crew, the group first appeared in X-Men #104 (first series, now known as Uncanny X-Men). Led by Christopher Summers aka Corsair (and the father of Scott Summers, aka Cyclops â and thatâs a long story), the Starjammers are a small band of space pirates with noble intentions. Apart from numerous appearances in the various X-titles, the Starjammers starred in two miniseries in the past, namely the two-part X-Men Spotlight On⦠Starjammers by Terry Kavanagh and Dave Cockrum in 1990 and the Starjammers four-issue limited series by Warren Ellis and Carlos Pacheco in the mid-1990s. Former teammates include Professor X of the X-Men, Binary (Carol Danvers) and Shiâar Empress Lilandra Neramani. Donât expect to see the regular band of space pirates in Anderson and Garzaâs new Starjammers however. âFirst off, readers have to be prepared that this is a completely new version of Starjammers, retooled from scratch,â Anderson told Newsarama. âIn fact, my instructions from the Powers that Be were to scrap everything, keep the good stuff, and begin over. This has no continuity with the old series or with other parts of the Marvel Universe. No Shi'ar Empire, no "Corsair" Summers -- it's an original science fiction tale that will have some familiar aspects for those who remember the old issues, but new readers don't have to haunt comic shops to pick up all the back issues. It's standalone in the Marvel universe, with no continuity with other titles.
âIn general, this story is inspired by the British Empire in India; our main character - Tolo Hawk, has completely bought into the Royal Army, doesn't understand these rebels in India, why they would object to the British way... until he is faced with a situation that throws him in with the opposite side, the âbloodthirsty piratesâ and is forced to see things in a different light. Oh, and there's also plenty of fights, explosions, all the good stuff, too.â The British Empire? âI meant metaphorically -- this is set in the far future out in deep space in a large galactic empire.â
Other than Tolo Hawk, who are in the new Starjammers comic? âPrincess Sabra is a charming girl born to privilege, not realizing she is the pawn of a villainous shadow government organization, the Committee, run by Anazar Prime. Sabra's sexy and tough-as-nails bodyguard is Lenise. Tolo's father, Darby Hawk, is accompanying him to the capital world where Tolo will join the Defense Corps of the Union of Intelligent Races. They're stuck fighting a hopeless war against a corrupt empire... but nothing is exactly black and white, and they find allies in unlikely places. You'll see several of the main characters -- but they're in different roles, now. Raza, Cho'd, Hepzibah. From the outset though, I was told not to include Chris Summers.â
The 42 year-old Anderson is acclaimed for his international bestsellers such as the Star Wars: Jedi Academy trilogy, the Star Wars: Young Jedi Knights series with wife and co-writer Rebecca Moesta, the prequel trilogy to the Frank Herbert's classic SF novel Dune, coauthored with Herbert's son Brian, X-Files: Ground Zero and his multi-volume galaxy-spanning sci-fi epic The Saga of the Seven Suns. His comic works include Saga of the Seven Suns: Veiled Alliances and Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Gorn Crisis for DC/Wildstorm, the Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi series of miniseries and Predator: Primal for Dark Horse and Grumpy Old Monsters for IDW.
âIt's a long and roundabout path -- an editor at Marvel had read my Dune prequels with Brian Herbert and also some of my other novels, so he wrote me from out of the blue and asked if I would like to take a crack at writing some issues of X-Men, Hulk or other core characters,â Anderson said when asked how he came to work on Starjammers for Marvel. âI was thrilled with the opportunity, and we bounced around some ideas... but then he moved to a different job, and my proposals were handed off to another editor. Eventually, Marvel came back and said what they were more interested in was to have me pick up one of their âmothballedâ titles and retool it from scratch. Then we spent several months looking at several possibilities. I was interested in Killraven, because - as you can tell from some of my novels and short stories, I have a real connection with H.G. Wells and the War of the Worlds, but either there were copyright issues or Marvel had other plans for Killraven. Then we looked at trying to do something interesting with Man Wolf, and then I got a phone call from the editor: "Kevin, I have two words for you -- Space Pirates!" And that's how we settled on Starjammers. Because of my background in Star Wars and Dune, I was a natural choice for writing a big science fiction epic,â Anderson continued. âMy approach to it is to tell a large story with amazing alien worlds and creatures, not just a small story with a group of core characters having an adventure. I believe there's a big readership for something that hits squarely in the science fiction genre, beyond superhero adventures - hey, I love reading about superheroes, too... but this is different. Make no mistake, Starjammers is not superheroes in space -- it's a coming-of-age tale for a young man thrown into a situation that goes utterly against his training and upbringing, and you'll see his character shift from hating a group of murderous pirates to understanding them.â
âI'm writing it as a monthly book, and Marvel has committed to six issues,â he added. âObviously, we hope it's popular enough to continue. I've already got the story arc plotted for about fifteen issues. Because of the scope and the number of characters, the plotlines can go in plenty of different directions. Iâve done some big SF comics â Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi for Dark Horse, my Seven Suns graphic novel Veiled Alliances from Wildstorm, even Star Trek: The Gorn Crisis. I think big SF is just made for comics -- you can include spectacular landscapes, great space battles and ships, weird aliens. I tried to include those details in prose, in my Dune prequels with Brian Herbert, in all of my Star Wars novels, and in my Saga of Seven Suns series. I think I understand how to tell big epics spanning many characters and many star systems. Ale's artwork will convey that sense of "bigness" in the galaxy. He is fast and good and very enthusiastic.â
Other Images:
http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/Chod.jpg
http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/Told.jpg
http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/Sabra.jpg
http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/raza.jpg
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ALE GARZA: AN EYE FOR THE STARJAMMERS
Reported 19/04/2004
Source Newsarama
by Benjamin Ong Pang Kean
![[Image: Stajammer_Ship_t.jpg]](http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/Starjammers/Stajammer_Ship_t.jpg)
Last week, acclaimed sci-fi novelist Kevin J. Anderson confirmed for Newsarama that a new Starjammers will be hitting the spinner racks in July. Today, artist Ale Garza has provided Newsarama with more art and answered a few quick questions about the all-new, all-different Starjammers. And now⦠Starjammers artist Ale Garzaâ¦
Newsarama: How did you get warped into this new Starjammers time zone?
Ale Garza: Well, that actually had a lot to do with Kevin. Initially it wasn't something I was really drawn to, but after reading Kevin's pitch I was hooked!
NRAMA: How familiar are you with the concept and characters of the Starjammers?
AG: The only experience I remember was when Jim [Lee] drew the characters in one of his old X-Men runs. I remembered them looking cool, but then again Jim has a knack for making everyone look cool.
NRAMA: Considering that this is not set in continuity and that instead of Corsair, there's now this young guy called Tolo Hawk and his gang, did you come up with their designs?
AG: Oh yes, it was a blast! I love designing characters, and Tolo, Sabra, Verdian, Kalyx and all the rest were all a ton of fun! Plus I got to re-imagine the classics also!
NRAMA: What are your influences when you designed these new characters and settings? Did you base them on any of your favorite sci-fi series? What were your fave series, anyway?
AG: I'm really approaching this book from an European standpoint. I had just seen Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, so that was pretty fresh in my mind. As far as sci-fi influences, it definitely has a dash of Star Wars. Other than that, Titanic played an influence.
NRAMA: Kevin J. Anderson, being a novelist and having written sci-fi stuff such as The Saga of the Seven Suns novels and the Veiled Alliances hardcover graphic novel, the Dune prequels, Star Wars, Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Gorn Crisis... did he have an input when it came to initial character and set designs?
AG: Yeah, I always like feedback, not only from the writer, but also any editors involved. Kevin definitely played a part in whipping Sabra into shape! [laughs]
NRAMA: What's it like working with Kevin? Are you a fan of his novels?
AG: To be honest, I wasn't too familiar with his work - I tend to only read books with pictures - [laughs] but once I read his outline, I was like, "Damn, this guy's pretty good!" and from there on I was an instant fan.
NRAMA: Who's your favorite among the characters and crew?
AG: I gotta go with Tolo. This is his quest, he's the guy you'll see grow. Aside from him, I'm also partial to Darby - Tolo's dad. I based his visual look on my own father. So anyone who knows me from cons knows how important my dad is to me. [Garzaâs father is usually seated beside his son at any convention appearance]
NRAMA: What about the rest of the cast? I'm sure you've got some personal attractions to each of them as you came up with their looks...
AG: Sabra⦠you'll also see her growth, plus she's super cute. [laughs] Verdian is a blast to draw just because he always looks so sinister. Captain Kalyx is also just insane, think "Long John Treebeard".
NRAMA: And how nostalgic are you with the usual/regular faces such as Cho'd, Hepzibah, Raza...?
AG: I'm really enjoying all three of them. Cho'd is just sooo big, and cool. Raza is the tough guy, almost the âWolverineâ of the group, lots of cool poses. And Hepzibah⦠super hot female/feline, who wouldn't enjoy drawing her?
NRAMA: What differentiates Starjammers from your past projects such as Ninja Boy, E.V.E. Protomecha, Robotech, Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day, Superman/Thundercats? What turns you on about Starjammers?
AG: Like I said, my approach is a bit different from my usual fare. It's kind of like Ninja Boy, it's kind of like Graduation Day. Over the course of the book I'd like to start one place and by the end be in an entirely different place. You'll see what I mean when you pick up the book!
NRAMA: In terms of your art style? You posted on the boards here that this is not your usual style, but some have already labeled/dismissed it as âmangaâ⦠though you said it has an European feel to the whole thingâ¦
AG: It's not manga! The only manga I own is Akira. My art is heavily influenced by artist like Jim Lee, Art Adams and Michael Golden. My biggest animation influences come from the guys around here⦠Iron Giant being one of the biggest. For this book, however, I'm thinking a little more Moebius.
Starjammers #1 and #2 are scheduled to hit stores in July.
More Images:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/Starjammers/Tolo_cadet.jpg">http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/Starjam ... _cadet.jpg</a><!-- m -->
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/Starjammers/Kadix.jpg">http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/Starjammers/Kadix.jpg</a><!-- m -->
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/Starjammers/snippets.jpg">http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/Starjam ... ippets.jpg</a><!-- m -->
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/Starjammers/sjr6.jpg">http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/Starjammers/sjr6.jpg</a><!-- m -->
Reported 14/04/2004
Source Newsarama
by Benjamin Ong Pang Kean
Leaked a while back, acclaimed sci-fi writer Kevin J. Anderson has confirmed for Newsarama that he is writing a new Starjammers miniseries for Marvel Comics to begin in July. Teaming up with the writer is artist Ale Garza.
![[Image: Starjmers1_t.jpg]](http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/Starjmers1.jpg)
For those who came in lateâ¦or only have caught glimpses of the Starjammers crew, the group first appeared in X-Men #104 (first series, now known as Uncanny X-Men). Led by Christopher Summers aka Corsair (and the father of Scott Summers, aka Cyclops â and thatâs a long story), the Starjammers are a small band of space pirates with noble intentions. Apart from numerous appearances in the various X-titles, the Starjammers starred in two miniseries in the past, namely the two-part X-Men Spotlight On⦠Starjammers by Terry Kavanagh and Dave Cockrum in 1990 and the Starjammers four-issue limited series by Warren Ellis and Carlos Pacheco in the mid-1990s. Former teammates include Professor X of the X-Men, Binary (Carol Danvers) and Shiâar Empress Lilandra Neramani. Donât expect to see the regular band of space pirates in Anderson and Garzaâs new Starjammers however. âFirst off, readers have to be prepared that this is a completely new version of Starjammers, retooled from scratch,â Anderson told Newsarama. âIn fact, my instructions from the Powers that Be were to scrap everything, keep the good stuff, and begin over. This has no continuity with the old series or with other parts of the Marvel Universe. No Shi'ar Empire, no "Corsair" Summers -- it's an original science fiction tale that will have some familiar aspects for those who remember the old issues, but new readers don't have to haunt comic shops to pick up all the back issues. It's standalone in the Marvel universe, with no continuity with other titles.âIn general, this story is inspired by the British Empire in India; our main character - Tolo Hawk, has completely bought into the Royal Army, doesn't understand these rebels in India, why they would object to the British way... until he is faced with a situation that throws him in with the opposite side, the âbloodthirsty piratesâ and is forced to see things in a different light. Oh, and there's also plenty of fights, explosions, all the good stuff, too.â The British Empire? âI meant metaphorically -- this is set in the far future out in deep space in a large galactic empire.â
Other than Tolo Hawk, who are in the new Starjammers comic? âPrincess Sabra is a charming girl born to privilege, not realizing she is the pawn of a villainous shadow government organization, the Committee, run by Anazar Prime. Sabra's sexy and tough-as-nails bodyguard is Lenise. Tolo's father, Darby Hawk, is accompanying him to the capital world where Tolo will join the Defense Corps of the Union of Intelligent Races. They're stuck fighting a hopeless war against a corrupt empire... but nothing is exactly black and white, and they find allies in unlikely places. You'll see several of the main characters -- but they're in different roles, now. Raza, Cho'd, Hepzibah. From the outset though, I was told not to include Chris Summers.â
The 42 year-old Anderson is acclaimed for his international bestsellers such as the Star Wars: Jedi Academy trilogy, the Star Wars: Young Jedi Knights series with wife and co-writer Rebecca Moesta, the prequel trilogy to the Frank Herbert's classic SF novel Dune, coauthored with Herbert's son Brian, X-Files: Ground Zero and his multi-volume galaxy-spanning sci-fi epic The Saga of the Seven Suns. His comic works include Saga of the Seven Suns: Veiled Alliances and Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Gorn Crisis for DC/Wildstorm, the Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi series of miniseries and Predator: Primal for Dark Horse and Grumpy Old Monsters for IDW.
âIt's a long and roundabout path -- an editor at Marvel had read my Dune prequels with Brian Herbert and also some of my other novels, so he wrote me from out of the blue and asked if I would like to take a crack at writing some issues of X-Men, Hulk or other core characters,â Anderson said when asked how he came to work on Starjammers for Marvel. âI was thrilled with the opportunity, and we bounced around some ideas... but then he moved to a different job, and my proposals were handed off to another editor. Eventually, Marvel came back and said what they were more interested in was to have me pick up one of their âmothballedâ titles and retool it from scratch. Then we spent several months looking at several possibilities. I was interested in Killraven, because - as you can tell from some of my novels and short stories, I have a real connection with H.G. Wells and the War of the Worlds, but either there were copyright issues or Marvel had other plans for Killraven. Then we looked at trying to do something interesting with Man Wolf, and then I got a phone call from the editor: "Kevin, I have two words for you -- Space Pirates!" And that's how we settled on Starjammers. Because of my background in Star Wars and Dune, I was a natural choice for writing a big science fiction epic,â Anderson continued. âMy approach to it is to tell a large story with amazing alien worlds and creatures, not just a small story with a group of core characters having an adventure. I believe there's a big readership for something that hits squarely in the science fiction genre, beyond superhero adventures - hey, I love reading about superheroes, too... but this is different. Make no mistake, Starjammers is not superheroes in space -- it's a coming-of-age tale for a young man thrown into a situation that goes utterly against his training and upbringing, and you'll see his character shift from hating a group of murderous pirates to understanding them.â
âI'm writing it as a monthly book, and Marvel has committed to six issues,â he added. âObviously, we hope it's popular enough to continue. I've already got the story arc plotted for about fifteen issues. Because of the scope and the number of characters, the plotlines can go in plenty of different directions. Iâve done some big SF comics â Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi for Dark Horse, my Seven Suns graphic novel Veiled Alliances from Wildstorm, even Star Trek: The Gorn Crisis. I think big SF is just made for comics -- you can include spectacular landscapes, great space battles and ships, weird aliens. I tried to include those details in prose, in my Dune prequels with Brian Herbert, in all of my Star Wars novels, and in my Saga of Seven Suns series. I think I understand how to tell big epics spanning many characters and many star systems. Ale's artwork will convey that sense of "bigness" in the galaxy. He is fast and good and very enthusiastic.â
Other Images:
http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/Chod.jpg
http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/Told.jpg
http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/Sabra.jpg
http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/raza.jpg
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ALE GARZA: AN EYE FOR THE STARJAMMERS
Reported 19/04/2004
Source Newsarama
by Benjamin Ong Pang Kean
![[Image: Stajammer_Ship_t.jpg]](http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/Starjammers/Stajammer_Ship.jpg)
Last week, acclaimed sci-fi novelist Kevin J. Anderson confirmed for Newsarama that a new Starjammers will be hitting the spinner racks in July. Today, artist Ale Garza has provided Newsarama with more art and answered a few quick questions about the all-new, all-different Starjammers. And now⦠Starjammers artist Ale Garzaâ¦Newsarama: How did you get warped into this new Starjammers time zone?
Ale Garza: Well, that actually had a lot to do with Kevin. Initially it wasn't something I was really drawn to, but after reading Kevin's pitch I was hooked!
NRAMA: How familiar are you with the concept and characters of the Starjammers?
AG: The only experience I remember was when Jim [Lee] drew the characters in one of his old X-Men runs. I remembered them looking cool, but then again Jim has a knack for making everyone look cool.
NRAMA: Considering that this is not set in continuity and that instead of Corsair, there's now this young guy called Tolo Hawk and his gang, did you come up with their designs?
AG: Oh yes, it was a blast! I love designing characters, and Tolo, Sabra, Verdian, Kalyx and all the rest were all a ton of fun! Plus I got to re-imagine the classics also!
NRAMA: What are your influences when you designed these new characters and settings? Did you base them on any of your favorite sci-fi series? What were your fave series, anyway?
AG: I'm really approaching this book from an European standpoint. I had just seen Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, so that was pretty fresh in my mind. As far as sci-fi influences, it definitely has a dash of Star Wars. Other than that, Titanic played an influence.
NRAMA: Kevin J. Anderson, being a novelist and having written sci-fi stuff such as The Saga of the Seven Suns novels and the Veiled Alliances hardcover graphic novel, the Dune prequels, Star Wars, Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Gorn Crisis... did he have an input when it came to initial character and set designs?
AG: Yeah, I always like feedback, not only from the writer, but also any editors involved. Kevin definitely played a part in whipping Sabra into shape! [laughs]
NRAMA: What's it like working with Kevin? Are you a fan of his novels?
AG: To be honest, I wasn't too familiar with his work - I tend to only read books with pictures - [laughs] but once I read his outline, I was like, "Damn, this guy's pretty good!" and from there on I was an instant fan.
NRAMA: Who's your favorite among the characters and crew?
AG: I gotta go with Tolo. This is his quest, he's the guy you'll see grow. Aside from him, I'm also partial to Darby - Tolo's dad. I based his visual look on my own father. So anyone who knows me from cons knows how important my dad is to me. [Garzaâs father is usually seated beside his son at any convention appearance]
NRAMA: What about the rest of the cast? I'm sure you've got some personal attractions to each of them as you came up with their looks...
AG: Sabra⦠you'll also see her growth, plus she's super cute. [laughs] Verdian is a blast to draw just because he always looks so sinister. Captain Kalyx is also just insane, think "Long John Treebeard".
NRAMA: And how nostalgic are you with the usual/regular faces such as Cho'd, Hepzibah, Raza...?
AG: I'm really enjoying all three of them. Cho'd is just sooo big, and cool. Raza is the tough guy, almost the âWolverineâ of the group, lots of cool poses. And Hepzibah⦠super hot female/feline, who wouldn't enjoy drawing her?
NRAMA: What differentiates Starjammers from your past projects such as Ninja Boy, E.V.E. Protomecha, Robotech, Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day, Superman/Thundercats? What turns you on about Starjammers?
AG: Like I said, my approach is a bit different from my usual fare. It's kind of like Ninja Boy, it's kind of like Graduation Day. Over the course of the book I'd like to start one place and by the end be in an entirely different place. You'll see what I mean when you pick up the book!
NRAMA: In terms of your art style? You posted on the boards here that this is not your usual style, but some have already labeled/dismissed it as âmangaâ⦠though you said it has an European feel to the whole thingâ¦
AG: It's not manga! The only manga I own is Akira. My art is heavily influenced by artist like Jim Lee, Art Adams and Michael Golden. My biggest animation influences come from the guys around here⦠Iron Giant being one of the biggest. For this book, however, I'm thinking a little more Moebius.
Starjammers #1 and #2 are scheduled to hit stores in July.
More Images:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/Starjammers/Tolo_cadet.jpg">http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/Starjam ... _cadet.jpg</a><!-- m -->
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/Starjammers/Kadix.jpg">http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/Starjammers/Kadix.jpg</a><!-- m -->
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/Starjammers/snippets.jpg">http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/Starjam ... ippets.jpg</a><!-- m -->
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/Starjammers/sjr6.jpg">http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/Starjammers/sjr6.jpg</a><!-- m -->