Daily Scans - Mike Allred's "Stardust the Super-Wizard"

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July 11th, 2009
12:55 pm
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Mike Allred's "Stardust the Super-Wizard"
Since the rediscovery of Fletcher Hanks' work, there have been a couple of modern takes on his most famous creation, Stardust the Super-Wizard. Alan Moore didn't hold anything back when Stardust cameo'd in League of Extraordinary Gentleman. A different take on Stardust can be found in Fantastic Comics #24, part of the Next Issue Project put out by Image Comics, with art by Mike Allred. "A Stardust comic illustrated by the guy who did Madman? Awesome!" you may be thinking. Um. Well...

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The story is narrated by the homeless girl from Fantastic Comics #12, now an old woman. Stardust has left the earth behind and she prays for the return of her hero.
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He punches robots, saves some superheroes (Little Nemo also shows up for no real reason) and he turns the old woman young again.

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Normally I'm a big fan of Allred's work but his art here isn't his best. I wish the writing had given him the opportunity to create his own Hanks-style mayhem instead of redrawing Fletcher Hanks' Greatest WTF Hits. And the interpretation of Stardust as a symbol of hope is...strange, considering that in his own comic he was more about punishing the guilty (in colorfully, wonderfully, bizarre and disturbing ways) than protecting or inspiring the innocent. Thoughts?

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From:[info]besamim
Date:July 11th, 2009 05:37 pm (UTC)
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I agree 100% with everything you said. This was a wasted opportunity.

For different (albeit deliberately irreverent and silly) takes on Stardust, Fantomah and other Hanks characters, see Fletcher Hanks Redux, which presents six comics shorts by artists from the Savannah College of Art and Design.
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From:[info]fungo_squiggly
Date:July 11th, 2009 05:53 pm (UTC)
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That last one seems pretty dead-on for Stardust.

I also liked the second one for Fantomah, the one that provided an actual explanation for where she gets her powers and what's up with her freaky skull face. If there was ever a Fantomah revival they should totally get that Mia person to handle it.

Thanks for the link.
From:[info]mrmojorisin1135
Date:July 11th, 2009 05:41 pm (UTC)
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I never noticed it until now but Stardust strongly resembles Miracle Man.
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From:[info]his_spiffyness
Date:July 11th, 2009 05:53 pm (UTC)
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Allred didn't quite get it right. Stardust's head is too proportional to his body.
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From:[info]kamino_neko
Date:July 11th, 2009 08:05 pm (UTC)
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I like the last page, all else aside.

I recognize everyone but ones in the top left (and the toothbrush, assuming he's not just a dream who's come with Nemo) - there's Fantomah, Skyman, Little Nemo, Spy Smasher, Daredevil, the Fighting Yank, and...someone I recognize, but can't name.
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From:[info]jkcarrier
Date:July 11th, 2009 08:24 pm (UTC)
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Top left, I think the guy in the blue shirt is Blue Bolt. Not sure about the guy in red with his back to us. The Avenger, maybe?
From:(Anonymous)
Date:July 14th, 2009 04:41 am (UTC)
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It's Mr. Scarlet, a Fawcett character.
From:(Anonymous)
Date:July 14th, 2009 04:46 am (UTC)
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Oh wait, you meant the guy in red with his back to us, nevermind.
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From:[info]jlroberson
Date:July 12th, 2009 01:12 am (UTC)
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Allred and Photoshop should never have met.
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From:[info]kingrockwell
Date:July 12th, 2009 03:22 am (UTC)
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He's not this bad in Madman Atomic Comics, I don't know what happened here.
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From:[info]jlroberson
Date:July 12th, 2009 03:52 am (UTC)
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It's surprisingly shoddy-looking. From Allred I'd expect better. And he should stick with flat color. Modeling and blurring does not look good on his highly graphic figures.
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From:[info]kingrockwell
Date:July 12th, 2009 03:56 am (UTC)
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He has been pretty notorious for missing deadlines lately, especially on MAC, so maybe this was just rushed? Like, really really rushed?
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From:[info]timgueguen
Date:July 12th, 2009 04:41 am (UTC)
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And the interpretation of Stardust as a symbol of hope is...strange, considering that in his own comic he was more about punishing the guilty (in colorfully, wonderfully, bizarre and disturbing ways) than protecting or inspiring the innocent.

Yeah, the impression one gets of Stardust is that if the Earth was threatened by a natural disaster like a giant asteroid he wouldn't bother showing up because he wouldn't get the chance to turn some pathetic excuse for a villain into icecubes or sea monster kibble.
From:[info]psychop_rex
Date:July 12th, 2009 07:51 am (UTC)
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...Why is there a humanoid toothbrush parading around on the last page? All the others are old public domain characters, but... a humanoid toothbrush? The hell?
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From:[info]aaron_bourque
Date:July 12th, 2009 07:18 pm (UTC)
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He's here to clean up this city! He'll harden the enamel of Justice! He'll battle tooth decay and TRUTH decay! He has the REACH to get to the back, bottom, and sides of EVIL!!!!
From:[info]psychop_rex
Date:July 12th, 2009 09:57 pm (UTC)
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OK, that made me chuckle.
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