Starlord, cover date 26 August 1978

Ro-Busters cover by Kevin O’Neill. I had a couple of copies of Starlord when I was eight. I was a little young for it – my regular comics were still the funny ones – but I remember feeling then that it was something special: larger, sophisticated, classy.

In fact, it probably wasn’t much more adult than 2000 AD (which is not intended to denigrate Starlord in any way), it was just the big-screen version: similar great stories and stunning artwork in longer instalments, on larger, nicer paper. And 3p (33%) more expensive!

Unavailable off-world, however.

Alan Hebden was always good for a strong serial script in boys’ adventure comics in the seventies and eighties, and he is responsible for two of the regular stories in this week’s Starlord: Mind Wars (art by Jesus Redondo) and Holocaust (Horacio Lalia).

Despite the strong cover, the Ro-Busters episode isn’t one the series’ best, written on this occasion by Chris Lowder rather than Pat Mills, and drawn by Jose Luis Ferrer rather than the likes of O’Neill, Dave Gibbons or Carlos Pino.

Ro-Jaws and Hammerstein are caught up in an explosive battle between mining corporations on the moon. I found it a bit messy and hard to follow, but the classic Ro-Busters themes of violence, robo-attitude and the evils of capitalism all seem to be there.

For me, the jewel in the crown of this particular issue of Starlord is Earn Big Money While You Sleep, a one-off Future Shocks-style story by John Wagner and Alan Grant, exquisitely illustrated by Jose Casanovas.

Just look at the artwork on this. Such detail, craft and imagination. I know I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again: the quality of storytelling and illustration we could buy for pocket money prices was just astonishing. These were supremely talented creators who deserve to be remembered.

Johnny Alpha and Wulf Sternhammer were on holiday this week, sadly, but they would be back next week.