Starlight #6

By Mark Millar, Goran Parlov and Ive Svorcina

Right off the bat, let’s put this out there: It’s a god damn shame that Starlight is a mini-series. Mark Millar has been a busy guy and with series like this one and MPH, it’s safe to say he’s been on a hell of a roll as well. Starlight has been an excellent addition to not only the Millarworld, but go the catalogue of Image Comics as well. With its old-school feel and amazing art, it’s really been one of the best series of this past year.

Millar closes out Starlight in style—as if you had any doubt—but the question of, ‘How does it all fit together?’ still lingers. How does this fit into Millar-world and all his grand, upcoming plans? Maybe that’s a question for another day, though, because, really, when has Millar steered us wrong? Duke McQueen instantly became a favorite, and that was long before this finale hit the shelves. His characters have heart, feeling and a real realness to them that other books can’t always achieve. So, however Duke fits into the future let’s just hope we get more of him.

That old-school feel might have been hatched by Millar, but it’s executed to absolute perfection from artist/colorist duo Goran Parlov and Ive Svorcina. Parlov hits every note beautifully as he crafts the epic final confrontation between Duke McQueen and Kingfisher. The movement is fantastic and his character expressions are spot on. Even something as simple as a smug Duke, smoking a cigar while waiting expectantly for the masses to arrive is so subtly brilliant you can’t help but linger on the page. Add to Parlov’s style and feel that great coloring of Ive Svorcina and, yes, this is another winning artist team on the Image roster. The flat feel to the colors, the lack of shading, really elevate that four-color feel to the story and, frankly, it’s a nice change from the more modern look we’re now accustomed to.

This creative team absolutely nailed this series. This is something that we desperately need more of. Even as the final pages are wrapping up, the withdrawals are already kicking in. We need more Mark Millar/Goran Parlov in our lives, even if that means it’s not a Duke McQueen tale. You don’t need any previous knowledge of the Millar-world to get into this book, so you have no excuses when the trade drops. This was something special and I implore all of you to check it out.