When a legendary comic book creator calls to say that he wants to return to Puyallup this summer, you bring him. Please welcome back Jim Starlin to the Washington State Summer Con from June 21st to the 23rd.
Jim Starlin has been a leading creative force in the comic book industry for over four decades. He has worked on iconic characters ranging from Iron Man and Batman to the Avengers and the Justice League. While working at Marvel Comics, he created major characters including Thanos, the lynchpin villain of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe, and Drax the Destroyer & Gamora of GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY. He broke new ground with one of the first creator-owned series—the epic space opera DREADSTAR.
Jim served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War. After leaving the Navy, he found work at Marvel Comics in 1972 and has been working with them off and on ever since. After stints on THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN and IRON MAN, Jim was offered Marvel’s first “cosmic” comic, CAPTAIN MARVEL. He took over writing chores after drawing his first issue, soon establishing Thanos and making him the integral character of Marvel’s universe outside Earth.
After co-creating Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu, Jim took over WARLOCK and ushered him into Marvel’s cosmic universe. WARLOCK became one of Marvel’s signature titles of the decade and cemented Jim as a master of the space opera. The ‘80s would see Jim create his character Vanth Dreadstar, and launch what is widely considered as one of the decade’s definitive series: DREADSTAR. One of the first creator-owned series, it helped pave the way for other writers and artists to control their creations. The decade would also see Jim work at DC Comics, writing BATMAN and killing off Robin as part of the famous “A Death in the Family” story.