This comic began in the midst of one of DC's myriad ill-conceived crossovers, and at first looked like another author trying to do a moody, gritty superhero comic. However, James Robinson soon distinguished himself as a capable author mainly interested in his characters, and as a result I think Starman comes closer to approximating the best elements of Neil Gaiman's Sandman than any book currently being published.

In the 1940s, DC published the adventures of Ted Knight, the original Starman, and a member of the Justice Society of America (comics' first superhero team). Starman wielded a gravity rod' and later a cosmic rod' with which he could fly and do other fantastic things. But people get old, even heroes, and Knight eventually decided to hang 'em up and return to his first love - astronomy. He passed the torch to his son David.

One problem: Ted's old enemy the Mist blows into town, intent on one final conflict, and David is assassinated in the opening pages of the book. Ted is too old for heroing, and turns to his other son, Jack, for help. Another problem: Jack doesn't have a good relationship with his father, and certainly has no interest in being a hero. However, the Mist eventually forces the issue and Jack takes up the mantle, reluctantly, using an old variant of Ted's gravity rod, in the form of a staff.

As I said, Robinson is mainly interested in the characters, so although there are a few superhero-style battles, and some basic catch-the-villain plots now and then, all of these are squarely subsidiary to the characterizations. Jack, of course, slowly grows into his role as a hero (though he refuses to wear a costume or a mask), and his relationship with his father gradually changes. Robinson writes the book almost as a sort of modern fairy tale. He introduces several bizarre characters who have been lurking around the fringes of DC's superhero universe for a while, including one of several other characters to bear the name Starman, and a benevolent incarnation of the swamp monster Solomon Grundy. And the Mist's daughter, Nash, decides to take up her father's mantle, and causes all sorts of problems for Jack.

And then there's The Shade, an apparently immortal, very powerful, and amoral being, who's been a criminal (because it was fun), an adventurer, and many other things besides. He blows into and out of Jack's life from time to time for various reasons, sometimes helpful, sometimes annoying. (The Shade recently received his own 4-issue limited series, in which some of his background and his peculiar sense of honor was revealed.)

For my money, the best story in the series so far involved Jack going to meet one of his father's old Justice Society comrades, Wesley Dodds, the Sandman. Dodds has not aged so well as Ted, and has had several heart attacks. Touchingly, Ted explains to Jack that he feels uncomfortable going to visit his old friend under these circumstances. Jack and Wes have a minor adventure during Jack's visit, during which we learn much about Wes and Ted, and see Wes come to terms with his lot in his old age. It's a lovely tale.

The art team of (mostly) Harris and Von Grawbadger is solid and has gotten better as the book has evolved. Harris does a good job with the faces and expressions, which a subtle book like this demands. Von Grawbadger's inks are a little heavy-handed, I think, and cover up what I suspect are some nice intricacies in Harris' pencils. But overall it works well.

Incidentally, many of the early issues have been collected in two paperback collections, Sins of the Father and Night and Day. The book is still going, and although apparently Robinson has a conclusion in mind for it, he hasn't announced when he expects it will arrive.

James Robinson (write of The Golden Age, the superb alternate-world take on DC's golden age heroes in the fifties) writes this series about the son of the original Starman (who strangely looks like Kid Eternity did in his recent series). The art, by Tony Harris, is acceptable, though rather sparse and unexciting. Robinson's story tends to rely more on the bizarre and eerie than on interesting characters or plots (both of which are actually rather mundane, when you get down to it).

Robinson seems to be weaving a subtle tapestry leading up to something involving the one-time villain, The Shade, and the original Starman's past, but it's difficult to tell where it's going. Meanwhile, our hero (an antiques dealer) is "collecting" various heroes and villains related to the name Starman (there have been four such characters in DC's history), and is currently facing the daughter of the villainous Mist.

The series overall is okay, but if I sound unenthusiastic, well, I am. Perhaps it'll break out sometime soon and become really good.