Star Comics
Encyclopedia
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
of Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
that began in 1984 and continued to publish comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
s until early 1988. Titles published by the imprint were aimed at child readers and were often adaptations of children's television series
Children's television series
Children's television series, are commercial television programs designed for, and marketed to children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run in the early evening, for the children that go to school...
, animated series
Cartoon series
A cartoon series is a set of regularly presented animated television programs with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same characters and a basic theme...
or toy
Toy
A toy is any object that can be used for play. Toys are associated commonly with children and pets. Playing with toys is often thought to be an enjoyable means of training the young for life in human society. Different materials are used to make toys enjoyable and cuddly to both young and old...
s. Several of the original titles consciously emulated the house writing and visual style of then recently defunct Harvey Comics
Harvey Comics
Harvey Comics was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by Alfred Harvey in 1941, after buying out the small publisher Brookwood Publications. His brothers Robert B...
titles such as Richie Rich
Richie Rich
Richard "Richie" Rich, Jr. is a fictional character that debuted in Harvey Comics' Little Dot #1, cover-dated September 1953. Dubbed "the poor little rich boy", Richie is the only child of fantastically wealthy parents and is the world's richest kid. He lives and works in an expensive mansion and...
.
History
Before the existence of the Star imprint, Marvel had previously released several miniseries based on licensed toy and cartoon properties, such as the SmurfsThe Smurfs
The Smurfs is a comic and television franchise centred on a group of small blue fictional creatures called Smurfs, created and first introduced as a series of comic strips by the Belgian cartoonist Peyo on October 23, 1958...
and the Starriors. Existing ongoing series, based on other licensed toy lines, such as G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (Marvel Comics)
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero is a comic book that was published by Marvel Comics from 1982 to 1994. Based on Hasbro, Inc.'s G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero line of military-themed toys, the series has been credited for making G.I. Joe into a pop-culture phenomenon. G.I...
and Transformers, remained under the Marvel banner. Marvel eventually dissolved the Star imprint but absorbed several Star titles under the main Marvel banner such as Care Bears
Care Bears
The Care Bears are characters created by American Greetings in 1981 for use on greeting cards. The original artwork for the cards was painted by artist Elena Kucharik. In 1983, Kenner turned the Care Bears into plush teddy bears...
and continued to license new properties, such as The Pirates of Dark Water
The Pirates of Dark Water
The Pirates of Dark Water is a fantasy animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera in 1991.-Premise:The alien world of Mer is being devoured by an evil substance known as Dark Water. Only Ren, a young prince, can stop it by finding the lost Thirteen Treasures of Rule...
.
In the early-1990s, Fabian Nicieza
Fabian Nicieza
Fabian Nicieza is an American comic book writer and editor who is best known for his work on Marvel titles such as X-Men, X-Force, New Warriors, Cable and Deadpool, and Thunderbolts, for all of which he helped create numerous characters.-Early life:The son of Omar and Irma Riguetti Nicieza, Fabian...
briefly served as the line's editor.
Updated versions of Wally the Wizard, Planet Terry
Planet Terry
Planet Terry was an American science fiction comic book aimed at young children. Published by Star Comics, an imprint of Marvel Comics, the title lasted 12 issues, from April 1985 to March 1986...
, Top Dog and Royal Roy
Royal Roy
Royal Roy: A Prince of a Boy was a short-lived bimonthly comic book title from the Marvel Comics younger readers' imprint Star Comics, created by Lennie Herman and Warren Kremer.-Publication history:...
are featured in the X-Babies
X-Babies
The X-Babies are a group of Mojo-manufactured child clones of the X-Men. They first appeared in Uncanny X-Men Annual #12 and were created by Chris Claremont and Art Adams.-Appearances:...
miniseries published in late 2009.
Titles
- Air Raiders (1987–1988; #1-2 under Star imprint, continued under Marvel imprint)
- ALFALF (TV series)ALF is an American science fiction sitcom that originally aired on NBC from 1986 to 1990, created by Paul Fusco. The title character was Gordon Shumway, a friendly extraterrestrial nicknamed ALF , who crash lands in the garage of the suburban middle-class Tanner family.The series starred Max...
(1988–1991) - Animax (1986–1987)
- Bullwinkle and Rocky (1987–1989; #1-2 under Star imprint)
- Care BearsCare BearsThe Care Bears are characters created by American Greetings in 1981 for use on greeting cards. The original artwork for the cards was painted by artist Elena Kucharik. In 1983, Kenner turned the Care Bears into plush teddy bears...
(1985–1989; #1-14 under Star imprint) - Chuck Norris: Karate KommandosKarate KommandosChuck Norris: Karate Kommandos is an American animated television series from the 1980s. It originally aired in 1986 as a syndicated five episode mini-series...
(1987) - Count DuckulaCount DuckulaCount Duckula is a British animated television series created by British studio Cosgrove Hall, and a spin-off from DangerMouse, a show in which the Count Duckula character was a recurring villain. The series first aired on September 6, 1988 and was produced by Thames Television for 3 seasons and...
(1988) - Defenders of the EarthDefenders of the EarthDefenders of the Earth is an animated television series produced in 1986, narrated by Corey Burton and featuring characters from three comic strips distributed by King Features Syndicate—Flash Gordon, the Phantom, and Mandrake the Magician—battling the Flash Gordon villain Ming the Merciless in the...
(1987) - The Flintstone KidsThe Flintstone KidsThe Flintstone Kids is a 30-minute animated television series spin-off of The Flintstones which followed the adventures of Fred, Barney, Wilma, and Betty as children with their pet Dino.-Premise:...
(1987–1989; #1-4 under Star imprint) - FoofurFoofurFoofur is a children's animated series made by Hanna-Barbera and Freddy Monnickendam. It aired on NBC from 1986 to 1988. The protagonist and title character was a skinny blue dog. The animated series was produced in part by William Hanna...
(1987–1988; #1-4 under Star imprint) - Fraggle RockFraggle RockFraggle Rock is a children's live action puppet television program series created by Jim Henson. The central characters were a set of "Muppet" creatures called Fraggles. The show ran from January 10, 1983, to March 30, 1987, on CBC Television in Canada, ITV in the UK, HBO in the United States,...
(volume 1:1985-1986 under Star imprint; volume 2:1988 under Marvel) - The Get-Along GangThe Get-Along GangThe Get Along Gang were characters created in 1983 by American Greetings' toy design and licensing division, "Those Characters from Cleveland" , for a series of greeting cards...
(1985–1986) - HeathcliffHeathcliff (comic strip)Heathcliff is a comic strip created by George Gately in 1973 featuring the title character, a wisecracking cat. Now written and drawn by Gately's nephew, Peter Gallagher, it is distributed to over 1,000 newspapers by Creators Syndicate, who took over the comic from McNaught Syndicate in 1988.The...
(1985–1991; #1-22 under Star imprint) - Heathcliff's FunhouseHeathcliff (comic strip)Heathcliff is a comic strip created by George Gately in 1973 featuring the title character, a wisecracking cat. Now written and drawn by Gately's nephew, Peter Gallagher, it is distributed to over 1,000 newspapers by Creators Syndicate, who took over the comic from McNaught Syndicate in 1988.The...
(1987–1988; #1-5 under Star imprint) - Hugga Bunch (1986–1987)
- InhumanoidsInhumanoidsInhumanoids was an animated series and Hasbro toy property in 1986. In the tradition of other Hasbro properties such as Transformers and G.I. Joe, the show was produced by Sunbow and Marvel Productions and animated in Japan by Toei Animation...
(1987) - MadballsMadballsMadballs were a series of toy rubber balls created by AmToy, a subsidiary company of American Greetings in the mid-1980s.The toys incorporated gross-out humor in the vein of Wacky Packages and Garbage Pail Kids...
(1986–1988; #1-8 under Star imprint) - Masters of the UniverseMasters of the Universe (comics)The Masters of the Universe media franchise has been featured in several comic book series. Most were small publications known as "minicomics" that were included as bonuses in action figure packages...
(1986–1988) - Masters of the Universe: The Motion PictureMasters of the Universe (film)Masters of the Universe is a 1987 science-fiction fantasy film based on the toy line by the same name. The movie stars Dolph Lundgren as He-Man and Frank Langella as Skeletor...
(1987) - Misty (six-issue limited seriesLimited seriesA limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
1985-1986) - Muppet BabiesMuppet BabiesJim Henson's Muppet Babies is an American animated television series that aired from September 15, 1984 to November 2, 1991 on CBS. The show portrayed childhood versions of the Muppets living together in a large nursery in the care of a human woman called Nanny...
(1985–1989; #1-17 under Star imprint) - The Muppets Take ManhattanThe Muppets Take ManhattanThe Muppets Take Manhattan is the third of a series of live-action musical feature films starring Jim Henson's Muppets, and also the final film before Henson's death. This film was produced by Henson Associates and TriStar Pictures, and was filmed on location in New York City during the summer of...
(1984–1985) - Peter Porker, The Spectacular Spider-Ham (1985–1987)
- Planet TerryPlanet TerryPlanet Terry was an American science fiction comic book aimed at young children. Published by Star Comics, an imprint of Marvel Comics, the title lasted 12 issues, from April 1985 to March 1986...
(1985–1986) - PopplesPopplesPopples is a series of fantasy characters created by Those Characters From Cleveland , a subsidiary company of American Greetings. Popples resemble brightly colored teddy bears or marsupials , and have pouches on their backs that they can go into and resemble brightly colored balls.-History:Susan...
(1986–1987) - Royal RoyRoyal RoyRoyal Roy: A Prince of a Boy was a short-lived bimonthly comic book title from the Marvel Comics younger readers' imprint Star Comics, created by Lennie Herman and Warren Kremer.-Publication history:...
(1985–1986) - SilverhawksSilverhawksSilverHawks is an American animated television series developed by Rankin/Bass and distributed by Lorimar-Telepictures in 1986. The animation was provided by Japanese studio Pacific Animation Corporation. In total, 65 episodes were made...
(1987–1988; #1-5 under Star imprint) - Star Comics Digest a.k.a. Star Comics Magazine (1986–1988)
- Star Wars: DroidsStar Wars: DroidsStar Wars: Droids, also known as Droids: The Adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO, was an animated television series that featured the exploits of R2-D2 and C-3PO, the droids who have appeared in all six Star Wars films...
(1986–1987) - Star Wars: EwoksStar Wars: EwoksStar Wars: Ewoks is an American/Canadian animated television series featuring the Ewok characters introduced in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi....
(1985–1987) - Strawberry ShortcakeStrawberry ShortcakeStrawberry Shortcake is a licensed character owned by American Greetings, originally used in greeting cards and expanded to include dolls, posters, and other products...
(1985–1986) - ThunderCatsThunderCats (comics)The ThunderCats comic book series was based on the original television series of the same name. It was originally published by Marvel Comics through its Star Comics imprint in 1985, lasting for 3 years and 24 issues...
(1985–1988; #1-24 under Star imprint) - Top Dog (1985–1987)
- Visionaries: Knights of the Magical LightVisionaries: Knights of the Magical LightVisionaries: Knights of the Magical Light was originally a range of action figures from Hasbro, released in 1987. This action figure range was promoted by two different media, telling the stories of the characters...
(1987; #1-2 under Star imprint) - Wally the Wizard (1985–1986)
Additionally, three Star Comics series were planned yet never published:
- Christy
- Little Wizards
- Young Astronauts