R.I.P. Shooting Star

Shooting Star Comics is no more. I know the passing of a small, indy publisher isn't great news to the rest of the world, but it leaves me with a touch of melancholy. Shooting Star published my first comic story, the dragon vs. dinosaur short "Dracosaur" in Shooting Star Comics Anthology no. 5. I have mixed feelings about the finished piece--it's supposed to be funny, but because of space limitations, I ended up cutting most of the jokes so it reads as if it's taking itself more seriously than it does. And while the art is gorgeous, the artist was inexperienced and didn't understand some of what I wanted, so the storytelling (and pacing) suffer. I've toyed with the idea of rewriting and expanding the script to 12-14 pages and drawing it myself, but I don't have enough time to write these days, and artwork is far more time consuming for me.

In its too-brief run, Shooting Star published work by Chuck Dixon, Mike Grell, Todd Fox and my buddy and fellow Green Arrow enthusiast, Scott McCullar. The partners in the company sank a lot of their own money into the thing, not to mention blood, sweat and tears. And time. Let's not forget the time commitment. From my experience and perspective, they were a bunch of talented and enthusiastic creators with a grand vision. I was really pulling for them. Unfortunately, if they were a metaphorical team of horses hitched to a plow (or a wagon, if you like) then they were all pulling in different directions. That's not a good way to accomplish anything, unless, of course, you want to have someone drawn and quartered. A bunch of these guys will turn up elsewhere in the comics biz you can bet, but it's always disappointing to see talented folks come up short in their first effort.



Farewell, Shooting Star. You will be missed.

Now Playing: Pink Floyd Staying Home to Watch the Rain