Thanos' Creator Has A Non-Marvel Comic That's Perfect For A Sci-Fi TV Adaptation

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According to the Grand Comics Database, celebrated artist and writer Jim Starlin first contributed work to issue #8 of "Star-Studded Comics," drawing the pencil drawings for a story called "POWERMAN VS. THE DEFENDER!" His first gig for Marvel Comics was providing art for "The Amazing Spider-Man" #113, published in 1972. The following year, Starlin also provided the pencils and the script for issue #55 of "The Invincible Iron Man," where he introduced the characters Drax the Destroyer and Thanos, the mad Titan (a character who's done some pretty heinous things in his time). 

Starlin was a massively prolific writer and artist in the comic book world and was most noted for his outsize, heady stories about gods and titans that controlled the weave and weft of the universe. He made his stamp in the 1970s writing about the Marvel character Adam Warlock, an existing character Starlin reimagined as a tortured space messiah. He often delved into psychology and philosophy. 

In 1990, he wrote a miniseries called "The Thanos Quest," which was about the death-worshipping, nihilistic Thanos seeking out the six Infinity Gems that would give him mastery over all reality. Thanks to the popularity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thanos is now a household name, and his Quest is known by schoolchildren everywhere. 

Back in 1982, though, Starlin launched an offbeat superhero title that, on paper, seems like it would be grand fodder for a cerebral, exciting sci-fi TV series. The title was "Dreadstar," and it was published by Epic Comics, an imprint of Marvel. It skewed more adult than Marvel's usual fare, and was spun out of a bizarre anthology project story Starlin launched in 1980 called "Metamorphosis Odyssey." The premise was pure "Star Wars," but with a darker, more "Heavy Metal"-like edge. 

Let's dig into "Dreadstar."

The premise of "Dreadstar" is broad and very myth-heavy. The title character, Vanth Dreadstar, had a hand in destroying the entire Milky Way galaxy (!) as a way to stop the spread of the insidious Zygotean Empire in the events of "Metamorphosis Odyssey." Vanth Dreadstar has since settled on a distant planet populated by peaceful cat people. This planet is in a galaxy that is referred to as the Empirical Galaxy, and he lives there with a cyborg telepath named Willow, a peaceful cat man named Oedi (a native of this planet), and a dude named Skeevo. 

The story of "Dreadstar" begins when his compatriot, a dark wizard called Syzygy Darklock (you gotta love these names), enlists Vanth's help in a broad, galactic war. In this galaxy, a war is raging between its two major powers: the royal-driven Monarchy, and the church-driven Instrumentality. The Instrumentality is ruled by the Lord Papal, while the Monarchy is overseen by a secret cabal of controllers who prop up a puppet king. Vanth, a veteran of galactic destruction, wants nothing to do with the war, but ends up having to fight when the war wipes out his planet's local population. Vanth, Willow, Oedi, and Skeevo form a ragtag group of mercenaries who aim to stop the conflict once and for all. 

Politics and loss play a huge part in "Dreadstar." Vanth and his crew initially team up against the Instrumentality, but they aren't successful in defeating them. They become fugitives from the Monarchy, and discover that someone among them betrayed them. This is all very exciting.

It's easy to picture "Dreadstar" as an ongoing TV series, especially a high-budget sci-fi prestige program like, say, "Foundation." It contains all the superhero elements a comic book can provide — what with its wizards and cyborg psychics — but also seems to be about the dangers of politics. And like much of Starlin's work, "Dreadstar" seems to cover heady themes of corruption and death.

After the first 26 issues of "Dreadstar," it swapped imprints and was published by First Comics, which is not an imprint of Marvel. The shift saw a bit of a premise reboot to the timeline. Vanth fell into a coma, and reawakened after the Instrumentality had already fallen. He and other superpowered beings were then enlisted to be, essentially, space cops charged with hunting down other super-beings. They were now ruled by an intelligent supercomputer. The book was taken over by star comic writer Peter David in issue #41, and ran until issue #64. 

The "Dreadstar" comic would come back periodically after that, staying just barely visible in the pop consciousness. In 2015, /Film wrote that "Dreadstar" was to be adapted into a TV series by Universal Cable Productions. Sadly, that project seems to have fallen apart when one of its biggest champions, J.C. Spink, passed away in 2017. In 2022, though, Starlin, then 74, announced at the Comic Con Experience (or CCXP) in Brazil (via ComicBook) that a "Dreadstar" TV series was indeed still in his mind, and he was still keen to see a show happen. 

Jim Starlin also mentioned the "Dreadstar" TV series briefly in /Film's own interview with him from 2022. Be sure to check that out.