RON GOULART In the mid 1970s, when science fiction was primarily read by GIL KANE hard-core fans and Star Wars had yet to enter the cultural zeitgeist, Ron Goulart and Gil Kane created Star Hawks, an innovative two-tier science fiction comic strip that brought a comic book design sensibility to the newspaper page.
But Star Hawks was shelved by the syndicate before it began. Then Star Wars was released and with science fiction suddenly in vogue, VOLUME ONE $49.99 US / 65.99 CAN Star Hawks was dusted off and rushed into newspapers. Forty years after its debut, Star Hawks still looks fresh and exciting. This first of three volumes from the Library of American Comics reproduces each strip on its own page so readers can relish Gil Kane’s incredible artistic achievement, and also features an introduction by Ron Goulart. LibraryofAmericanComics.com THE LIBRARY OF AMERICAN COMICS EDITED AND DESIGNED BY Dean Mullaney • ASSOCIATE EDITOR Bruce Canwell ART DIRECTOR Lorraine Turner • MARKETING DIRECTOR Beau Smith • PUBLISHED BY Ted Adams INTRODUCTION Ron Goulart • AFTERWORD Daniel Herman
IDW Publishing, a Division of Idea and Design Works, LLC 2765 Truxtun Road, San Diego, CA 92106 www.idwpublishing.com • LibraryofAmericanComics.com
Ted Adams, Chief Executive Officer/Publisher • Greg Goldstein, Chief Operating Officer/President Robbie Robbins, EVP/Sr. Graphic Artist • Chris Ryall, Chief Creative Officer David Hedgecock, Editor-in-Chief • Matthew Ruzicka, CPA, Chief Financial Officer Laurie Windrow, Senior VP of Sales and Marketing • Dirk Wood, VP of Marketing Lorelei Bunjes, VP of Digital Services • Eric Moss, Senior Director, Licensing & Business Development Jeff Webber, Rights Management • Jerry Bennington, VP of New Product Development
ISBN: 978-1-63140-397-2 • First Printing, March 2017
Special thanks to: Ron Goulart for creating Star Hawks and also for providing us with a lifetime of literate comics criticism and historical research. Daniel Herman and Troy Musguire of Hermes Press for providing their wealth of digital files, without which this book would not have been possible. Additional thanks to Steve Geppi, Josh Geppi, and Mike Wilbur at Diamond International Galleries for providing rare Star Hawks promotional material, and to Justin Eisinger and Alonzo Simon.
Star Hawks © 2017 by United Feature Syndicate, Inc. All rights reserved. The Library of American Comics is a trademark of The Library of American Comics LLC. All rights reserved. Introduction © 2017 Ron Goulart. “Gil Kane: Bringing a Comic Book Sensibility to Comic Strips” © 2017 Daniel Herman. With the exception of artwork used for review purposes, none of the comic strips in this publication may be reprinted without the permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information and retrieval system, without permission in writing from United Feature Syndicate, Inc. Printed in Korea. star hawks…10…03…1977 15 16 star hawks…10…04…1977 star hawks…10…05…1977 17 18 star hawks…10…06…1977 star hawks…10…07…1977 19