When we last saw Ted Knight, Opal City playboy who preferred to devote his time to science rather than parties, he dismissed the television as something that would never catch on. He had subsequently become interested in the exploits of costumed mystery men who had been grabbing the headlines.
There’s a temptation, almost, to join their ranks!
During a trip to Washington, D.C. to visit his cousin, Sandra Knight, Ted learned of her attempts to complete Professor Davis’s experiments and received an invitation to assist her. Among the gadgets, he found a contraption…
If what Sandra says is even half true… Consider the possibilities! I could be a mystery man like Batman – only flying around, right up there with Green Lantern!
Ted returned home and started work that night. Some time ago, he had discovered previously unknown cosmic rays radiating from the stars, but had never found a way to harness them until…
There wasn’t anything particularly momentous about the occasion. Ted simply pressed a button to start the flow of cosmic rays…
He immediately called Sandra to share the news with her and learned that she had begun fighting crime as Phantom Lady. Several days later, on a date with Doris Lee, the gravity rod began vibrating in his pocket. With his first adventure, Ted Knight offered his services to the FBI as…
And there was no denying it after that. Starman was here. A beacon of light in the darkness where those in fear of evil could go.
Adventure Comics #61
April 1941 (March 5, 1941)
$0.10
(The Amazing Starman)
9 pages
Writer: Gardner F. Fox
Artists: Jack Burnley
Editor: Fredric Whitney Ellsworth
All-Star Squadron #41
Jan. 1985 (Oct. 25, 1984)
$0.75
“Catch a Falling Starman”
23 pages
Writer: Roy Thomas
Scripter: Paul Kupperberg
Penciller: Arvell M. Jones
Inker: Bill Collins
Editor: Roy Thomas
Secret Origins (vol. 2) #7
Oct. 1986 (July 10, 1986)
$1.25
“Phantom of the Fair”
22 pages
Writer: Roy Thomas
Plotter: Danette Thomas
Penciller: Arvell M. Jones
Inker: Steve Montano
Editor: Roy Thomas
Starman (vol. 2) #9
July 1995 (May 16, 1995)
$2.25
“Shards”
24 pages
Writer: James Robinson
Penciller: Tony Harris
Inker: Wade P. Von Grawbadger
Editor: Archie Goodwin
Starmann Secret Files #1
April 1998 (Feb. 11, 1998)
$4.95
“Talking with Ted… Talking with Jack”
22 pages
Writer: James Robinson
Penciller: Lee Weeks
Inker: Roger Campanella
Artist: Phil Jimenez
Editor: Archie Goodwin
On February 10, 1941, World’s Best Comics #1 hit the stands, preceding the first appearance of Starman by a month. It was a quarterly publication of 96 pages with a cover price of $0.15. (This was not the first comic in this format. DC had successfully tested it twice before with World’s Fair Comics #1 and 2.)
It featured DC’s three heavy-hitters on the cover (Superman, Batman, and Robin) and, besides stories with them, the inside pages also featured Red, White, and Blue, Crimson Avenger, Johnny Thunder, and Zatara, among others.
In essence, this was the first issue of the long-running title, World’s Finest Comics. With issue #2 (May 16, 1941), the title changed:
CODEX OMNIVERSA 