Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
But Marvel tends to bring out the worst in me, at times.
Thats a bitterly ironic statement, given what the multi-billion-dollar Marvel brand owes to Starlin.
And he swears hell never make another comic for Marvel again.
He reached a financial detente with them, but his feud with the comics folks has only grown.
Its a situation thats awkward but far from unprecedented.
Im not working for them anymore and this time, I think that its for good, he says.
Because this last [dispute] was exceedingly bad.
On its surface, the present disagreement may seem like a tempest in a proverbial teapot.
Indeed, to a layperson, it might be hard to even understand whats going on.
There have been, confusingly enough, two unrelated, ongoing comics storylines involving Thanos.
And thats what Im doing.
(Marvel declined to comment for this article.)
I got hooked on comic books early, he says.
Nothing but rejection letters, he recalls.
His comic-book fortunes abruptly changed soon after he was discharged in 1971.
He was in a creative but volatile headspace at the time.
Elated, Starlin packed up for New York City and, upon arriving, discovered that Marvel was hiring.
The first date in their long, troubled romance escalated swiftly.
As he puts it, It was a weird beginning.
And, in the long run, a profitable one, thanks to the quick arrival of Thanos.
He had just the idea for it.
The time had come, he felt, for Thanos to make his debut.
Mike and I agreed that wed talk over a plot later that night, Starlin writes in his book.
Jim had come to New York with these characters and he wanted to do them for Marvel.
In his mind, these were Marvel Comics characters.
And, when the issue hit newsstands in December of 1972, Starlins wish for his brainchildren came true.
the one-off story was a little loopy, but its verve was undeniable.
Thename, Iron Man, is …Thanos!
Moreproperly,Thanos thefirstemperorshortly of near-defeatedTitan then of your ownEarth!
A legend was on the loose.
Its more or less impossible to get sales data for comics of that era, but ifIron ManNo.
55 sold well, it didnt do well enough to make Starlins job safe.
Legendary smart-aleck writer Steve Gerber was assigned to collaborate with him for No.
Even in the hoary annals of superhero lore, that was a new one.
Starlin was having a wild time with his fellow Marvel pros.
The next great Starlin run began.
Theonlyway to do this, is to pay itsprice!Itspriceispain!).
Astoundingly, the issue didnt get him fired, perhaps becauseWarlockwas such a smash with fans.
Starlin won multiple awards for his work on the title and his stature in the comics landscape grew.
With the publication ofWarlockNo.
He quit in 1986 because his paychecks werent arriving, then returned in 1989 to writeSilver Surfer.
However, in the midst of all this turbulence, great stories have emerged.
His space operas could makeStar Warslook positively parochial, and he kept up the momentum for decades.
But Starlins excitement is also tied to the fact that the films are a payday for him.
Whether or not he ever works on another Marvel story, his legacy is secure.
You usually have three to four careers in a normal human lifespan, these days, Starlin says.
Mine just happen to be in the same career.
