Jim Starlin is a comic writer who co-created Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu, and created Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, and Thanos. He has had runs on Marvel’s Captain Marvel, Warlock, Silver Surfer, Infinity Gauntlet, Infinity War, and Infinity Crusade, as well as DC’s Batman, The Weird, and Cosmic Odyssey. Starlin took a break from meeting fans at Baltimore Comic-Con to chat with Scoop.

Scoop: Are you having fun at the convention?
Jim Starlin (JS): Having a great time. Baltimore is my favorite comic book convention bar none.

Scoop: Why is that?
JS: It’s more comic book centered than a lot of the other ones. The crowds are reasonable and the local food is terrific.

Scoop: What books do fans want to talk about most?
JS: It’s always The Infinity Gauntlet, but we’re also talking about Dreadstar, which I’ve started doing again as 100-page graphic novels. We’ve got a couple of them out through Monkey Wrench Press right now. I finished pencils on the third one, which is Dreadstar vs. Dreadstar, working on the fourth graphic novel, which is Where is Dreadstar, which has a Where’s Waldo? cover on it. The second one is Dreadstar vs. the Inevitable, and we started off with Dreadstar Returns, which is about to get printed into a softcover edition as soon as the hardcover edition of Dreadstar vs. the Inevitable arrives back from China.

Scoop: Can you tell me the story details for those books?
JS: Well the first one is about an unrequited love on a cosmic level. The second one is about accepting the limits of where you are at no matter who you are. The third one is a dysfunctional family drama. The fourth one is about… I wanted to play with the other characters so I made Dreadstar disappear for a book. The last one in the series, I don’t have a title to, but it’s about the relationship between reality, humanity, and omnipotence. So I play with a little themes.

Scoop: Are there any characters you haven’t worked on yet, but would like to?
JS: I’ve pretty much done every character I’m going to do at the major companies because I don’t work for them anymore, for a number of reasons. I’m pretty well bringing myself down to Dreadstar and also working on Order and Outrage through Dark Horse. The first four issues are out on that one, at this point.

Scoop: Do you have any other conventions coming up for the rest of the year?
JS: Salt Lake City in a couple of weeks, and I believe I’m in Novi, Michigan in December. I have an agent who takes care of the conventions, so I usually only know about it when the tickets arrive.

Scoop: Thank you so much for talking to me.
JS: My pleasure.