Starlord #13th May 1978 (1)

(13 May 1978)

Planet of the Damned [Chapter One] (Table of Contents: 1)

Planet of the Damned / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

Pat Mills

Pencils

Horacio Lalia

Inks

Horacio Lalia

Letters

Bill Nuttall

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Everything's wrong!

Genre

science fiction

Characters

Lew Kerr; Stan Hackmann; Bosun Flint; Captain Roker

Synopsis

A transatlantic jet is sucked through a hole in the sky in the region of the Bermuda Triangle and crash lands on a hostile planet that isn't in Kansas. There they meet refugees from other vessels that have disappeared in the vicinity of Bermuda.

Reprints

• in Planet of the Damned & Death Planet (Rebellion, 2016 series) #[nn] (2016)

Indexer Notes

R. E. Wright is an alias. The strip was conceived and thrashed out by Pat Mills for the launch of 2000 AD a year previously, but discarded. When IPC switched the frequency of Starlord from monthly to weekly just prior to launch new strips were needed and Planet of the Damned was pulled from the files. Editor Kelvin Gosnell re-jigged the strip, and assorted others scripted issues.

The credits in the 2016 collection "Planet of the Damned & Death Planet" confirms that Pat Mills wrote this opening segment.

Timequake [Chapter One] (Table of Contents: 2)

Timequake / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

Chris Lowder

Pencils

Ian Kennedy

Inks

Ian Kennedy

Colors

Ian Kennedy

Letters

Peter Knight

First Line of Dialogue or Text

London, New York and Moscow hit by nuclear strikes

Genre

science fiction

Characters

James Blocker; Marcus Geladius; Harl Vinda; Suzi Cho; Quexalcholmec

Synopsis

Jim Blocker is pulled out of time to the Cretacious era and told he is the direct cause of 20th century London being devastated by nuclear barrage.

Indexer Notes

Only the first two story pages are in colour, painted by Kennedy, who produced the remainder in a grey wash.

Hail, Star-Troopers - Welcome to Your First Starzine! (Table of Contents: 3)

foreword, introduction, preface, afterword / 2 pages (report information)

Script

Kelvin Gosnell (as Starlord)

Pencils

Ian Gibson

Inks

Ian Gibson

Letters

typeset

Indexer Notes

Editor Kelvin Gosnell, in the guise of Starlord, introduces readers to the new comic.

[Max Quirxx (Part 1)] (Table of Contents: 4)

Strontium Dog / comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Script

John Wagner (as T. B. Grover)

Pencils

Carlos Ezquerra

Inks

Carlos Ezquerra

Colors

Carlos Ezquerra

Letters

Jack Potter

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Die, dogs!

Genre

science fiction

Characters

Johnny Alpha; Wulf Sternhammer

Synopsis

In the 22nd century bounty hunting is left to universally despised cadre of mutants known as Strontium Dogs after the radiation that deformed them. Foremost among them is the team of Johnny Alpha and Wulf Sternhammer armed with an array of fantastic weapons to help them.

Reprints

• in Cimoc (Antonio San Román/Riego Ediciones, 1979 series) #1 (1979)
• in Strontium Dog Search/Destroy Agency Files (Rebellion, 2006 series) #1 (December 2006)
• in Perro de Estroncio (Dolmen Editorial, 2023 series) #1 (Octubre 2023)

Free Gift (Table of Contents: 5) (Expand) /

promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

Day Of The Robot (Table of Contents: 6)

Ro-Busters / comic story / 11 pages (report information)

Script

Pat Mills

Pencils

Carlos Pino

Inks

Carlos Pino

Colors

Carlos Pino

Letters

Tom Frame

Genre

science fiction

Characters

"Flash" Harry Loweder; Hammerstein; Ro-Jaws; Mek-Quake; Howard Quartz; Angel; Chatterbox

Synopsis

Billionaire Howard Quartz is creating a team of robots to respond to disasters humans can't cope with, and their first mission is underwater at the North Sea Tunnel.

Reprints

• in The Complete Ro-Busters (Rebellion, 2008 series) (November 2008)
• in Ro-Busters: The Disaster Squad of Distinction! (Rebellion, 2014 series) (April 2014)
• in Ro-Busters: The Complete Nuts and Bolts (Rebellion, 2015 series) #1 (October 2015)

Indexer Notes

Story pages 3, 4, and 11 are in colour, and Pino illustrates 5-10 in a grey wash. The Ro-Busters were actually designed by Kevin O'Neill, who never got to draw the strip in Starlord.