What are the Wild Stars?
The Wild Stars are series of comic books with nearly 25 years of publishing history. But the story behind the story began long before that.
Shown below are the covers of Wild Stars, Volume 3, published in 2001 and 2002. Below that is the wraparound cover for the Wild Stars: Book of Circle Graphic novel. Soon, both will once again be available through Diamond Comics Distribution. The graphic novel has always been available on Amazon.com.
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About Michael Tierney
Michael Tierney has been a comics retailer since 1982, with two store locations since 1989. He is also a CBG Trendwatcher reporter and Reviewer, and an Overstreet Price Guide Advisor. He is also an independent publisher under the name of Little Rocket Publications (being located in Little Rock, AR, you can guess where the name came from), writing and sometimes drawing and even printing his Wild Stars comics, since 1984. His first ever publication was a fan short story in Eerie Magazine #37, back in 1972. It's a no-brainer as to where the name of his website came from:
http://www.thewildstars.com
The Magazine
What is the concept of the Wild Stars?
Seventy-Five Thousand Years ago, mankind first migrated into space and colonized the brightest stars in the night sky, creating the region of space known as the Wild Stars.
The first picture shown below is Dave Simons raw art for next years 25th Anniversary Hardcover, for which he re-illustrated the introduction that explains all this.
And yes, if you have already read either the comics or graphic novel, that is indeed Tall Trees and Morning Mist from the final pages, now being shown on the very first page. There are reasons why this graphic novel is titled: The Book of Circles.
The page shown below that is from V3#4, touches not only on this basic concept, but also explains the alternate realities created during the course of the story.
The History of the Wild Stars: The Seventies.
In the Seventies I wrote a series of novels and forty-plus short stories that all shared a unified universe know as the Wild Stars.
Below is a picture of six of the novels, produced in old school fashion on a typewriter. Some of these are the result of several drafts and title changes, with final versions shown here. As you can tell by the aging of the paper, these novels were created between 30 and 40 years ago. To save them from being lost to time, these manuscripts were recently reproduced into limited edition hardcovers, and are at the bindery now.
These novels and short stories established the past, present, and future history of the Wild Stars, stretching far into the distant past and future. The longest of which, Moonshadow, is a 109,000 word origin of the mysterious character that the comics only refer to as the Ancient Warrior. Most of these novels were submitted to the various publishing houses of the day. I received a lot of encouragement, but was warned that my work was a little too edgy. Editors seemed to be in a constant state of flux, and when one would show an interest, they would be quickly replaced by another who had different tastes. Eventually, I kept writing purely for my own satisfaction. Or because of an obsessive compulsion. Call it what you will.
The novel First Marker was the basis for the Wild Stars comics series, first published in 1984. First Marker was later rewritten and released in 1998 as a limited edition hardcover title Under the Wild Stars
The Wild Stars were actually first illustrated before the comic book, way back in the Seventies, when I released the self-published Across the Distance Portfolio, with illustrations by both artist Bruce Conklin and myself. Depicting various scenes from throughout this series of novels, Across the Distance was produced at the print company I was managing at the time, so I was able to directly supervise this production, with each individual plate signed by the respective artist.
But the actual beginning of the Wild Stars started even before this.
Wild Stars — The Seventies continued:
My first published tale of the Wild Stars appeared in the January, 1972 issue of Eerie Magazine, from Warren.
This tale of a doomed colony lost far out in distant space, Final Conqueror was run in the FanFare section, at the back of the book.
But this was not the only appearance of the story.
A unedited version of Final Conqueror also ran in the second issue of the small press magazine titled Ecstasy Oblivion, in the Summer of 1977. I also contributed that issues cover, as well as interior art (too mature to reproduce here), and a second story, a horror tale appropriately titled: Hell on my Mind.
Volume 3 of Ecstasy Oblivion was released in Winter, 1978, with another pair of my illustrations, and another of my futuristic stories, titled: Judgment Day.
But the published work from the Seventies that Im most proud of was my first self-published magazine in 1977, titled The Multiversal Scribe — Volume One.
Professionally typeset and printed on glossy, coated stock, The Multiversal Scribe featured my work exclusively; a novelette and three short stories, along with numerous illustrations and the Razor Edge portfolio, plus the short-short titled Cities of Man, where I took the rules of writing a colloquy, and reversed them. Each story was a different genre, written in a different style. To complete this attempt at uniqueness, the Visual Editorial titled Upon the Waste of Contemplation is just that. Ive had countless people describe the messages that they drew from this illustration, but it was just a bizarre picture, and they were really wasting their time.
Both the Multiversal Scribe and the Across the Distance portfolio are still currently available. Being a former journeyman printer and manager, Ive always understood that the major cost of creating any publication is all in the setup, and after that the cost is just the paper when you print extra. At this time, both The Multiversal Scribe magazine and the Across the Distance Portfolio are only available through direct purchase at my either of my two Comic Book specialty stores.
Wild Stars — The Eighties:
In the Eighties, I took the next step.
Disillusioned with the novel submission system, I decided to illustrate the Wild Stars myself. My years in printing had taught me every phase of print production, so the only things left to learn were the retail and distribution aspects of publishing. So I opened my first comic book store, named Collectors Edition in 1982, to start the process of figuring these things out.
Collectors Edition still operates today at 3217 John F. Kennedy Blvd., in North Little Rock, Arkansas (72116). My second location, aptly named The Comic Book Store, was opened in 1989, and still operates today at 9307 Treasure Hill, in Little Rock, Arkansas (72227).
I also used the name Collectors Edition when I started releasing the first of my Wild Stars comics. I would later decide that the name was too generic, and change over to the name of Little Rocket Publications (being based in Little Rock, Arkansas, you can guess where that name came from). But there was an upside to the name of Collectors Edition. Whenever distributors were late in paying, theyd misinterpret who I was when I called and, thinking me a collection agency, payments were then promptly made.
Volume One #1 was the introduction to life in the distant Wild Stars, themselves, and the war in which they were embroiled with a wolfen-like race known as the Brothan.
Back then, I considered it cheating to use reference for artwork (I would later change my opinions on this), and with a production schedule in mind, the artwork was all produced in less than a month. In retrospect, I wish Id taken a different approach.
Released in the Summer of 1984, the Wild Stars came out just before the infamous Black & White Boom and Bust of the Eighties, and was sold through the different comic book distributors of the day.
Not satisfied with the art, I decided to literally go back to the drawing board. In 1985, the Wild Stars Portfolio was released, where I changed my style to incorporate pencil with ink. But the production process was a difficult one. After the initial negatives were botched, I went into the camera room and helped shoot the final product myself.
While satisfied with the final product, I realized that the technology in printing was not yet conducive to reproducing pencil art work in a cost effective manner.
I went back to working with ink for Wild Stars, Volume Two #1, releasing it in Winter of 1988, right after the Black & White Bust. I really poured my heart into this one, and actually printed it on my own printing press in my garage.
To my knowledge, WSv2#1 was the first comic to feature foil stamping or die cutting on the cover, possibly the only comic to feature die cutting on the back cover, and was also printed by the artist and creator. To make each copy even more special, on one page there was a mountain seen in the background, that I used a printers technique to slowly fade away throughout the print run. If you have a copy with a solid mountain, it came from the first of the run. However much the mountain is faded will tell you where it was produced during the printing process.
In this way, each copy of Wild Stars Vol. 2 #1 is like a individual, unique art print.
Yeah… Im the one who started the whole cover gimmick thing. Blame me.
And when it was done, I decided that itd been way too much work, and sold my printing press.
But I wasnt done with the Wild Stars. Not by a long shot.
Up next: the turbulent Nineties. There are reasons why, as a comic retailer and Comic Buyers Guide Trendwatcher and Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide Advisor, that I refer to this time period as The Dark Age.
In the Nineties I was ready to really start hitting the publishing road. It was a time of unusual opportunity for small press publishing. And a lot of money was there to be made for those who took advantage.
There are several reasons why I released no comics in this time period, which I wont go into here. The dedication in the front of the Wild Stars: Book of Circles graphic novel tells as much of the story as I should. Instead, Im going to focus on the positive.
In retrospect, the Nineties turned out to be a pretty terrible time for comics. Wholesale value for books published during this turbulent time currently runs about four cents a copy. Or by the pound or by the gallon. Certain ones Ive actually burned in my fireplace. Quality and thin content had a lot to do with this. Massive overproduction was another big part of it. Combine this with what one columnist for The Comics Buyers Guide estimated to be nearly Twelve Thousand failed comic book stores over a ten year period, and the market is still gutted today with books from that time period.
No Golden Age here. Definitely a Dark Age.
But that doesnt mean I quit working on Wild Stars.
Still determined to draw the comic myself, I tried a new art process, hoping to overcome the limitations of art reproduction, and switched to using duo-shade art paper.
Duo-shade was once a main staple of newspaper cartoonists. Once the inking part of the process is completed, gray tones can be created by using a combination of two liquids, which brought out different types of shading. It made for quick work.
Wild Stars Volume 3 #1 was completely drawn in one month using this process. Presented below for comparison is one of my original pages, and the same page redrawn by artist David Brewer, which was used in the actual 2001 publication.
This was when I realized two very important things.
With Mac computers and Photoshop, the print industry had been revolutionized. Suddenly, computer typesetting was a breeze and reproducing pencil artwork no longer impractical. In order to bring out all the shading details, I still had to skew the scanner settings in much the same way that Id skewed the camera settings for the Wild Stars portfolio in the Eighties. But this was easily accomplished.
Also presented below is one of my incomplete pencil pages from V3#2. This was when I came to my second conclusion. The magnificent final cover by the legendary Frand Brunner for this same issue will give you a hint into what I was thinking.
Much like the decision to no longer print my comics on my own printing press, I’d decided that it was time to start hiring the artwork process out. Admittedly, telling the story was always my main goal, and I only drew in order to tell that story. But I never practiced at my art like I did my writing, and the final product showed this.
In 1998, I released the limited edition hardcover of the Under the Wild Stars novel, which Id circulated throughout the decade. Several editors and agencies had requested full copies (this was now the digital age), but no sale was ever made.
So, going into the New Millennium, I decided to go into a new direction, and started looking for experienced artists to better help me visualize my tales of the Wild Stars.
One of the best things that I did with Volume 3 of Wild Stars was hiring Frank Brunner to do the cover artwork chores.
I’ve got to tell you, he pours his heart into his work. For the detail on the tree for #2, Frank spent an entire day inking the detail!
Working from a simple sketch and notes, he got it exactly right the first time, every time. Seeing the adjustments that he’d make on my concepts confirmed that I’d made the right choice in giving up the art chores.
I’d done a lengthy search for an interior artist, including talking with local university art professors about their graduate students. But when these artists got a blank look on their faces whenever I’d talk about things like two-point and three-point perspective, I started looking at artists with actual professional comic experience.
David Brewer only did the first two issues of Volume 3, until sheduling conflicts with the skateboard company for which he was producing artwork forced him to drop off the project.
That’s when I hired an even more experienced veteran of the comics industry: Dave Simons. I’ll tell you, working with professionals who will draw exactly what you ask for was such a releif. Below is my sketch for his first page of artwork, and the final page as publsihed.
My decision to let loose of the art reins was confirmed to be a good move.
Since I’d alwayhs planned to draw the artwork myself, I probably provided both Frank and Dave far more information than they really needed, with scripts that made Alan Moore look lazy, page sketches and lots of photo reference.
One day Frank called and asked if I was giving Dave as much information as I was giving him. I replied that Dave had just asked the same question about Frank.
But these guys did a magnificent of getting it right. They understood that I had a vision of the final product, and did a far better job of realizing it than I could have done myself.
With Wild Stars Volume 3, I tried a lot of different things to my books unique.
Each book was done as a stand alone story, telling the tale of one group of characters and giving you a beginning, middle and end with each issue. When put together, you got an even bigger story.
Anther trick was making the covers interactive with the stories. With the scuba diving cover on #3, most people don’t notice that the diver is digging Spanish treasure out of the coral. In the story, this was not shown until the last panel.
Issues #4, #5 and #6, the covers all featured scenes not seen in the interiors, or scenes presented from a different angle. In #6, the bad guy who’s chasing the Spanish treasure gives a female character a lighter that secretly contains a bomb detonator.
With all the years I’d worked on this project, the story details were layered one on top of the other.
Future Wild Stars?
Oh, yeah! I’ve got lots of stories still untold, both past, present and future.
In 2002 I published the first issue of Force majeure: Prairie Bay. Two more were planned, but artist Armando Gil started doing other things, and I hated to change artists in the middle of a book again.
The Wild Stars Boardgame has been long finished and looking for a manufacturer. At one time, Troll Lords was interested. But the Tarzan boardgame that I created, which is currently under contract with them, and licensed by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., has yet to be made. So, their interests have probably moved into other areas.
But there are still a lot of other plans for Wild Stars… starting with next year’s 25th Anniversary edition of The Book of Cirlces, currently being prepared!
If anybody is curious for more information about the Wild Stars, I’ve finally finished setting up the website at:
http://www.thewildstars.com/
Right now, the site is obviously the work of an amatuer, but it’s a work in progress as I initially concentrate on content. It’ll get ‘prettier’ later.
The learning process of figuring out domain, hosting, html and website design has been a steep hill, but now that I finally have pages up, I’m over the crest of the hill, and it should get a whole lot easier from here on out.
Can’t find Wild Stars at your local comic book store? Help is on the way.
Volume 3 of the Wild Stars comics, and the Wild Stars: The Book of Circles graphic novel will be offered once again through Diamond Comics!
Check out the June, 2008, issue of Previews, and ask your local retailer to order you a taste of the Wild Stars.
And, as this workshop in website developement continues; once you’ve gotten a site up with content, you then want to figure out ways to get the word out.
Here’s a preview of an upcoming ad.
For the ordering convenience of anyone who might be interested, here are the Diamond order codes for the following:
Wild Stars: The Book of Circles graphic novel — JUN084108
The complete set of the Wild Stars Volume 3 comics — JUN084109
Simply give those descriptions and order codes to your local retailer, and you’ll be making his or her life easier, and be on your way to owning a piece of the Wild Stars!
Thanks go out to all those who ordered Wild Stars Volume Three, the complete comics set of #1 through #7, and the Wild Stars: Book of Circles Graphic Novel from Diamond!
Both items ship to your local retailers next week.
Hope you enjoy them!
Anybody interested in a trivia contest?
I’ve had several customers who’d read the graphic novel up to 5 times, discovering a new layer of the story each time through, and I could still show them things that they missed!
The 25th Anniversary edition of Wild Stars: The Book of Circles is at the printer now!
The official release will be March 19th in Memphis at the ComicsPRO annual meeting.
As mentioned before, Dave Simons contributes new artwork for this edition, as the Prelude has been reworked and expanded. His opening page is shown below, after rendering but before type.
Other features include previously unpublished Wild Stars comic art pages, plus a brand new introduction by the CBG’s own John Jackson Miller, writer of Iron Man and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic comics, and more.
Here’s a sneak peak at the hardcover’s dust wrapper”
You know, this internet is a pretty amazing thing.
Up until now, the only place on the web that I’ve talked about the 25th Anniversary Edition of Wild Stars is here and on my own website. But I haven’t even put it up for sale on my website yet… waiting until after it’s been listed in Previews next month, and Diamond retailers have had the first crack at it.
But… just yesterday I did a search to see if anyone who’d seen the promotional copies at ComicsPro in Memphis might be talking about it, and was stunned to find that:
Wild Stars: The Book of Circles — Recalibrated is already offered for sale in the UK, several places in Europe, Japan, and other countries around the world!
I know how it happened. My printer automatically offered my book to Ingram Periodicals, and from there it went to Amazon.com and from there to the world.
But still… that’s pretty fast! I’m sure the sites offering used copies already are just form listings.
Wow…an amazing history. I love the new look. I’m a bit disappointed that Force majeure didn’t continue. I love the art from that cover.
Thanks for the compliment!
If you liked the Force Majeure cover, you should check out my other thread in this folder, titled ‘Art imitating Life or Life imitating Art?’ or some such. A Nasa rover on Mars sent back a photo that people would think inspired that cover, if it weren’t for the fact that the photo was taken years later. I guess that’s a case of getting something right the first time.
Force Majeure isn’t completely dead, even though Armando only did a few pages of the second chapter in the trilogy before moving on to other endeavors. I’d thought for a while about finishing it with another artist, or maybe even returning to doing artwork myself, but changed my mind and also moved on to other projects.
But Force Majeure is an intergral part of the overall chronicles of the Wild Stars, and now that I have my 25th Anniversary book completed, I’m back on it.
Still haven’t decided about the format to complete it with. I’ve been tempted to return to prose, having written several Wild Stars novels in the past, and have so many other stories that still need told. Plus, there are other options.
One way or another, Force Majeure is back at the front of my list of things to do. Then I can move on to all those other projects I want to tackle.
Thanks for the interest!
It’s officially here!
Wild Stars: The Book of Circles — Recalibrated is now offered in the May 2009 Previews, which went on sale yesterday.
I won’t go into a pitch about it. Most of the stuff I’d try to tempt you with is in this thread.
For those of you who are interested and want to order through your local comic shop:
The Diamond order code is: MAY090978
I was flattered by the statewide newspaper, The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette today, when they featured me on the front page of their High Profile section this Sunday morning.
It was a tribute to my 27 years as a local comics retailer (47 if you combine both stores), as it was a tribute of my 25 years of publishing Wild Stars comics.
Reporter Ron Wolfe and photographer Stephen Thornton each did an excellent job. Stephen made me look good, and Ron made me sound even better.
Hearing accolades from customers and readers refer to me as having lasted so long because I had “a really good head for business,” and was “a good man” “in a business rife with skullduggery” and how my Wild Stars comics were “superior to many of the comics offered by the Big Three publishers” were far more flattering than anything I might ever have expected.
Especially nice were recent Eisner Winner (for best new graphic novel) Nate Powell’s comments about how I carried his earliest self-published efforts and “gave (him) the first real opportunity to let (his) voice be heard.”
Thanks to all for the compliments.
As I’m sure many creators and publishers do, I’ve been keeping track of sales of my Wild Stars on the secondary market. On Ebay, almost all of my Wild Stars comics have been snapped up. All of the listings for the Eighties editions are gone. Had a lot of recent activity.
While the Wild Stars graphic novel has gotten some very flattering reviews, my biggest compliment came on Amazon.com recently, where new copies are listed both above and below the suggested retail price of $27.95.
One purchaser of Wild Stars: The Book of Circles — Recalibrated decided that reselling his or her copy for cover price wasn’t enough:
A used copy is now listed on Amazon.com for $48.86!
That’s the biggest compliment I’ve had so far!