"Star Rovers" is a

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

feature published by

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

between 1961 and 1964. The feature first appeared in seven issues of DC's science-fiction anthology comic ''

Mystery in Space ''Mystery in Space'' is the name of two science fiction American comic book series published by DC Comics, and of a standalone Vertigo anthology released in 2012. The first series ran for 110 issues from 1951 to 1966, with a further seven issues ...

'', followed by two issues of DC's companion science-fiction title ''

Strange Adventures ''Strange Adventures'' is a series of American comic books published by DC Comics, the first of which was August–September 1950, according to the cover date, and published continuously until November 1973. Original series ''Strange Adventure ...

''. The characters were created by writer

Gardner Fox Gardner Francis Cooper Fox (May 20, 1911 – December 24, 1986) was an American writer known best for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. He is estimated to have written more than 4,000 comics stories, including 1,500 for DC ...

and artist

Sid Greene Sidney Greene (June 18, 1906 – October 1972)Sidney Greene
at the Mystery in Space ''Mystery in Space'' is the name of two science fiction American comic book series published by DC Comics, and of a standalone Vertigo anthology released in 2012. The first series ran for 110 issues from 1951 to 1966, with a further seven issues ...

'' was an anthology comic book that featured short science fiction stories together with a number of ongoing features. The first Star Rovers story, "Who Caught the Loborilla?" (''Mystery in Space'' #66, March 1961) is not bannered as a Star Rovers story as such. In an editorial in the reprint title ''DC Super-Stars'' '#8 (Oct. 1976), titled ''DC Super-Stars Of Space'', DC editor

Jack C. Harris Jack C. Harris (born August 30, 1947) is an Americans, American comic book writer and editor known mainly for his work in the 1970s and 1980s at DC Comics. Biography Early life and career Jack C. Harris attended the University of the Arts (Ph ...

states that the Star Rovers were not at that point designed as a series, and "Who Caught the Loborilla?" was written as a standalone story. However, the characters returned three issues later in "What Happened on Sirius-4?" (''Mystery In Space'' #69, Aug. 1961), and then due to public demand became a regular series under the "Star Rovers" title. The team appeared a further five times in ''Mystery in Space'', every third issue, before switching to DC's other science fiction anthology title, ''

'', for "Will the Star Rovers Abandon Earth?" (''Strange Adventures'' #159, Dec. 1963) and one last appearance in that title, "How Can Time Be Stopped?" (''Strange Adventures'' #163, April 1964), after which the series ended. The first two stories were eight-page tales; this was extended to 10 pages from the third story onward. DC later reprinted the first four Star Rovers stories in ''Strange Adventures'' #232-236 (Oct. 1971 - June 1972). The last five stories were reprinted in DC's science fiction reprint title '' From Beyond the Unknown'' #18-22 Sept. 1972 - May 1973). The fifth story, "Who Saved the Earth?", from ''Mystery in Space'' #80, was later issued in another reprint title, ''DC Super-Stars'' #8. The characters played a critical part in the three-part comic-book

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Twilight Twilight is daylight illumination produced by diffuse sky radiation when the Sun is below the horizon as sunlight from the upper atmosphere is scattered in a way that illuminates both the Earth's lower atmosphere and also the Earth's surf ...

'' by

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and

José Luis García-López José Luis García-López (born March 26, 1948) is a Spanish people, Spanish-Argentines, Argentine comics artist who works in the United States, particularly in a long-running relationship with DC Comics. In addition to his storytelling art, he pr ...

(Twilight, Books I-III, Dec. 1990 - Feb. 1991) and the associated

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''Ironwolf, Fires of the Revolution'' (1992). The team has since made only one further appearance, in '' Starman'' vol. 2, #55 (July 1999), by writers James Robinson and

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, with

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. In

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reboot of DC's continuity, the Star Rovers are re-introduced as smugglers, first appearing in '' Green Lantern: New Guardians Annual'' #1 (March 2013). The characters have retained their original names, with a new addition to the team, Chuddu. In their first appearance, they are tasked with smuggling

Carol Ferris Caroline "Carol" Ferris is a fictional character appearing in the . She is one of many characters who has used the name Star Sapphire, and the long-time love interest of Hal Jordan, the Silver Age Green Lantern. In her role as Star Sapphire, Fe ...

Arkillo The Sinestro Corps, occasionally known as the Yellow Lantern Corps, is a supervillainous group and analog to the Green Lantern Corps in the DC Universe. They are led by Sinestro, and derive power from the emotional electromagnetic spectrum of fe ...

, and

Saint Walker Saint Walker (Bro'Dee Walker) is a fictional comic book character appearing in American comic books and other associated media published by DC Comics. He is an alien member of the galactic Blue Lantern Corps, an organization dedicated to spreadin ...

into

Lady Styx Lady Styx is a supervillain in the . Her first appearance occurred in the weekly series '' 52''. Publication history Lady Styx first appeared in '' 52'' #31 as the main antagonist to Adam Strange, Animal Man, and Starfire. She later made appeara ...

' Tenebrian Dominion. However, they decide to sell them to scouts, for the Hunted, a game show competition. The Star Rovers next appear in the backup feature of ''

Threshold Threshold may refer to: Science Biology * Threshold (reference value) * Absolute threshold * Absolute threshold of hearing * Action potential * Aerobic threshold * Anaerobic threshold * Dark adaptation threshold * Epidemic threshold * Flicke ...

'' from #2 (April 2013) to #5 (July 2013), starring

Larfleeze Larfleeze, also known as Agent Orange, is a supervillain appearing in comics published by DC Comics, usually as an antagonist in books featuring Green Lantern and the Green Lantern Corps. He is the primary wielder of the orange light of avarice, ...

. They are hired by Larfleeze, to help him find his missing treasures.

Characters

The lead characters in Star Rovers were three 22nd century adventurers named Homer Glint, a novelist and sportsman, Karel Sorensen, a former Miss Solar System winner who was now a space-adventurer, and playboy Rick Purvis. These three characters were not depicted as a team; instead, they would meet under varied circumstances, usually competing for a prize or award, and encounter difficulties in their individual efforts. The hook of most of the Star Rover stories was that each character would have a different viewpoint on the problem and come up with his or her own solution; sometimes none of them are right, while sometimes they all are. The characters then get together and pool their experiences and resources to win the day, often saving Earth or some other planet or civilization as a result. Sorensen is unusual in early 1960s comics as she is depicted as a strong, intelligent female on an equal footing with the male characters. Otherwise, there is little character development in the stories, with the exception of "Where Was I Born - Venus? Mars? Jupiter?", in ''Mystery in Space'' #77 (Aug. 1962), which gives some information on the Star Rovers' individual backgrounds.

Other appearances

After 1964, other than a one-panel appearance in ''The History of the DC Universe'' (Book 2, 1986), and an entry in ''Who's Who: The Definitive Directory Of The DC Universe'' #22 (Dec. 1986), no further mention of the Star Rovers was made until a new reading of the trio played a critical part in the three-part comic-book

'' by

and

(Twilight, Books I-III, Dec. 1990 - Feb. 1991). A makeover for most of DC's 1950s and 1960s

characters, ''Twilight'' depicts a savage, relentlessly militaristic universe for these hapless characters, far removed from their simple 1960s universes. The characters are significantly twisted (physically and psychologically) from their heroic earlier incarnations. Beginning with the wars between humans and a resistance formed by robotics-augmented animals and mutant cyborgs, man's future history is narrated (in framing sequences for each issue) by an ancient Homer Glint, once of the Star Rovers, who is quickly established as a former spin-doctor for the human government. Glint tells how Rick Purvis double-crossed and killed a gorilla leader of the animal/automaton matrix live on an intergalactic broadcast, and, through Glint's engineering of the story, became a figurehead for massed human hatred of the non-human alliance. Glint also worked for an intergalactic news agency. Furthermore, he also manipulated the image of the fascist military ruler

Tommy Tomorrow Tommy Tomorrow is a science fiction hero published by DC Comics in several of their titles from 1947 to 1963. He first appeared in ''Real Fact Comics'' #6 (January 1947). He was created by Jack Schiff, George Kashdan, Bernie Breslauer, Virgil Finl ...

image in a similar way earlier during the war, and that Purvis and Karel Sorenson also worked as journalists.

Julius Schwartz cameos

Artist

Sid Greene Sidney Greene (June 18, 1906 – October 1972)Sidney Greene
at the Julius Schwartz Julius "Julie" Schwartz ( ; June 19, 1915 – February 8, 2004) was an American comic book editor, and a science fiction agent. He was born in The Bronx, New York. He is best known as a longtime editor at DC Comics, where at various times he ...

into his stories whenever he could. The following is a list of the Star Rovers tales in which Schwartz is identifiable: * "Who Caught the Loborilla?" (''Mystery in Space'' #66) - page 2, panel 5, p7, panel 5 (observer) * "What Happened on Sirius-4?" (''Mystery in Space'' #69) - page 2, panels 3/4 (radio astronomer) * "Where is the Paradise of Space?" (''Mystery in Space'' #74) - page 2, panel 2 (in restaurant) * "Where Was I Born - Venus? Mars? Jupiter?" (''Mystery in Space'' ) - pages 4/5 (man in green hat) * "Who went where -- and why?" (''Mystery in Space'') - page 2, panel 3 (in restaurant) * "When Did Earth Vanish?" (''Mystery in Space'' #86) - page 7, panel 1 (in crowd) * "Will the Star Rovers Abandon Earth?" (''Strange Adventures'' #159) - page 8, panel 5 ("specialist")

Footnotes

References

* Rovin, Jeff - Adventure Heroes: Legendary Characters From Odysseus To James Bond, ''Facts on File'' Pg 251 * Brent, John - Who Were the Star Rovers - ''Amazing Heroes'' #128, November 1, 1987 (ISSN 0745-6506), Fantagraphics Books Inc

External links

DC Database (wikia): Star Rovers

Mike's Amazing World of DC Comics
{{Gardner Fox DC Comics titles DC Comics superhero teams Characters created by Gardner Fox Comics characters introduced in 1961