Dreadstar

Dreadstar is the first comic-book series that was published by American publisher Epic Comics, an imprint of Marvel Comics, in 1982. It is centered on Vanth Dreadstar, sole survivor of the entire Milky Way galaxy, and an ensemble cast of crewmates, including cyborg sorcerer Syzygy Darklock, and their struggle to end an ancient war between two powerful, evil empires: The Church of The Instrumentality, run by the Lord Papal; and the Monarchy, administered by a puppet king.

The comic book, created by Jim Starlin, was bimonthly during most of its run. Epic published 26 issues, after which it was published by First Comics who carried it for 38 more issues, for a total of 64 issues. The first 41 issues were published bi-monthly, after which the book was published monthly for a time, though it resumed bi-monthly publication with issue #51. In the early 1990s, a six issue limited series was published by Malibu Comics' Bravura line of creator-owned titles. Jim Starlin had stated in interviews as early as 2000 that he was working on a new Dreadstar series titled "Class Warfare" (including sample artwork in Slave Labor Graphics' The Price trade paperback), but the last mention of this was in late 2002. In 2011, in promotion for Breed III, Starlin again mentioned the possibility of another Dreadstar series. In 2021, a 100-page graphic novel by Jim Starlin and inker Jaime Jameson, Dreadstar Returns, was published by Ominous Press, after it was previously crowd-funded through the Kickstarter in 2020. Another Dreadstar graphic novel by the same creative team, Dreadstar vs. The Inevitable, was released in 2024 by Monkey Wrench Press.