Issue(s): Starblast #2
Cover Date: Feb 94
Title: "Crossing guard"
Credits:
Mark Gruenwald - Writer
Herb Trimpe - Penciler
Ralph Cabrera - Inker
Mike Rockwitz - Editor

Review/plot:
Gladiator has returned to his Shi'ar ship to find that it's been taken over by a bunch of Earth superheroes. What's funny is that Herb Trimpe is drawing this as a histrionic shouting match while Mark Gruenwald is writing a reasoned conversation.

On top of that we have another word balloon misattribution, so the conversation is a mess to follow.

But Quasar teleports Gladiator away to continue the "discussion". Meanwhile, Captain Marvel seems to be deputy leader, and she has the group continue along the trail after the Starblasters.

But then a ton of Imperial Guard show up.

Some of them detect Quasar's quantum trail and teleport after him and Gladiator. So Black Bolt and Lockjaw follow as well. Black Bolt is able to knock out Gladiator by whispering in his ear.

There's also massive fighting going on back at the Shi'ar ship.

We'll see in the next chapter that a development for Captain Marvel comes out of the fight between her and Manta in this issue. You'd never know it from here. This is the totality of that fight:

The fighting eventually settles down and Captain Marvel and Binary manage to convince the remaining Imperial Guards to come with them after the Starblasters.

Meanwhile, the Starblasters turn over Kayla Balantine to the Stranger.

The art in this issue is horrible...

...and the story is mainly a thousand random characters fighting each other, depicted in horrible Trimpe-vision.

Quality Rating: D

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: This is technically part four of Starblast. But i'm covering all the Namor and Fantastic Four issues separately from the Quasar/Starblast issues. So i'll cover Quasar #55 next.

References:

• Gladiator had been on Earth to fight Nova in Nova #1.
  
• Quasar was trying to dump Gladiator in the Quantum Zone the way he did with Neutron in Quasar #33, but Gladiator was aware of that incident and was prepared for Quasar to try it again.

Crossover: Starblast

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

I know I'm in the minority, but I didn't mind Herb Trimpe's 90's art. It wasn't fantastic, but I liked better than his older stuff.

The main reason I want to get to the conclusion of Starblast is to find out whether Trimpe ever learned how to draw Black women's hair.