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Star is the story of a rocker trying to outrun his demons.
story & words - Brian John Mitchell
artwork - Kurt Dinse
order individual issues of Star for $1.50 ($2.50 intn'l) (includes shipping)
Star Issue 
Star Issue 
order Star #1-#4 for $4 ($7 international) (includes shipping)
read a PDF of Star #1 | read a CBZ of Star #1
Reviews (may contain spoilers):
* Star #1 *
A musician that had addiction problems as a youth and they still haunt him. The art on the demons here is well done. It is scary. The way it blends in with the darkness and the way it seems to be emerging from it. Are the demons real or just from his mind? This is a sad tale of a life wasted. He never fully enjoyed what he had. Now life has left him unfulfiled. Poor guy.
~ Richard Vasseur, Jazma Online

This book is the strongest comic in this group. The artwork was fantastic, so much detail for such a tiny page. The real winner was the story. Was it all internal issues or something that was a real issue. Those poor ex-girlfriends never saw it coming. The pacing was great, as it played out and like some of the others reviewed here I would hope this wouldn’t be a standalone issue, but if it is it works.
~ Decapitated Dan, From the Tomb

This is another fine example of what can be done in the mini-mini-mini comics format, as previously reviewed on this site. Once again Brian John Mitchell managed to pull off quite an impressive feat, namely to produce a tiny comic the size of a matchbox that contains in itself a whole story.
Star is the tale of a musician trying to outrun his demons, and what demons they are. The life of a rockstar is never supposed to be a particularly easy or enjoyable thing- if it was the music just wouldn’t be so darned cool. Would anybody have given a shit if Robert Johnson died of old age instead of being murdered for banging a married lady? Would Nirvana have been half as big if Kurt hadn’t gotten trigger happy and instead produced another album, slightly substandard and behind the times? Probably not.
Our protagonist in Star has a very rocker story to tell. He is a man who has lived through his music. The endless troubadour. Addressing the reader directly the story unfolds as if recounted on a dingy stage in a smoky room. As with most of BJM’s work that I’ve encountered, the methodology is precise. Much like with Twitter, it seems the key is boiling down each line to the bare facts- no easy task by any means, but the way it presumably must be done in order to cause maximum impact given the little space available.
The artwork of Kurt Dinse is quite incredible given the space available. Each page is an image in itself, with the space wisely used. There’s a heavy contrast in blacks and white and a masterful balance across the page. In terms of art, this is perhaps my favourite in the works I’ve received from Silber so far.
Whilst the story is self-contained (some Silber comics are ongoing), I would like to see if this could be taken further. The very human main character is both intriguing and amusing, and his struggles proved to be exciting. When coupled with the artwork it proved to be a very entertaining piece of work.
Stick this at the top of your ‘comics to order from Silber’ list.
~ Chris Wigley, Hand Drawn Awesome

The best of the new pack, by far, is STAR #1 which is drawn by artist Kurt Dinse. The story of a traveling musician who is always on the run from his (literal) demons, this may be the best looking comic that Silber has ever released. Even with the matchbook-sized format, the art is amazingly detailed and attractive to the eyes. The story works well, too, making this one a total winner.
~ Marc Mason, Comics Waiting Room

I enjoyed the thick inks used in this issue. Artistically, there's also more technical precision than I typically see from the Siber Media offerings, with figures in silhouette, negative space used deftly, and a stippling technique on display. Dinse's art accomplishes quite a lot with the miniscule size. I loved seeing (finally!) an issue without the typewritten dialogue in a scroll along the bottom of the page. I've enjoyed the Silber Media books for the most part, but this has been my biggest and most consistent criticism of the line, so it was nice to see it fade away for this series. Star is a stylish tale about a musical drifter with a mysterious past. I feel like I finally have a Silber Media book to truly call my own, where the tone of the story, the flourish of the art, and the technical execution all converge to engage, and it's become the best Silber Media book in my opinion, realizing the full potential of this diminutive experimental scale. Grade A.
~ Justin Giampaoli, Poopsheet Foundation

* Star #2 *
In Star, readers encounter an aging badass rocker, complete with beer gut and jaded ironic mentality, who wakes up in the middle of a one night stand turned extraordinarily unwholesome. Sometimes your date drugs you and summons a demon to the cheap motel so it can eat you. We've all been there, I guess.
The story unfolds like a series of snapshots, each moment following the next rapid fire. The first-person narration fills lends a low key, methodical pacing to the frantic turmoil seen in the images. Maybe things are going to hell in a fruit basket, but our guitar hero is staunch, stoic and plumbed for self-preservation.
The graphic style used by artist Kurt Dinse is great; it reminded me of R. Crumb quite a bit. The strong compositions with clean contrast and stippling rather than shading really worked for this story. It is a great stylistic fit for a tale of some spooky stuff happening in the middle of the night.
Unfortunately, the lettering in Star #2 was not quite as well tailored. There is one very noticeable spelling error, and the letters generally had a weaker line than the art. They look as though they may have been written with one of those correction fluid pens.
All is forgiven, however, when I laugh out loud at the giant eyes of the characters, wider than their faces. I can't be annoyed with a comic that shows a grown man making some kind of insane flying butt leap into his pants and boots all in one go. Even better, the hero's solution to his problem has a kind of Mad Magazine logic to it, at once elegant and crass.
If I have named some of your favorite things here, then this comic is for you! If I have named some of your least favorite things, maybe you should behave yourself this year, or Star #2 might just turn up in your Christmas stocking. Composed entirely of adult themes, so caveat emptor, kiddos.
~ Holly von Winckel, Sequential Tart