As previously noted in my Gideon Faust post by Howard Chaykin, I'm a huge admirer of his work. And while he's mainly thought of as coming into his own in the 80s when he created American Flagg for First Comics, his 70s output, when inking himself, is terrific as well. I'm not going to waste a lot of time talking up Chaykin here when you can read my thoughts on the Faust post but I would like to talk a bit about this particular story.
Chaykin wrote and illustrated Monark Starstalker which appeared in the October 1976 issue of Marvel Premiere. This is an absolutely stunning comic. Chaykin seems to be in full command of his design sense as well as his linework. His early DC work from just a few years earlier (1973-74) was already filled with great character designs and page layouts but he still seemed to be chasing a style. By the time he created this strip, he seems to be fully formed (at least he seemed to be until he took it to the next level with Flagg). This comic is filled with bold sharp graphics that show a strong Alex Toth influence. The writing is perfectly fine, it's a typical Chaykin character that combines a swashbuckling hero in a space opera setting (that last part isn't as strong here) that began with his character Iron Wolf for DC in 1973 and continued throughout his career, but it's the graphics that really shine.
The name Monark Starstalker sounds eerily like it could have been the name of a character in Star Wars. Below is a photo of Chaykin with Roy Thomas at the San Diego Comic-Con in July of 1976 promoting Star Wars, even though Star Wars #1 wouldn't be released until July of 1977. Chaykin, of course, was the artist on the first few issues of that comic. There was a Star Wars poster that was given away of the 1976 SDCC that Chaykin had painted, and it's also well known that Lucas hand-picked Chaykin to draw the Star Wars comic. I'm sure there was a slight influence, if not the concepts, then perhaps the name. Or not. Enjoy!
Roy Thomas and Howard Chaykin at the SDCC in July 1976
Marvel Premiere 32 October 1976
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