Jim Starlin

Being an artist, you soak up imagery, and you put it back out in whatever form you do your own imagery.

I consider 'Dreadstar' to be an extension of my family, so it took me a while to feel comfortable letting anyone else take care of this project.

When folks are in desperate times - say, like being stuck in the middle of a long-running interplanetary war - they grasp onto anything that might keep them afloat.

Thanos came to me while I was taking a psychology class in college after coming out of the service; the ol' Thanos/Eros concept.

We all - if we are honest with ourselves, we all have these dark spaces within our souls that we don't always want to talk about or acknowledge.

Not exactly sure there can be a final chapter to Thanos, considering what he is and his relationship with Mistress Death. Might just be that as long as there is a Marvel, there will be a Thanos to plague that universe's heroes.

When I started in the comic book business, 'Art Of' books were strictly the provenance of the greats, like Rembrandt and Da Vinci. But times change, and so do attitudes. Now the comic is considered an art form, and I hope 'A Life in Words and Pictures' contributes a little to that art form's history.

Vietnam affected everything in life while it went on. My time in the service made it clear to me that what we were being told in our newspapers and newscasts, back in the States, wasn't half the story of what was really going on.

Most times, life or death is the highest stake a person can play for.

Life itself is inspiration.

Yes, Marvel Entertainment has treated me very well and generously. Them, I like.

It has taken some time, but I know I've put my trust in the right team, and I'm excited to collaborate with Universal Cable Productions and Benderspink to bring 'Dreadstar''s unique brand of chaos to television.