Dreadstar #2
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeDreadstar #2 is the second chapter of what was, at the time of its release, the most significant experiment in mainstream creator ownership American comics had yet attempted — the inaugural series of Marvel's Epic Comics imprint, the first ongoing title published under that banner. While issue #1 carried the weight of the debut, #2 deepened the world-building by spotlighting Willow, the team's cybernetic telepath, in a story that demonstrated Starlin's ambition to give full psychological interiority to every member of his ensemble cast rather than treating them as satellites around a single hero. Running without a Comics Code Authority seal and sold exclusively through the direct market on higher-quality paper than standard Marvel fare, the early Epic issues — #2 among them — embodied a new publishing philosophy that put creative ownership and mature storytelling at the center of the American mainstream.
In "Willow's Story," Jim Starlin delivers a haunting, character-driven chapter in the Dreadstar saga as Syzygy awakens the long-suppressed telepathic gifts in Willow—gifts tied to a painful childhood trauma with her father. With Starlin handling every aspect of the interior art and inks, and Glynis Wein’s colors adding depth to the emotional weight, this 1983 issue stands out as a rare, introspective moment in the series. The cover by Starlin captures the tension with a striking, intimate portrait of Willow’s inner turmoil.
ComicBooks.com Value
Show all 11 grades ▾
More listings for this title
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
Jim Starlin wrote, penciled, and inked the entire issue himself, continuing the complete creative control he retained under the Epic framework co-edited by Archie Goodwin and Al Milgrom — an arrangement launched by editor-in-chief Jim Shooter specifically to attract and retain creators who wanted ownership of their work. The series had roots stretching back through Epic Illustrated magazine and Marvel Graphic Novel #3, meaning by the time #2 shipped (cover-dated January 1983, released December 14, 1982), Starlin had been developing this corner of his cosmos for several years across multiple formats. The bimonthly schedule that governed the early run gave Starlin the breathing room to sustain solo creative duties, though that pace would later prove a point of tension as the Epic line evolved.
Trivia · 7 facts
- Cover-dated January 1983; released December 14, 1982, per the Marvel Database.
- Story title: 'Willow's Story' — the issue focuses on why Willow, the cybernetic telepath on Dreadstar's crew, cannot reach her full psionic potential; Syzygy Darklock mystically bonds their psyches and transports them to another plane to investigate.
- Widely cited as the first appearance of Skeevo, a recurring supporting character in the series.
- Written and drawn entirely by Jim Starlin, the series' creator, maintaining the complete solo creative control that the Epic imprint was designed to enable.
- Published by Epic Comics, Marvel's creator-owned direct-market imprint — Dreadstar was the very first ongoing series that imprint ever published, making every early issue part of that landmark inaugural run.
- Carried no Comics Code Authority seal and was sold exclusively through the direct market, printed on higher-quality paper stock than standard Marvel newsstand titles.
- The Epic run of Dreadstar (#1–26) has been reprinted in multiple formats: Slave Labor Graphics issued black-and-white volumes in the early 2000s, Dynamite Entertainment released full-color reprints of the first 12 issues in 2004, and Ominous Press collected the run (including #2) in its Dreadstar Omnibus Vol. 1 in 2019.
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Dreadstar and Company #2 (1985), Dreadstar #3 (2001), Dreadstar #1 (2004)
Key issues in Dreadstar
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.