FemForce Up Close #2
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeFemForce Up Close #2 is the second installment of AC Comics' 1992 full-color solo-spotlight spin-off from their flagship all-female superhero title — a series described by AC itself as a landmark color companion to the main Femforce book, with each issue drilling into a single character's life and history. This issue hands the spotlight to Stardust (Dr. Mara), the alien warrior from the female-dominated planet Rur, giving her the most extended solo treatment she had yet received in print and placing her personal origin mythology — her transformation via the Stellar Erg Implanter and her complicated relationship to her homeworld — at the center of a complete narrative arc. In doing so, the issue represents AC's ongoing effort through the Up Close series to deepen the bench of a team that, by the time this comic was published, was already recognized as the first and longest-running all-women superhero team in comics. The appearance of supporting characters drawn from across the Femforce cast — including General Gordon, Captain Tom Kelly, Nightveil/Laura Wright, She-Cat, Synn, Mara, Claudette Meyler, and the Rur-connected figures Proxima and Lady High Chancellor Reina — makes it a significant node in the interconnected continuity AC was building around its roster.
In "One Slip...", Jo, a woman from the emotionally restrained world of Rur, grapples with the aftermath of Jason Burke’s death, a loss that unsettles her rigid upbringing. With Nightveil’s magic, she journeys back to her homeworld, only to find Earth’s raw emotions challenging everything she’s been taught. Back on Earth, her growing connection with David Burke takes an unexpected turn—just as gonzo video journalism begins to blur the lines between truth and spectacle. Written by Mark G. Heike and Christie Churms, with art by Dave Roberts and Jordi Ensign, and colored by Rebekah Black, this 1992 issue features a cover by Mark Heike and Rik Levins.
In "One Slip...", Jo, a Rurian whose culture suppresses emotion, grapples with the aftermath of Jason Burke’s death while navigating a growing connection with David Burke. Back on her homeworld, guided by Nightveil’s magic, she confronts the contradictions between her upbringing and the feelings she’s experienced on Earth—feelings that now feel impossible to ignore. As her relationship with David deepens, the unpredictable world of gonzo video journalism threatens to upend everything she thought she knew.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Femforce Up Close launched in 1992 as a full-color spin-off from the long-running Femforce series, conceived to give individual team members room that the ensemble main title could not always provide. Issue #2 was published in July 1992 by Americomics (AC) with stories written by Mark Heike, Christie Churms, and Richard Rome, art by Richard Rome, Dave Roberts, Mark Heike, and Jordi Ensign, pin-ups by Greg Horn and Chris Allen, and a cover by Mark Heike. The series grew out of publisher and creator Bill Black's push to improve consistency across the AC Femforce line, a period during which he was also expanding the stable by bringing in artists like veteran Marvel great Dick Ayers to handle increased demand for Femforce artwork.
Trivia · 7 facts
- Cover by Mark Heike; interior stories written by Mark Heike, Christie Churms, and Richard Rome; art by Richard Rome, Dave Roberts, Mark Heike, and Jordi Ensign; pin-ups by Greg Horn and Chris Allen.
- The issue's lead story, 'One Slip,' centers on Stardust (real name Dr. Mara), a scientist and political dissident from the female-dominated planet Rur who gained superpowers — flight, superhuman strength, and energy bolts — via the Stellar Erg Implanter.
- A backup story, 'Stardust Memories,' has Stardust reflect on her own origin, making this one of the most comprehensive single-issue treatments of the character's backstory in the AC line.
- The narrative premise — Stardust returning to her homeworld after being changed by her experiences on Earth, only to find she no longer fits in — engages the science-fiction alienation themes that distinguish her from the rest of the primarily Earth-bound Femforce roster.
- Supporting cast indexed in this issue includes Femforce members Nightveil (Laura Wright), She-Cat, Synn, and Too Tall Tara, alongside recurring military and government figures General Gordon and Captain Tom Kelly — the Femforce's sometimes antagonistic military liaisons.
- Proxima and Lady High Chancellor Reina, figures connected to Stardust's Rur-based mythology, appear in the issue, grounding it in the wider interplanetary continuity AC had been developing across the Femforce and Sentinels of Justice titles.
- Femforce Up Close ran for nine issues (1992–1994), with each issue spotlighting a different member; the series concluded with a Nightveil-focused final issue that reverted to black and white, making the earlier full-color issues like #2 part of the series' peak production period.
Cast · 14 characters
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