:jsa_book_club: Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. Part One: New Kid on the Block:jsa_book_club:

:us: Hello again members of the JSABC and welcome to our first July session, which is going to be the first of a two part session on the entire Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. series. This is in honor of the second season of Stargirl, which is slated to begin on August 10th. This session will be covering the first 8 issues and boy do we have a bit of everything here: high school shenanigans, Superhero team ups, alien invasions, family drama and local villains just to add some local color to the whole thing.

Some Fun Facts

  • A member of the Justice Society of America, Courtney Whitmore is a legacy character to both the Star-Spangled Kid and Starman. She gets her powers from both the Cosmic Converter Belt once owned by Sylvester Pemberton (Star Spangled Kid) and the Cosmic Staff passed down to her by Jack Knight (Starman).

  • Geoff Johns based the character on his sister, Courtney Johns, who was tragically killed in the 1996 TWA Flight 800 crash. She was only 18. The character’s appearance and characterization are based on her.
    'Stargirl' creator Geoff Johns pens heartfelt letter to reviewers, reveals personal connection to the show | MEAWW

  • In the recent Stargirl show they actually use a picture of John’s sister in a montage of photos on Courtney’s wall. Stargirl star, Brec Bassinger posted the pic to her Instagram, which can be seen in the second link below.

  • There is a running gag throughout her stories of Courtney being very bad at keeping her ID a secret and we see this within a few issues of this series. Pat even comments on it at one point.

  • Her stepfather, Pat Dugan, was the adult sidekick of the Star-Spangled Kid, Stripsey, and would become Stargirl’s as well. (A bit of a role reversal as far as superhero partnerships go.)

Now let’s get started but first the roll call.

JSA BOOK CLUB ROLL CALL

Club Leaders
@JasonTodd428 & @Aurora

Standing Members

Abrax, AggressiveIntellectual219, Alec.Holland, anthony.javier3, Applejack, Azrael_Jean-PaulValley14, BBlake, bbzo24, bigblock66, Blueandred BlueBeetlesAssistant, BobbinIrving, Boswell99, Brenticus_Rex, CaptainYesterday, CassTheStreet, CrazyQuilt, Daffern, Darkstarz, dave7atgosky, dave_worrell, DC_Community, Deathstroke’sPunisher, december360, djganon, Doctor075, DocterFate1, Don-El, fawsid, frankie.lacy79, Flynn.P.Campbell, Frostbite30, ganaoque, harrist, HombreDeMaiz, hotstufflouie, Jay_Kay, Jflow, jlevin, Jurisdiction, kaliym73, lunalane, MatthewHecht, mbpbinder, _meegs, Meisaj, mgeiler, Midnitehour, MisfitCMJ, mitchellbpearson, MPMCN86, msgtv, Odbo255, PaintEater, parzival27, ProActress, QuadPen, ralphsix, Ravenrifft, ReaganFan78, Remember5NovEveyHammond, RexRebel, rlynchfamily, ROMANLEGION rspezzano, rwm, Ryan22, scoop001, Sinestro1,slowp0Ketail, Smallengineerings, SuperBlue Grodd, TheCosmicMoth, TK52, Tommyskindlefire, TurokSonOfStone, YolandaMontezz, ZacharyLee1995

THE JSABC WELCOMES. NEW MEMBER

@MiscellaneousSoup

Give them a warm welcome!

To join the JSA BOOK CLUB just hit the link.

What to read

* Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. #1-8

Discussion Questions

  1. Seems Blue Valley has it’s fair share of villain shenanigans. What did you think if the badies that Courtney and Pat faced in these first 8 issues?

  2. Courtney is having a hard time adjusting to all of the changes in her life: new city, new school, new stepfather as well as her new hero life. How would you handle all these changes?

  3. What did you think of the team up between the Marvel Family and Star Spangled Kid & S.T.R.I.P.E? What about the team up between Young Justice and Star Spangled Kid?

  4. I really disliked Cindy at first but then I ended up feeling sorry for her. Did you?

And that all for this session @JSABookClub .Tune in to the next session for the conclusion of this series. See you all then. Keep safe.

6 Likes

I can’t wait for second season, I’ve been a fan of Stargirl ever since she appeared both on Justice League Unlimited & Smallville. :slightly_smiling_face:

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I can’t wait for the next season either. The show has been a blast to watch and it’s easily my favorite superhero show.

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Odd note to start on. Stars and STRIPE #0 was the first issue released in 1999, but right on the first page it tells you that story takes place between issues #8 and #9. I think they wanted to get the Starman and JSA fans to take a look, so they put out that story first.

In my case, it worked.

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I think you are right about that @CaptainYesterday. Does anyone happen to know whether or not the 0 issue was actually supposed to have originally been issue #9 or if the story itself was simply one that could be slotted between those issues instead but was actually written first? I’d be interested to know.

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There are tons of continuity issues with that. I got a word document on it at home.

I reread these so much for the show I can probably write essays on them without a reread.

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I’d love to see that sometime.

I was actually rereading it myself just before originally hearing about the show.

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I will post it soon.

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Cool! Looking forward to it.

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Here’s my answers to your questions…

  1. I thought they were good, my favorite Villain would be Paintball. I thought he was a very interesting character, I hope we get to see him on the Stargirl series.

  2. Like real life it’s really hard to make friends, my advice on making a friend in your new town is get a job, go to church, library or any social events. It may take time, but soon enough you’ll have a new friend. :slightly_smiling_face:

  3. Love these heroes Team-up, my favorite would be when Courtney Team-up with Impulse. I don’t know why, I think they work well as a team working together.

  4. I thought she was ok, she make a great arch nemesis for Stargirl. I probably do feel bad for her in a TV series!
    .
    And there you have it! :smiley:

:stargirl:

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Have you read the Stargirl/Impulse crossover in Impulse #61 yet?

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Yup, I did. A few month ago, thought it was really good.:slightly_smiling_face:
I probably should read it again, now that I forgot what happen in the story. :laughing:

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In #0 Ted’s dialogue says it is after JSA is reformed and the Nebula Man battle in #8. As @CaptainYesterday said the front says it is between #8 and 9, but that cannot work.

For one #9 starts the second #8 ends, so they cannot go on an adventure then (this is what inspired me to take notes on my last reread). In addition her power levels at the times are very different. I do not think she ever uses the shooting stars in #0, and she mentions not mastering the other “powers yet.” She masters them in #7. The last one is her relationship with Jack. Just pay attention to the dialogue between Star and Jack here and in JSA (especially Secret Files and Origins #1). #0 was written first and officially takes place later, but it is clear this was the first meeting, and they already have a surrogate sibling relationship by JSA.

In JSA #81 they have a flashback to S&S #3 with a clear reference #0 indicating it took place before or during it (more on this later).

#4 It is early on stated she is in the JSA, so this must take place after JSA #1. But in this same issue she uses the shooting stars for the first time. In JSA #1 she uses them casually to save Ted and Johnny.

Not an issue, but a key piece of continuity. In #13 some dialogue indirectly about Atom Smasher makes it clear this takes place during JSA #11. This explains why Shiv was not in JSA #10, was in “Injustice be Done,” and adds to Star contemplating her own mortality during “The Hunt for Extant storyline.” (I hope they adapt a few of her background details for Sylvester’s return in season 2).

One thing I noticed is there is likely a time jump in #3 after Paintball is defeated. The best/least errigious way to connect everything in a time line is probably to say the events of early JSA and #0 take place then, but it still leaves the Nebula Man and shooting stars problems.

Remember this was Johns’s first comics, so he clearly had some trouble keeping track of what he wrote first vs what he said took place first.

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0- I noticed Star is much more of an animal lover here based on the alligator, polar bear, and Jack comparing her to PETA. This is odd considering she did not like dogs at first.
Anybody else notice that in the show Star and Cameron have a sweet romance (At least so far). In the comics-


Considering she shatters steel with her kicks I hope Cameron and Artemis never wanted children.
He may never be able to have kids now.
The biggest problem, is the same one most of the series has- Moder’s art. He really struggles with facial expressions, particularly eyes.
Yes, Pat the person with powers designed to keep them a warm in the vacuum of space might catch a cold.
Why do they need a bus home?

Hahaha!

1- I think the best villains here are the mind controlled minions, and they get a great introduction. The villains’ strengths are their tones like how Principal Sherman drinks the oil.

The big thing the comic has over the show is the comedy. Star and Pat have much funnier banter here.

2- Probably the only time Pat clearly wins one of their fights. Unlike her he can translate superhero business to civilian talk.

I wish the braces made the show.

First time we see Pat is angry at Mike, and he even shouts at Ted because of it. As I said last time he views himself as a failed parent, and I am wondering what disasters Mike did. Probably something that nearly killed someone.

Pat and Ted discuss how Star and Sylvester have different powers. In “The Hunt for Extant” Sylvester says the user augments the belt, and that makes me think the belt gives powers based on what the user needs in the early days. For example fighting a cyborg meant Star needed and got electrical disruption.

3- I love this issue. Really Pat. You complain about her being reckless and needing to be grounded when you just crash through a roof nearly wrecking your suit and nearly killing multiple people. I have called Star the hero I relate to the most before and plenty of it is her relationship with Pat’s similarities to mine with Dad. They both have a problem with teaching things and then forgetting to say “Do what I say not what I do.” The more I read this the more I see why she has problems with him.

On page 7 during their banter Star has a large smile. This shows her enjoying his company for the first time even if Pat cannot see it. Details like this are a major reason I keep rereading this series.

I really want to see Skeeter on the show.

Aw! Star does care about him, based on how quickly she rescues her sidekick.

I really love how they are in a race to pick up blackmail against each other to use on Barbara. Both superheroes are terrified of the all-mighty-mom.

Ironically Pat said “Damn” when he in both the show and comic is heavily anticursing of that word in particular.

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@MatthewHecht & @Hugo_Strange

I really loved that Stargirl/Impulse issue as well.

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Thank you for the welcome!

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We’re glad to have you. Feel free to jump into the discussion.

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0- I noticed Star is much more of an animal lover here based on the alligator, polar bear, and Jack comparing her to PETA. This is odd considering she did not like dogs at first.
Anybody else notice that in the show Star and Cameron have a sweet romance (At least so far). In the comics-


Considering she shatters steel with her kicks I hope Cameron and Artemis never wanted children.
He may never be able to have kids now.
The biggest problem, is the same one most of the series has- Moder’s art. He really struggles with facial expressions, particularly eyes.
Yes, Pat the person with powers designed to keep them a warm in the vacuum of space might catch a cold.
Why do they need a bus home?

Hahaha!

1- I think the best villains here are the mind controlled minions, and they get a great introduction. The villains’ strengths are their tones like how Principal Sherman drinks the oil.

The big thing the comic has over the show is the comedy. Star and Pat have much funnier banter here.

2- Probably the only time Pat clearly wins one of their fights. Unlike her he can translate superhero business to civilian talk.

I wish the braces made the show.

First time we see Pat is angry at Mike, and he even shouts at Ted because of it. As I said last time he views himself as a failed parent, and I am wondering what disasters Mike did. Probably something that nearly killed someone.

Pat and Ted discuss how Star and Sylvester have different powers. In “The Hunt for Extant” Sylvester says the user augments the belt, and that makes me think the belt gives powers based on what the user needs in the early days. For example fighting a cyborg meant Star needed and got electrical disruption.

3- I love this issue. Really Pat. You complain about her being reckless and needing to be grounded when you just crash through a roof nearly wrecking your suit and nearly killing multiple people. I have called Star the hero I relate to the most before and plenty of it is her relationship with Pat’s similarities to mine with Dad. They both have a problem with teaching things and then forgetting to say “Do what I say not what I do.” The more I read this the more I see why she has problems with him.

On page 7 during their banter Star has a large smile. This shows her enjoying his company for the first time even if Pat cannot see it. Details like this are a major reason I keep rereading this series.

I really want to see Skeeter on the show.

Aw! Star does care about him, based on how quickly she rescues her sidekick.

I really love how they are in a race to pick up blackmail against each other to use on Barbara. Both superheroes are terrified of the all-mighty-mom.

Ironically Pat said “Damn” when he in both the show and comic is heavily anticursing of that word in particular

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We could read it in a future session I think. Do we read non JSA comics with JSA characters?

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Yes, we do and we definitely should read the Impulse issue. I’ll add it in to the second session this month as a bonus issue.

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