Star-Lord: Annual Action

So long precious Earth, hello unforgiving vacuum of space!

Peter Quill aka Star-Lord aka one of the galaxy’s—self-dubbed—greatest heroes will no longer flop around New York in the character’s final story under writer Chip Zdarsky. He escapes his earth-bound exile in the upcoming STAR-LORD ANNUAL #1 on May 24 only to crash-land on a desert planet and protect a small town from being terrorized by an otherworldly outlaw, “Magnificent Seven” style!

And it only gets more meta from there.

As we learned from our chat with Mr. Zdarsky, this iteration of Star-Lord is a chip off the old block. Read on for a fun and exciting exploration into Quill’s long awaited return to the stars.

Marvel.com: While he was “grounded” on Earth for the duration of your run, STAR-LORD ANNUAL finds Peter back in space. What was it like freeing him from his earthly bonds for your final Star-Lord story?

Chip Zdarsky: Great! It was a lot of fun dealing with Peter on Earth, but as we went on, I kept getting the itch to have him live up to his name, y’know? So it was nice to have him let loose a bit in the cosmos.

Marvel.com: Just by reading the description for this annual, I’m getting an exciting “Magnificent Seven” sort of vibe; were you influenced by Western movies and TV shows?

Chip Zdarsky: It’s definitely Western-themed—you’re totally right about [a] “Magnificent Seven” vibe!—but the core of a lot of Western stories are about the “Big Bad” terrorizing the small town, which is an idea that extends beyond the genre. It’s one of my favorite story tropes, so it was fun to mix that with some cosmic and alien elements. I was also inspired by the Dark Tower series, laying the fantastical elements over a Western framework. Travelling the cosmos doesn’t just mean sci-fi, especially considering the variety found in the Marvel Universe.

Marvel.com: The mix of the ol’ West and science fiction is a fun prospect—pun intended. How did you settle on this story for your last Star-Lord hurrah, particularly when he’s been on Earth all this time?

Chip Zdarsky: Well, we wanted to have at least one story setting Peter up in space again, but the transition could have felt jarring going from bartending in New York to high-flying space adventures. So with this annual, we set this story on a planet familiar to ours, so it would feel like a nice way to ease readers back into space.

Marvel.com: We saw familiar faces like Daredevil and Abigail Brand pop up over the course of STAR-LORD. Can we expect more epic cameos in this annual?

Star-Lord Annual #1 cover by Kris Anka

Chip Zdarsky: Yeah, I don’t want to spoil anything, but there will definitely be some cameos, especially from Peter’s teammates in the Guardians.

Marvel.com: What percentage of the time will Star-Lord have his shirt on?

Chip Zdarsky: [Laughs] Uh, all the time? But not really? He’s kind of rocking more of a dusty, open shirt thing in this one. I mean, shirtless on a planet with two suns? That’s just a recipe for sunburn.

Marvel.com: What will you miss the most about Star Lord’s world?

Chip Zdarsky: I’ll miss Peter! He’s a good guy navigating relationships and his place in the universe. My favorite things about any character I’ve had the chance to write are seeing how they react around others. Getting the chance to have him tangle with Daredevil, Logan, and the characters I got to create for the “Grounded” arc really helped me reveal how Peter needs the Guardians in his life.

Marvel.com: If you had to nail down your biggest contribution to the Quill mythos, what would it be?

Chip Zdarsky: [Laughs] Uh, that’s a tough one. I think [artists] Kris Anka and Matt Wilson did more to the character that will continue on beyond our run, really. A great costume redesign, that beautiful beard, those spectacular abs.

Marvel.com: You’ll be taking on a slightly different Peter this summer with the SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN series. What lessons from your Star-Lord run will help dictate your take on Peter Parker?

Chip Zdarsky: I’m not sure about lessons; I think each book should stand as its own thing. So SPECTACULAR will be as different from STAR-LORD as I can make it. The locale is the same, but instead of the maybe seedier New York of Quill’s time there, Spidey’s will be bright and filled with rooftops and bigger danger! Maybe I’ll have the Peters meet in a new series: PETER PACK.

Tag along with Chip Zdarsky and artist Djibril Morissette-Phan on STAR-LORD ANNUAL #1, coming May 24!