We begin with "Planet of Death," written and penciled by Mike Sekowsky, inks by Vince Colletta. Sekowsky sets up his world in a few pages: In the year 2070, mankind has conquered space and colonized the solar system; However, with interplanetary and interstellar commerce comes space pirates that prey on freighters and mining operations of all the races of the galaxy; With the rise in piracy, the United Federation of Planets calls on a new breed of freelance bounty hunter. Our hero is one such man: Starker, Manhunter 2070; A suave man, Starker surrounds himself with beautiful women, and his robot assistant Arky, in his satellite orbiting Jupiter. Physically, Starker reminds me of James Colburn in the "Flint" movies.
After a night at the casino, Starker and his women return home to find that three killers (a human, a Jovian, and an Andromedin) have escaped from the maximum security prison on Deimos. Starker is told by Arky that they most likely are hiding on the pirate stronghold of Pheidos. Starker soon lands on Pheidos, the Planet of Death, where he is immediately attacked by, just about everything, drawing the attention of the three escapees nearby. The three think the planet's creatures will take care of Starker, but he manages to escape on his jet-rider.
They manage to shoot down his rider and go after him on flying sleds. Out in the open they have to fight Starker and the many inhabitants of the planet that wish to eat them all. The deadly fauna kills two of the men and Starker is able to capture the third before narrowly escaping himself.
That is followed by the two-pager, "Space Duel," also by Mike Sekowsky and Vince Colletta. Starker is captured by the Hunters, a group who put on games of sport with slaves captured all over the galaxy. They quickly learn that they should have picked on someone other than Starker. Like most of Mike Sekowsky's Showcase work, Starker: Manhunter 2070 has never been reprinted.
Edited by Mike Sekowsky.
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