A good title can stick with you for a long, long time. Whether it’s for your book — “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” — or your movie — “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”, it can tell the audience everything they need to know about your story.
The same can be said for “Steelgrip Starkey & The All-Purpose Power Tool” an Epic Comics series from Marvel. It piques your interest and makes you smile. You immediately say “What the heck us that about?”
But alas, Steelgrip Starkey is most certainly a character you’ve have never heard of. And while you don’t know him, starting today we can guarantee it’s a name you’re not going to forget.
That’s what happened to CotB back in 1986 … we saw an ad for the 1986 limited series, and all these years later we still couldn’t get its catchy title out of our noggins. A few months ago, the zingyness of it wriggled back into our conscious and said “Hey, go check this comic out.” And when a mind worm wriggles for your attention, you to do something about it. Off to eBay we went and grabbed the whole series for a couple of bucks.
WHAT IS STEELGRIP STARKEY ABOUT?
The idea behind Steelgrip Starkey is that it’s the unfolding fable about a new and modern-day folk hero — the kind of guy who tackles the biggest problems facing the world and makes us feel better when he does. And to be clear, Steelgrip doesn’t do any of his problem-solving by punching out bad guys or filling them full of lead — he does it with moxie. And not just your run-of-the-mill moxie either, he has the heart and good nature to not take anything personally. When he’s given a job to do, he does it. Why does he do it? Because it’s the right thing to do. How does he do it? With his All-Purpose Power Tool, of course! As the name implies, it isn’t your typical Home Depot special. It’s got a little bit of magic in it. All we know is that it’s powered by “technalchemy,” which, like any magic, is all it needs. With a touch of a button and a pull of a lever, the tool transforms from a hand-held toolbox to a full-size control center that quickly sprouts all sorts of robot arms, tubes, jacks, lifts, gears, pulleys, conveyor belts and other contraptions to get the job done. These are special jobs, too. He isn’t fixing the air conditioning, unstopping the drain or changing the oil. He’s got bigger tasks — global sized jobs that are herculean in their proportions.
The APPT, as it is called, can serve any function Steelgrip needs. All he has to do is keep turning cranks, adjusting dials, watching gauges and activating switches until the job gets done. Across the six issues of the series, Steelgrip uses the APPT to save the UN building in New York, mine the moon, compete in a round-the-world construction race and so on.
WHY IT WORKS & WHY IT DOESN’T
Steelgrip Starkey is certainly not your normal American comic book fare, but you know what, it works — at least in the beginning. In the first few issues, the optimism and zeal for it are evident. It’s an absolute joy to read. The story and images by Alan Weiss catch you unexpectedly with their original ideas and willingness to embrace the idea of a brand new folkhero. This is a guy that can go to bat with Casey, help John Henry fix his hammer, stack Paul Bunyan‘s harvest and shoe Pecos Bill’s horse.
As written by Weiss, the tone is perfect in its earnestness and spirit. And Weiss’ art? Wow it is so well done — think of Weiss and Kevin Maguire as students of the same school of art. Weiss is great at emotive faces and anatomy, but where he really stands out is the breathtaking way he illustrates the APPT in action. Using perfect foreshortening and extreme precision in the depiction of mechanical parts, Weiss’ ability to render the Power Tool and all its gadgets, hoses and pistons cannot be overstated.
But something unfortunate happens — by Issue Three, there’s a new artist, and another new artist takes over for Four, Five and Six. Somehow, the magic that completely enveloped Issues One and Two, and even Issue Three to a degree, completely evaporates. Most disappointing is that these artists simply cannot match Weiss’ depiction of the Power Tool.
What happened? Why did Weiss stop drawing it? One report said it was falling way behind deadline. That’s unfortunate, because it would have been worth it to have everything done by Weiss but that opportunity is long gone.
STEELGRIP STARKEY BEYOND THE COMICS
As CotB read the series, one thing kept jumping into our heads. This comic book could be a perfect vehicle for a TV show. In particular, an animated show for youngsters focused on a protagonist who’s job it is to get things done. Utilizing computer animation, the All-Purpose Power Tool could come to life on screen as it creates a new, problem-solving version of itself in each episode. Computer animation, and Flash animation in particular, is a must, too, because half the fun would be seeing the APPT spring into action. Of course, it would never match Weiss’ artistry, but it still could be a lot of fun.
Yes, some of the slightly adult themes would have to be removed and a character or two might need to be replaced or updated, but it would be so good with just a few tweaks.
As for plots for this show, it would be important for him to use his tool to do the right thing, and many of the true conflicts of the show could center on questions like: Is this better for the now or the long term? If we build this, how does it affect other things? Where do the resources for this project come from? Is it better to let people take control of their own destinies or let someone else do it? These are fairly esoteric, but they’re important questions that help youngsters develop critical thinking as they move toward adulthood.
Most importantly, though, it’s about capturing the excitement of grabbing some tools, tackling projects and doing a good job. And with a name like Steelgrip Starkey, it’s sure to be a win.
HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT STEELGRIP STARKEY
“Steelgrip Starkey and the All-Purpose Power Tool” was a concept published across six issues by Marvel Comics’ Epic imprint. Written by Alan Weiss, and drawn by Alan Weiss and others, it explores the idea of a new American folk hero who is empowered to do big things with his All-Purpose Power Tool, a device that transforms from a toolbox to a massive, adaptable machine. The machine becomes an oversized collection of robotic arms and other sub-devices to accomplish whatever task needs to be done. While considered a failure as a series, the concept for Steelgrip Starkey is an incredible one. It would be a wonderful children’s television series, mixing the ideas of Captain Planet and Bob the Builder with Tall Tale traditions. The All-Purpose Power Tool could be expertly rendered in computer animation/CGI stylings, and it would make a great toy line as well.
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