- The Last Starfighter #1
- Mad Cave Studios
- Written by Benjamin Raab & Deric A. Hughes
- Art by Willi Roberts
- Colors by Francesco Segala
- Letters by Rob Jones
- On sale July 1st, 2026 (pre-order now)
The long-awaited sequel to the beloved film! Small town teenager Alex Rogan has already saved multiple worlds. But that was only the beginning of his story. Forty years after the cult-classic movie that pioneered CGI and inspired generations of fans, an all-new story picks up from the end credits and takes off for the stars!
Now the leader…and sole member…of the Star League, Alex must rebuild the galaxy’s only defense force against Xur and the Ko-Dan Armada. Introducing a new cast of Starfighters alongside fan-favorite faces—and new killers and cutthroats in the shadowy employ of the Ko-Dan—The Last Starfighter #1 launches a sci-fi legacy to new heights!
In collaboration with filmmakers Jonathan Betuel and Paul Davidson, the dynamic writing team of Benjamin Raab and Deric A. Hughes (Syfy’s WAREHOUSE 13, The CW’s ARROW, NBC’s QUANTUM LEAP & more) join forces with artist Willi Roberts (Witchblade; The Thing on the Doorstep) and colorist Francesco Segala (Dawnrunner; Nights) for a thrilling and heartfelt journey through a newly expanded universe!
Growing up, some movies just hit me in the happy. I was a young lad growing up in a factory town where the factories had closed. Look up Kenosha, Wisconsin and you’re probably gonna see a city where the only rival to the number of churches in town was the number of taverns. It was fine, it’s not like I was left unsupervised… oh wait, I’m a Gen-Xer who literally had a housekey on a string around his neck. I was unsupervised. A lot.
But in this town, we also had a couple movie theaters and during the summer months, my friends and I would get on our bikes and spend a day watching flicks on the big screen. We were after escapism, and in July of 1984, we discovered our true calling… we were gonna be Starfighters defending the Frontier against Xur and the Ko-Dan Armada!
Coming July 1st, 2026 from Mad Cave, the champions of big chunks of my childhood (Dick Tracy, Gatchaman, Speed Racer, Flash Gordon, The Phantom, Defenders of the Earth), written by the bang-up team of Benjamin Raab & Deric A. Hughes, The Last Starfighter #1 is just a couple of weeks away from release. The story picks up one week after the movie credits finished rolling and Alex Rogan isn’t just a Starfighter. He’s THE Starfighter, who along with his navigator Grig is tasked with rebuilding the fleet.
Raab and Hughes have taken on the job of continuing a saga that fans of the movie have been clamoring for since 1984. All the elements from the movie are here, from the growing buddy relationship between Alex and Grig to the conman with a heart of gold Centauri. In the bonus column, Alex’s high school sweetheart, Maggie, shows every sign of being fleshed out as a fully realized character instead of a typical 80s placeholder. The tension in this continuation builds on the fact that the evil Xur is in the wind, a loose cannon guaranteed to rear his head to bring the hate & discontent, and the Star League has a single Gunstar, and one pilot to fly her.
It’s worth mentioning that back in 1984, The Last Starfighter was a darn good-looking flick. With that in mind, the visuals for its comic continuation had something to live up to. Illustrated by Willi Roberts & colored by Francesco Segala, the world- in an intergalactic sense- has all of style and none of the special effects limitations of its cinematic forebear. One thing I am looking forward to is seeing how Team Starfighter handles a little spaceship on spaceship action.
The Last Starfighter, from Mad Cave Studios, has all the hallmarks of a great comic. Fans of star-spanning sci-fi, fans of classic 80s movies, fans of fish out of water Everyman heroes meeting their destiny… everyone has something they can latch onto. I know it’s only the first issue, but I can’t help it. Nostalgia alone is gonna carry me at least five issues into this one.
Final Score: 11/13
