Star-Crossed #1
Writer: Mark Millar
Art and Main Cover: Corrado Mastantuono
Variant Covers: Stuart Immonen, Jae Lee, Corrado Mastantuono
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: July 8, 2026
This review contains spoilers
Star-Crossed #1 opens in a pretty extreme example of “in media res”; despite our protagonists being infamous thieves, the heist has already taken place, the money successfully stolen, and the getaway safely made. Our first scene focuses on the victim of said crime, clearly no angels themselves, the vicious royal family of Abysstus.
Writer Mark Millar does an excellent job of efficiently demonstrating both the lack of true impact that the royals will feel after losing this money and the danger they pose regardless, more concerned with their pride than their possessions. With the stakes already high, we barely catch a glimpse of Cody Blue, one of our leads, before we find out that there’s something she needs to see a doctor about. We’re only a quarter of the way in, and not only are there bounty hunters out for our heroes, but there’s a potential bomb ticking away under Cody’s proverbial table.
As Cody, Thena, and their scaly sidekick Cosmo attempt to party and enjoy their ill-gotten gains, and dodge yet another attack courtesy of the Queen, the reader gets to enjoy Corrado Mastantuono’s gorgeous cityscapes and character designs. With elements of new wave in the clothes and club scenes, and some art deco influences in the architecture, Mastantuono also includes more fantastic, surreal elements like a living Atmospheric Sculpture and a green humanoid alien sitting on top of an intergalactic ice cream truck trying to catch space fish. It’s a beautiful, wonderfully weird world that makes the story feel much more real.
Millar has us end as we began, dropping a couple of new characters, less well-off bounty hunters, attempting to figure out where their next meal will come from as they attempt to catch up with Cody and Thena. Just as the opening set up the enemy as Definitely Bad, this last scene gives us an interesting foil to our protagonists, as they are more likeable, more sympathetic, and (most plausibly) morally palatable comparable to the Queen and her cronies. We definitely want Cody and Thena to succeed, but what about these guys?
In the coming issues, I would expect more background on Cody and Thena in addition to the hijinks as they avoid the bounty hunters, but I don’t mind the way this issue drops the reader into the world… or galaxy… with little explanation. The discovery of the characters and the plot happens more organically than typical narration or extended exposition. If we never go back and cover the original heist, how Cody and Thena met, or anything, and just focus on the current events, I think that the way Millar has set up the first issue will have us invested in Cody and Thena’s story regardless.
Final Thoughts
Star-Crossed #1 hits the ground running, wasting no time explaining itself and presenting its world for the reader to explore. Cody and Thena make an excellent impression, and the high stakes will have you ready for the next issue long before you’ve reached the last page.
