Captain Lincoln F. Sternn is a

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

character created by

Bernie Wrightson Bernard Albert Wrightson (October 27, 1948 – March 18, 2017), sometimes credited as Bernie Wrightson, was an American artist, known for co-creating the Swamp Thing, his adaptation of the novel ''Frankenstein'' illustration work, and for his o ...

Personality and appearance

Captain Sternn is considered "part

Han Solo Han Solo is a fictional character in the '' Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. The character first appeared in the 1977 film '' Star Wars'' portrayed by Harrison Ford, who reprised his role in ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) an ...

, part

James Garner James Garner (born James Scott Bumgarner; April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014) was an American actor. He played leading roles in more than 50 theatrical films, including '' The Great Escape'' (1963) with Steve McQueen; Paddy Chayefsky's ''The Ameri ...

from '' The Great Escape''". The character, as written by Wrightson, is an amoral space captain whose adventures are set in the future. Sternn is sometimes considered a criminal with charges ranging from

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

. He is associated with supporting characters Hanover Fiste and Justine Tyme. He is drawn as a caricature of

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

, although his clothing is different; he wears a pseudo-

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

uniform A uniform is a variety of clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, se ...

. He is always accompanied by a small, levitating one-eyed

robot A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be c ...

, named Beezer, that is his most faithful companion.

Creation

First conceptualized in the late 1970s, Captain Sternn was developed by artist

during his time at The Studio. The character's first published adventure was developed for Tyrannosaurus Press in 1977, and it was eventually published in 1980 in '' Heavy Metal'' magazine.

Publication history

* '' Heavy Metal'' Vol.4, #3 (June, 1980) - "Captain Sternn" (reprinted in ''Heavy Metal Special: One Step Beyond'' (January, 1996)) * ''

Dreadstar ''Dreadstar'' was the first comic-book series published by American publisher Epic Comics, an imprint of Marvel Comics, in 1982. It was centered on Vanth Dreadstar, sole survivor of the entire Milky Way galaxy, and an ensemble cast of crewmates, i ...

'' #6 (September, 1983) * ''

Amazing Heroes ''Amazing Heroes'' was a magazine about the comic book medium published by American company Fantagraphics Books from 1981 to 1992. Unlike its companion title, ''The Comics Journal'', ''Amazing Heroes'' was a hobbyist magazine rather than an analyt ...

'' #194 (September, 1991) * ''Captain Stern: Running Out of Time'' #1-5 (1993 - 1994) * ''Heavy Metal: The Movie'' (October, 1996) - "Captain Sternn"

Film adaptation

Captain Sternn's original story was adapted as the segment "Captain Sternn" of the 1981 film '' Heavy Metal''. He was voiced by

Eugene Levy Eugene Levy (born December 17, 1946) is a Canadian actor and comedian. From 1976 until 1984, he appeared in the Canadian television sketch comedy series '' SCTV''. He has also appeared in the '' American Pie'' series of films and the Canadian ...

where the rest of the cast in that segment consist of

Rodger Bumpass Rodger Bumpass (born November 20, 1951) is an American actor. He is known for his long-running role as Squidward Tentacles on the American animated television series ''SpongeBob SquarePants''. He voices several other characters on the show as ...

as Hanover Fiste,

Joe Flaherty Joseph Flaherty (born June 21, 1941) is an American actor, writer, and comedian. He is best known for his work on the Canadian sketch comedy '' SCTV'' from 1976 to 1984 (on which he also served as a writer), and as Harold Weir on ''Freaks and G ...

as Sternn's lawyer Charlie,

John Vernon John Keith Vernon (born Adolphus Raymondus Vernon Agopsowicz; February 24, 1932 February 1, 2005) was a Canadian actor. He made a career in Hollywood after achieving initial television stardom in Canada. He was best known for playing Dean Wormer ...

as the prosecutor, and

Douglas Kenney Douglas Clark Francis Kenney (December 10, 1946 – August 27, 1980) was an American comedy writer of magazine, novels, radio, TV and film who co-founded the magazine National Lampoon (magazine), ''National Lampoon'' in 1970. Kenney edited the ma ...

as the bailiff Regolian. The film added a scene at the end of the segment, not in the original comic, where Sternn opens a trap door under Hanover Fiste ejecting him into space.

References in other works

Hanover Fiste was mentioned by name several times in the ''

'' book, both in the Bernie Wrightson stories starring Aldo Gorney published in issue #6-7 and by Tuetun in issue #12. Hanover Fiste's lines were used in the Webcomic Freefall. The judge uttering the lines, looked similar to the animated version of Hanover Fiste from the ''Heavy Metal'' movie.

Notes

This is the comic version of the segment "Captain Sternn" of the Heavy Metal film, not the original story.

External links

Bernie Wrightson Gallery of Captain Sternn Art
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sternn Fictional con artists Fictional drug dealers Fictional rapists

Captain Sternn Captain Lincoln F. Sternn is a comic book character created by Bernie Wrightson. Personality and appearance Captain Sternn is considered "part Han Solo, part James Garner from '' The Great Escape''". The character, as written by Wrightson, is an ...

Space pirates