AudioComics Presents Starstruck: From Off-Broadway To Comics To ITunes

Online, April 28, 2010 (Newswire.com) - PORTLAND, ME: Scantily clad intergalactic beauties clash with evil grifters in the far reaches of the universe; spaceships battle, dynasties struggle for survival in zero G's, bad puns are thrown and character with egos the size of Jupiter chew the scenery. No, it's not the latest 3-D sci-fi film at your local multiplex: it's Starstruck, the cult comic book favorite joining the burgeoning world of downloaded audio-theater entertainment.

This new multi-billion dollar industry (as of Feb. 2010, the iTunes store had sold over 10 billion downloads) is a field crowded with entries-iTunes applicants wait months to hear if they've made the cut. A quick scan of iTunes podcasts and downloads include program after program of voices telling stories-sometimes live at venues, sometimes from people's living rooms or bedrooms.

But the podcast has finally reached the condition of art form. The public is increasingly paying to download fully produced, professionally acted pieces to enjoy on their iPods. Starstruck is an example of the higher end of this downloadable spectrum. It began as an off-Broadway hit in 1980 and lived on as a cult comic favorite, and lately has been revived as a critically acclaimed sold-out comic book series from IDW Publishing.

Enter comic and sci-fi aficionado and audio-theater producer Lance Roger Axt of Pacific Grove, California. Axt knew the series, contacted playwright Elaine Lee and carved out a deal between her and his production company, AudioComics, to produce the play as an audio piece. It's due to be recorded this May in Portland, Maine (where Axt's partners, Dan Bernard and Bill Dufris, hone their craft in that creative hub), and will be released for download later in the summer. The buzz is intense throughout the ComicCon blogosphere about this sexy new production.

Unlike most podcasts, this show is a full-on production. A rewrite for audio, production and creative team steeped in the niche art form of audio-theater and world-class production facilities (renowned Gateway Mastering in Portland), and the cooperation of eclectic local community/college station WMPG made it all possible. The cast includes professional voice actors who do work for major audio book publishers, and have credits ranging from Seinfeld to Shakespeare.

What's next for Starstruck? Sequel episodes and a trade paperback. What's next for downloadable theater? With the television and movie industry in flux, the record industry in tatters, it just may be the new wave that is really an old wave-radio theater. What used to glue families to the radio from the 30's through the 50's may once again rule, if not the airwaves, then the earphones of the world.