Issue 1

December 1977

Starburst was launched in December 1977 by editor Dez Skinn with his own company Starburst Publishing Ltd. The name Starburst was settled on after rejecting other names, including Starfall, as Skinn considered it too negative.

 

Marvel eventually put the title up for sale and it was bought by Visual Imagination and published by them from issue 88 (1985).

 

Starburst's review sections were edited by writers and reviewers such as Alan Jones (films) and David J. Howe (books), and, for several years, the magazine also carried a column by the writer John Brosnan. Its television review column, "TV Zone", was used as the title of its sister publication TV Zone.

 

The magazine's publication was put on hold due to Visual Imagination folding in early 2009, having reached issue 365. An online only version of the magazine existed following this closure. It returned to print by Starburst Magazine Ltd in February 2012 with issue 374.