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The big day is finally here! Ladies and gentlemen of The Beat, gather your young ones and race onto the street. Proclaim for all to hear, TODAY IS INTERNATIONAL DARKSTAR DAY, AND I FEEL GREAT!!!!

On this day we share the joy of Darkstar, Marvel’s least celebrated yet best superhero. Now you’ve returned back to your computer fresh from the street, lungs aching from the stress and feet covered in dirt (you could’ve at least put some shoes on, y’know – but I admire your impatience), let us bask in some of the art sent to me by a bevy of lovely artists!

First up is Isaac Leiro, whose work you can find every week at Stardark City. He offered both black/white and coloured versions of her, and I simply couldn’t choose between them. So I include both!

Up next is the work of Dr Sonic, who cuts characters into shape via construction paper and a rather sharp knife. Find him at http://docgold16.tumblr.com!

He appears on DeviantArt only as MohoFrappe, and his Darkstar could not be any more lovely!  Look how she swishes!

Zhaxra offers a redesign (and new haircut) for Laynia Petrovna with his piece here, and you can find more of his art over at his DeviantArt page!

Brilliant ol’ Rance Sims also offers a smart new redesign for the character, which captures ALL her class! He is on DeviantArt too!

Finally…. oh dear, Isaac Leiro’s shown up again. And this time… well.

Folks, International Darkstar Day is also my birthday. Can you even believe just how self-indulgent this entire post has been? I certainly can! But at least we all got some lush and tidy artwork out of it, can you not agree? What a great day this is. Three cheers for Darkstar! And hey — not forgetting…

EDIT!! More Darkstar has just arrived, from Studio YOLO’s Christa Cassano! If you look out the window right now, you’ll be able to see a small trail of sparks flying up out of sight, because MY HEAD JUST EXPLODED!

A Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday to all, and to all… A HAPPY INTERNATIONAL DARKSTAR DAY!

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You know how The Beat works now. While everybody else works hard on getting the best interviews, writing the strongest articles and the most incisive opinion pieces you could find, I run around in circles and yell excitedly about obscure D-List Marvel heroines.

Which brings us to the imminent arrival of 2012′s International Darkstar Day! A tradition dating back perhaps millennia, IDD celebrates Russia’s #1 Superhero, Laynia Petrovna!

Darkstar by Kalman Andrasofsky

Currently a member of The Winter Guard and absolutely not floating lifelessly in orbit around the Earth, Darkstar was first created by Tony Isabella and George Tuska in The Champions, before getting taken on by writers like Bill Mantlo, Fabian Nicieza and Kurt Busiek. Secretly one of Marvel’s most popular characters, or so I keep telling myself, she was killed off by Grant Morrison in New X-Men. Boooo! But then she triumphantly returnedto life in the greatest Marvel storyline of all time, Darkstar & The Winter Guard, by David Gallaher and Steve Ellis. Hurray!

Darkstar by Danielle Corsetto

How do we celebrate Darkstar Day? Well, let me elucidate ya. The basic premise of Darkstar Day is: people around the world draw pictures of Darkstar, and we post them online, and then we celebrate those pictures. It is… perhaps not the most revolutionary celebration. But it’s a fun one! If you want to take part, all you have to do is draw a picture of Darkstar – spend a week working on it or half a minute, it doesn’t matter – and then send it across to me at [email protected]. I will share every Darkstar I receive!

This year’s International Darkstar Day falls on the 18th December, so on that day I’ll be sharing some of the results with you right here, along with some of the great IDD offerings of the past. Guys, let’s do this! Tell your kids! Tell your parents! Gather around the fireplace and make IDD12 the biggest and best one yet!

Note: if you’d rather draw a picture of Pixie then that’s okay too