The series began after Simonson joined the
Washington Science Fiction Association (WSFA) after graduating from
Amherst College in the early 1970s with a Geology degree. As part of the group's bid to host the 1974
World Science Fiction Convention (
Discon II), Simonson created what would become
Star Slammers, which the WSFA published as a series of
ashcan promotional 5.5" x 8.5" b&w chapter booklets printed and distributed at various conventions in the period 1971–1973, with each six-page episode appearing every three to four months. The final chapter appeared in time for the 1972 WSFC that saw WSFA win the vote. and later in 1994 a new five-issue
limited series by
Malibu Comics' Bravura imprint, though only four issues out of five were published.
Dark Horse Comics published the final issue as a
one-shot special in 1996. Dark Horse also published an 8-page
Star Slammers story titled "Fever Dream" in
Dark Horse Presents #114 (1996) that is a prelude to the 1994 Malibu series. with the initial 60-page graphic novel broken down into the first three issues for which he created new covers and introductory pages. and Simonson has said: "It's a director's cut in terms of the color. The original was largely colored by
my wife and me. The '90s series were colored by digital means. It was all over the map". ==Collected editions==