[citation needed] Marvel put the title up for sale in 1985 and it was bought by Visual Imagination and published by them from issue #88.

The guest of honor was Ray Harryhausen; other guests include Barry Morse, Paul Darrow, Jacqueline Pearce, Ingrid Pitt, Caroline Munro, Dana Gillespie, David Prowse, Peter Mayhew, Milton Subotsky, Roy Ashton, Martin Bower, Harley Cokeliss, Mat Irvine, Brian Johnson, Terrance Dicks, David Maloney, Dick Mills, and Richard O'Brien.

From 26–28 August 2016 the first Starburst International Film Festival[8] was held at Manchester Metropolitan Students' Union Complex.

[citation needed] With a sponsorship deal secured with MediaCityUK the second annual festival was slightly re-branded.

[9] Winners of the STARBURST Fantasy Awards 2018 included Emma Dark[10] for Best Director with Salient Minus Ten, and Michael Melski[11] for Best Feature with The Child Remains.