Title: Rising Stars
Genre: Graphic Novel
Year: 1999-2005
Pages: 600
Nod Rating: 4 out of 5 nods
Rising Stars is a widely renowned comic series written principally by J. Michael Stracynski (he of Babylon 5 fame) and many other talented artists. It comprised 24 issues and was printed between 1999 and 2005, with a delay of 3 years caused by a dispute between the writer and publisher. It deals with the usual fare of the graphic medium: people with superpowers. But Rising Stars is notable for its interesting take on how a world would receive such superheroes.
A brief synopsis, perhaps: during one night a meteor crashes nearby a small town in mid-west America, causing all those in utero at the time to develop superhuman powers as they grow older. There are 113 such “specials”, some of whom have the powers of Superman, whilst others have smaller, rather useless abilities. These range from the usual seen-it-bought-the-Tshirt type skills (a boy who can control fire; someone who can fly; a super-genius) to the unusual (including a girl who appears as the dream woman to whoever locks eyes on her; someone with a telepathic singing voice; and televangelist flying transvestite).
The story is seen in the perspective of one of the specials, Poet, who mourns the death of all the others born with powers. The reader charts the childhood of the group and their growth into adulthood, including many of the problems caused by being different to others. Some fit into society and assume superhero status (such as the police officer Matthew Bright and the costumed Jason Miller), with others becoming criminals or wishing they never had such powers to begin with. It is revealed that the death of one of the 113 results in greater powers for the remaining number, something which is abused by some of the greedy, scheming specials.
The 24 issues cover several larger story arcs, jutting forward many times during the series. The first half is undoubtedly the strongest (including the battle for Chicago between the specials). The second half finds the remaining specials taking an enlightened lead in society, using their powers for the good of mankind; this results in one of them – the Batman wannabe and idealist Ravenshadow - becoming President of the USA. As expected by Poet’s lone existence in the first issue, such efforts come to an end with a wipe-out of the specials; however, to spoil the rather bizarre, cosmic ending would be to do you, the reader, a great disservice.
The series is strongest when concentrating on a particular character for an issue; notably that of Jason Miller’s attempts to rid the world of nuclear arms and the fall-out caused to his young family. And more than the strength of the characters, the idealism of the series is something to behold and applaud. Rather than aim to wow his audience with death-defying stunts and superhero punch-ups, Stracynski sets out to show motivation to build a better world. One of the messages appears to be that we all have it within us to do more to help others and the planet, with or without special powers. When compared to other moronic comic titles, Stracynski deserves a great bundle of credit.
The Worm was pointed into the direction of Rising Stars due to a ‘Thirty Comics to Read’ webpage (http://www.empireonline.com/features/30-comic-books-you-should-have-read/p3). It is a page worth visiting for anyone with more than a fleeting attraction to graphic novels. The idiocy of much of the comic industry will go passed unnoticed; and yet Stracynski’s interesting series will remain.
Buy it here!
