kid_flash
03-08-2005, 08:42 PM
As some of you (probably many, given how many times I bring it up) may know, I am a huge fan of RISING STARS. Haven't been with it since the beginning...I picked up the first TPB one day on a whim (issue 14 or so was on the stands at the time), and was instantly drawn into it. Its originality, its characters, its story, everything felt incredibly fresh, and like the superhero comic I'd been waiting for.
As I picked up the second TPB and the few issues following that, my mind was consistantly being blown issue after issue. The ideas, the sheer scope of it...it's astonishing work, really.
Then the late ships started.
Then it didn't ship at all.
For...man, I think it was two or three years, I waited. Finally, it was announced last June or July that the final three issues would ship. I couldn't wait. I was on the edge of my seat.
Well, issue 24 shipped last week, and I just finished it mere minutes ago. It's breathtaking. As good as the whole series was, these final three issues are just incredible. Besides WATCHMEN and SANDMAN, no comic felt as daring as this one. No single writer ever put everything he could ever write into one story. I mean, now I don't feel so bad about dropping SUPREME POWER...for as good as it is, JMS will never have more to say than he did with RISING STARS.
It spoke about superheroes. About government. About religion. About society. About human nature. It had action, drama, sadness, joy, fear, and ultimately hope. In the end, it stopped being the intellectual series I originally hooked onto it for. In the end, it was a very real, honest story of hope.
Now way does this reflection capture how truly amazing and how affective this story has been. The only thing that can do it is the story itself. I urge you to pick up the TPBs or the forthcoming hardcover (which manages to collect all 24 issues) and judge for yourself.
Whatever you do, don't pick up the spin-offs. They're horrible and are the one flaw in this story.
Seriously though, RISING STARS is the modern masterpiece I always hope for. No single comic book story has impacted me as this one has.
As I picked up the second TPB and the few issues following that, my mind was consistantly being blown issue after issue. The ideas, the sheer scope of it...it's astonishing work, really.
Then the late ships started.
Then it didn't ship at all.
For...man, I think it was two or three years, I waited. Finally, it was announced last June or July that the final three issues would ship. I couldn't wait. I was on the edge of my seat.
Well, issue 24 shipped last week, and I just finished it mere minutes ago. It's breathtaking. As good as the whole series was, these final three issues are just incredible. Besides WATCHMEN and SANDMAN, no comic felt as daring as this one. No single writer ever put everything he could ever write into one story. I mean, now I don't feel so bad about dropping SUPREME POWER...for as good as it is, JMS will never have more to say than he did with RISING STARS.
It spoke about superheroes. About government. About religion. About society. About human nature. It had action, drama, sadness, joy, fear, and ultimately hope. In the end, it stopped being the intellectual series I originally hooked onto it for. In the end, it was a very real, honest story of hope.
Now way does this reflection capture how truly amazing and how affective this story has been. The only thing that can do it is the story itself. I urge you to pick up the TPBs or the forthcoming hardcover (which manages to collect all 24 issues) and judge for yourself.
Whatever you do, don't pick up the spin-offs. They're horrible and are the one flaw in this story.
Seriously though, RISING STARS is the modern masterpiece I always hope for. No single comic book story has impacted me as this one has.