Comic Book Resources reviews Rising Stars Compendium

Ten years ago, the buzz surrounding “Rising Stars” was great as comparisons to “Watchmen” were made, Neil Gaiman wrote a glowing piece about it in the promotional zero issue, and expectations were high. J. Michael Straczynski was writing an epic story in the vein of “Babylon 5” about 113 children who were affected by a mysterious comet while in utero, and gained special powers as a result. These ‘Specials’ grew up separate from the rest of society and some went on to greatness, some fell hard, but most just wanted normal lives. It look promising, but saddled with flashy art that couldn’t deliver the subtle storytelling Straczynski required and beginning a pattern of hopelessly late shipping, “Rising Stars” soon became a bit of a joke, something that had people asking, “That’s still being published?” and it ended mostly unnoticed -— but, now, the entire story is collected in one package along with the three tie-in mini-series, tipping the scales at 1000 pages.

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