by Randy Lander

RISING STARS #17 "Time Passes" Recommended (8/10) Image Comics/Top Cow Productions Writer: J. Michael Straczynski Artist: Brent Anderson Colors: John Starr Letters: Dreamer Design Editor: Renae Geerlings Price: $2.50 US I haven't read Rising Stars in a while; I gave up and planned on waiting for the trades. However, this issue is a surprisingly easy one to jump into, and it's clear that Straczynski is still taking the book in interesting directions. While not as strong as his work on Midnight Nation or Amazing Spider-Man, Rising Stars is notable for asking some of the same questions as Squadron Supreme or The Authority, and coming up with some slightly different answers. Now that Brent Anderson is onboard as artist, I can tell the characters apart a lot better, and I found catching up with the various Specials in this issue to be a rewarding experience. Straczynski is always at his best and his worst when he's doing the stories where one character narrates, or where he's taking on issues. This issue is no exception, as the narration is often a bit heavy-handed and sounds more like the author than the character. However, there's also a lot of power in some of the ideas, such as how Chandra channels her "super-beauty" into changing the world, or the tragic changes that have occurred for Jason and Matt, two of the more powerful Specials. The third arc of Rising Stars has been about asking the question "What if super-heroes really tried to change the world?" The easy answer to that, and the one most super-hero comics have taken, is that they can't, and that everything remains status quo. Straczynski seems to be aiming for a world that is changed, with "mask culture" becoming an instrument of change or the nuclear disarmament of world powers or elimination of drugs and crimes being shown as problems that can be eliminated with enough power. Nevermind that these solutions are often a little overly simple, ignoring the socioeconomic complexities involved in these tasks... the problems and solutions are no more or less believable than they were in the over-the-top Authority. Anderson's art is an enormous gift to this title. Previous artists have made it very hard to distinguish between very characters, and any artist who could define the characters better would have been improvement enough. However, Anderson is more than just someone who does strong character designs, he's an impressive storyteller whose art is truly beautiful. Whether he's conveying Chandra's performance, the physical changes that have overcome Jason or the tragedies that have become his life, the artwork is always evocative and powerful. As with every story in which the super-heroes try to change the world for the better, there are forces which resist, trying to maintain the status quo. Straczynski is clearly gearing up for a conflict between the Specials and the normal people who want to keep the world flawed if it means keeping their power in it. The outcome of that conflict, and how it's handled, will determine whether Rising Stars is remembered as another stab at territory well-covered by Squadron Supreme and The Authority, or something different. This comic book was not one of this week's new releases. Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board.