Rising Stars, Vol. 3: Fire and Ash (2024)

So we finally got to see an end to the Rising Stars saga. I think my expectations were so high nothing could have matched them, which is why I enjoyed this one slightly less than the others. It was still really good nonetheless. As we probably could have guessed, we find out here the whole thing was caused by an alien race, presumably to help better mankind.

Overall this was a very good comic series, and I would recommend all 3 volumes to any fans of superhero comics.

Simon convinces a special of a way to end the conflict around Jerusalem - by making the soil fertile again. This ends her life, but she manages what people see as a miracle that reunites them after hundreds of years of war. If only this worked in real life...

The specials have helped humanity a great deal, but they have also suffered and some of them have upset men with the power and the resources to destroy them. Jerry 'Pyre' Montrose is the first to be killed with the help of an EMP that temporarily disables his power. The increase in power alerts the specials ans Simon confirms that they are hunted and goes after the people responsible for Jerry's death. When their leader is dead almost all the specials assume new identities prepared beforehand, but they continue to help normal people. Jason can't hide as his body was mutilated by the radiation he endured while hiding the nukes, so he is hunted and killed. His blood wakes Matt, the special who became a police officer, from his coma to continue the fight.

Randy decides to run for president and enrolls Lionel, the special who can speak with the dead, to be his source of information he can use against his political rivals. Lionel finds a great deal of information from the dead, but using it doesn't help Randy until his third try when his opponents destroy their own chances to win. Randy forced the congress to back him by using the information from Lionel and the country improved dramatically. Unfortunately, there are still politicians who oppose the new regime and are making preparations to kill the specials and take over the country. The nuclear explosion killed all specials, except Simon who refused to go with them, and released their power to the whole world for one day. In that day the people saw their potential for perfection, stopped all conflict and banded together at a global scale.

The ending has Simon, the last special with their combined power, lift off from Earth in a ship that takes him to the source of his power, closing the circle.

Read from beginning to end. Good stuff. 5 stars

Unfortunately this felt like an excellent series going out with a wimpier rather than a boom. After two excellent volumes showing a fairly realistic take on how 113 super powered people change the world, this one didn't quite keep the momentum.

This had the potential to be the most interesting and unique volume. All the conflicts between the specials are done and they are more or less living life united and in the mainstream, helping to build a better world. We see them tackling issues like nuclear disarmament, peace in the middle east, unemployment and the drug trade.

This sounds excellent and based on JMS's past work I was expecting it to be handled in a unique and nuanced way. Sadly it really comes across as very rushed with not enough time dedicated to each issue, or to any character development and the underlying story playing out in a fairly predictable way.

Overall it's still an excellent series.

I finished the third graphic novel in the Rising Stars trilogy; Rising Stars: Fire and Ash by J. Michael Straczynski. In this volume, the Specials fight back, to use their powers for the good of mankind, even as the establishment, the corrupt government, the military machine tries to stop them. It's a very sad story at times, but ultimately edifying. Well-written series and it was nice to get back into my collection of graphic novels again. (4 stars)

I was thinking along the read that I would give this 5 stars. But a pity 5 stars because the read was ok but with some good parts that I enjoyed. The ending changed that for me : 5 deserved stars.

So basically everytime I think I know what will happen, it does not turn out how I actually thought it would. And that's incredibly refreshing. The reason is very simple too : this is the most realistic depiction of humanity I have yet to see in a story. We are so used in our go-happy go-lucky world to brighten everything. Heroes always win, the main character always does the right thing, villains are bad but ultimately change or have good reasons for what they do...

The hard ugly truth is that humans are not all that great. Humanity is in fact very ugly and stupid. We are disgusting, power hungry, selfish, greedy, violent...

We are all that but entertainment tries to show us otherwise - which is not bad, mind you. But it is hiding from the truth.

We are all that but we can be better. There are some people, some moments that make us believe there us faith in humanity.

This ultimate volume (and it's ending in particular) does a wonderful job depicting this. The utter wretchedness and the possibilities for us. It is cynically realistic and hopeful - just like I am which struck a chord within me.

The realistic treatment of humans and human reactions was what made this a particularly unexpected read. We are far from the usual glossing up of the media. I loved that Randy lost the elections, I loved how true the military men's reactions were (even their bullsh*t talk about how they were not doing that for themselves but for the greater good is so accurate), loved how they prepared for the eventuality of them being tracked down etc

Normal routes and tropes were also avoided. Loved how the EMP threat was quickly tossed aside where in other comics it would have been turned into this major threat and plotline (cough cough kryptonite) to fuel as much drama as possible.

There were of course small shortcomings like how the sheer nulber of the cast prevented character development : one of the main reason I probably did not get attached to any characters which really hindered my appreciation for this work, Vol 1 & 2 included. It's a real pity since this is probably the reason the whole work was brought down for me. Characters are the linchpin of a story and they must grow on readers. This is where this loses on Supes or WW.

But oh well. This was still a very great read. Comics treated intellectually. That may be why it's not as fun or as funny as other comics ir books but it was way more refreshing and interesting.

P.S : absolutely loved the surprise ending!

Got this as single issues via the Humble Bundle Top Cow 30th Anniversary.

My advice when you suddenly got hold of a lot of comics, via a Humble Bundle for example, look up the reading order via Google. It will save you headaches and frustration.

This is an interesting story about superheroes, or at least persons with abilities. A cosmic event over Pederson (USA) affects the unborn children giving them abilities. We follow them growing up, their ups and downs, for good and for bad, how people respond to them (putting them in camp, distrust), ... all the way to the final end. The artwork is ok and it is a fascinating story, with a touching end. I've seen it compared to the "Watchmen" by Alan Moore, but that one is better.

6.7
[opinia za całą serię]

Zbyt dużo tu drewniano-maczystowskiej dawki mroku komiksów z lat 90., aby część wątków i postaci traktować nader poważnie, jedna mimo kilku wad i dłużyzn Straczynski dowozi całkiem ciekawą serię około-superbohaterską. Nakładane na siebie scenariuszowe tropy w tego typu historiach (zły rząd i przemysł wojskowy, good guys turn bad) ratuje ich niejednokrotnie ciekawe rozwinięcie i społeczno-polityczne tło. Niestety też, zamiast zatrzymywać się na konkretnych postaciach, aby dać czytelnikowi możliwość ich poznania oraz wypracowania jakiejkolwiek emocji względem nich, JSM traktuje Specialsów jako jednorodną masę służącą opowiedzeniu konkretnej wielkoskalowej historii. Wciążjednak warto.

As I expected, this story was about the telling. I am glad that stories like this are made. The endless rehash of Marvel/DC characters in endless EARTH-X stories get old. Having stories in analog universes (think Astro City and Irredeemable and NEXTWAVE) are often quite satisfying, in that the analogs can do they things that Captain America or Batman cannot. And on the flip-side, in What-If type or the rare stories (one shot Daredevil story that I can't recall the name of or Red Son), those are more often than not, not very good.

Also, I like that Straczynski had a start to finish story, something that doesn't always get a change in comics.

A strong finish. If nothing else, JMS is a master of plotting meaningful final stakes in the last act. Is it corny and a bit reliant on deus ex machina? Probably, but if you can get past that, you have what could be considered a great counter argument to Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End.

I have no idea how I could have felt like I've seen it coming, yet really didn't see it coming at all.
I highly recommend this series to any science fiction fan, and especially to all Babylon 5 or BSG fans. You'll be happy, and sad, and touched.

Utopique. Idéaliste.

Notre auteur a une vision ethnocentrée de la paix dans le monde.

Ce dernier tome est bourré de réflexions politiques. Il regorge de dialogues. Beaucoup de mots pour peu d'actions. Je n'ai pas beaucoup aimé mais les adeptes de politique pourraient aisément l'apprécier.

A wonderful ending to a great series.

Me emocionei lendo gibi de heroizin, eh mole?

Not read in the Graphic Novel Book Club, but read inspired by it

The last 3rd of the story (even if it is the 3rd of 5 graphic novels), I did not know entirely what to expect going into this one. The peace and how the peace was both happening and falling apart. The continued government problems. The breaking and waking and dying of certain people busting my heart everywhere.

The last three issues. The big explosion. The last ride / The ultimate reveal for the very beginning of the story and miracle itself. I have so many thoughts about these things and how the world had to wait years through a Top Cow hold out to get to them. And just. Yes, and no, and I'm so close to having read this entire canon now, too.

Finally! I finally found how it all ended. And you know what? That's a good and satisfying ending. Just a little too quickly paced. In some ways, I liked that I literally waited years to read this. I must have read Volume 1 and 2 a few times since i picked them up. Well all that study pays off. Everybody gets a reference in the end and, most importantly, I think Stracynski really says something profound about living life to your fullest potential. I guess in some ways, he's very much bringing the Golden Age ideals of superheroes to a more modern setting.

I liked it. It was earnest. And I can almost always get behind that.

Somehow, I managed to check out and read the last book first. Oops! Complete accident. So, now I know the ending in this really neat, really gripping graphic novel. Now...I need to read the previous ones.... Fans of Babylon 5 and Heroes will like this. Basically, it's about a group of children who were in utero when a meteor hit. These children were given various superhero powers. The problem is, how will they be used -- especially when they discover that the death of one special enhances the survivors' own powers?

The final act of the Rising Stars graphic novel, this book was not quite as twist-filled as the previous two, although the ending certainly caught me off guard (although it made perfect sense, once I'd absorbed it). Overall, the series was strong, an interesting look at what it would mean to have superpowers, how the world would react, and what the possibilities might be. A good change of pace story from the usual comic superhero we are used to.

Overall, while the ending to the series was interesting, I didn't find it quite as powerful as the other volumes. There was less emotional impact in the last third of this volume when there probably should have been the most.

I'm nit-picking, though. Easily one of the best comics-series ever produced. Absolutely fantastic.

A high score based on the strength of the whole series. An interesting and uplifting story, not really providing tonnes of additional character insights, with one or two notable exceptions. The story proceeds quickly enough (maybe too quickly - a lot of time passes), with a number of tense and exciting moments.

I like that the whole story loops back to the beginning. I like the symmetry of it all.

Overall a good story. It's interesting to note some of the loop holes and sort of polyanna-esque ideals in the story, which I think you can get away with in comics a little better than in other types of story telling. Or perhaps it was just this one.

Glad I read them again.

An absolutely stunning story! It is very cinematic and dramatic, and brilliantly written. I must admit I was a bit let down by the ending but I am willing to forgive that because of the amazing, heart stopping journey we are taken on from the start. A MUST READ!

A very interesting view of what the world would do to and how it would view superhumans born suddenly into the population. A scary view of human prejudices and the cause and effect of these prejudices. Fantastic art and one of the best comic storylines I have ever read. High recommended

This volume contains one of the best endings to any comic series ever. You also get great Brent Anderson art!

Fantastic series. Much like the television series "Heroes".

Wow, crash and burn

Brilliant, fantastic ending

JMS shows himself to be an excellent storyteller regardless of the medium.