A compelling story. Tragedy, redemption, a better world. I want to see how this ends.

Has a few surprisingly relevant things to say about American democracy, but also has some narrative issues (such as nesting victim-hood for the villains).

Rising Stars book one is one of my favorite graphic novels - probably the best super hero story I've read in graphic form other than Watchmen, and if it didn't owe so much to the Watchmen, I could easily say that it was a far more human, and therefore powerful, portrayal of a super hero story.I re-read volume 1 tonight before I dived into volume 2 and was once again blown away by it.And I think that's why I was so disappointed with the first half of volume 2.Yeah, I know... I'm dishing out a 5 s...

I finished the 2nd Volume of the Rising Stars graphic novel series; Rising Stars Vol. 2: Power by J. Michael Straczynski. I think in my comments on the first Volume, I may have said that Straczynski was responsible for Battlestar Gallactica. I should have said Babylon 5. Anyway, this is an interesting graphic novel series. It's basically about a group of children from a small town in Illinois who obtain special powers when a fireball from space strikes their town in the '60s. The story move...

A great improvement from the first volume. I found the story more interesting and the flow also improved. The characters were fleshed out here. Especially the villains from Acte 1. I very much enjoyed the fact that they let go of said villains and made them heroes instead : the story only got better from this choice. Didn't particularly like them in the first volume.I enjoyed the plot twist.One of the things I liked the most was how real the reactions of humans were to different events : humanit...

A group of kids born with superpowers become adults and struggle with what to do with their powers.This volume was a bit of a mixed bag. I really like the second half of the book, where the meta humans decide to do something constructive with their powers. The first half was a bit of a mess. The art looks good but the action sequences are so hard to follow. There are a multitude of characters, most of whom are extremely one dimensional or not even fleshed out at all. I think a lot of the potenti...

"Rising Stars" is one of my favorite graphic novels of all time. The second volume, "Power," tells the story of how the Specials finally overcome their first major challenge, and commit themselves to changing the world instead of simply trying to live "normal" lives . . . . brilliant stuff.

Ironically the art gets better once Lashley and Immonen take over, but the whole concept of Critical Maas as the big bad feels like a letdown compared to the promise of the first book.

I love this one. The story at the end, about the middle east, is simplistic in its view on how to solve the middle east conflicts but... wouldn't it be lovely to try? The idea is delicious.The art is bugging me. The strong men have more muscles than are physically possible on a human being. The women are all svelt and boobalicious or else ugly and dumpy - no in between. I know, I know, it's a comic book about people with super powers. Guess I just wish it wasn't so over the top.But the stories.

Continues to be solid. Thought the Chicago plotline was extended a little to far, but still excellent.

Wow! This is an incredible series.

JMS continues his fantastic series, starting with the battle for Chicago, before moving on to to tackle the question of how superheroes could really better our world, rather than just engaging in an ongoing cycle of violence.Given that virtually every super hero book is heavy on the punching and light on the actual problem solving it's surprising that this is not a topic which is tackled more often. I really appreciate this book transitioning from a standard super hero book into something a bit

The middle act of the Rising Powers graphic novel, the story again takes a pretty radical twist in the middle, changing from one focus to another. The first book set up the story to be one thing, then changed to something else. This one continues the second, then abruptly spins on its ear in a new direction. But in a good way—an unexpected twist to keep a broad story going. It'll be interesting to see how it all wraps up in the final act.

Not as good as the first, but hey, it’s a middle. I found that we got into the characters a little less this time, and there was a fair amount of muddled fight scenes, which more served to distract me from the story than to engross me. Still, the premise remains interesting, and there were enough twists to keep it interesting. I’m keen to see how it turns out.

This continues to be a great series. This volume picks up years after the first. We find out there was quite a twist, and what we thought happened wasn't exactly true.The specials have basically been outlawed, and several have taken over the city of Chicago. The remaining specials launch a rescue mission which leads to some major revelations. We also see the specials finally making a collective effort to change the world, but will they succeed?There was a definitive beginning, middle and end lai...

Read all 24 issues in one sitting. Really good. 5 stars.

Ugh, too many characters, too many punches, too many capes, too many uninspred twists. They all fly and kick each other around. It feels like the 90's again. At least some of them die, but the cast is huge considering I can barely tell the characters apart. (view spoiler)[A decade later the conflict between the Specials is ongoing. Simon is promised amnesty by the FBI if he clears out Chicago where Stephanie Maas is in charge and turning the city into a ruin. He has Chandra, Randy, Joshua and se...

Comparable to the first in the series. It is still doing well in the 'telling' department.

Not read in the Graphic Novel Book Club, but read inspired by itI went on into this one after we read Vol 1, since it was the perfect time to pick up the rest and read to the ending JMS/Top Cow were not giving the world in their long, once upon a time, war. This book was baffling in a lot of ways. There is a sudden 15 year gap, and the conversations take place that have no purpose to be being had now when they would have a decade and more ago. Chicago makes me think a lot. The reveal of Joshua m...

Volume two definitely upped the stakes, recontextualizing some of the elements of Volume one while expanding the mythology out in new and interesting ways, while also delving deeper into the psychology of the Rising Stars. The first half of the volume is more focused on the recovery of Chicago from rogue Powers, while the second half extrapolates from those events in a new direction for the survivors. The Chicago attack is the most traditional section, feeling like most any other hero title. But...