Rising Stars Bright

    (Image, 2003)
™ and © Image Comics, Inc.

Rising Stars purists may pass this one by, thinking: If Straczynski didn’t write it, I’m not buying it. If the first of this three-issue mini-series is any indication, they won’t miss much.

Matthew Bright, of course, is one of the Specials: the 113 children affected by the fireball that struck Pederson, Ill., when they were still in the womb. Enraged by the persecution and fear he and his fellow Specials are subjected to, Matthew runs away from home and assumes a new identity so that he can fulfill his childhood dream of becoming a policeman.

But this is a series that doesn’t know which way to turn. As a cop drama, it falls flat: The characters Bright works with are all thinly etched stereotypes—the aging, honest cop; the tough-as-nails policewoman; the edgy loose cannon who (the reader knows) will be trouble in a few issues. They’re just not believable enough to be engaging.

As part of the Rising Stars saga, this series doesn’t promise to add much, either. What makes Rising Stars so engaging as a series is the way writer J. Michael Straczynski balances his characters perfectly between their desire for a normal life and the knowledge that they will never have it. In Bright, the reader wants to sympathize with Matthew and his simple ambitions, but it’s a struggle.

To her credit, writer Avery delivers a couple of nice moments—as when Matthew gets to drive his beloved police car home and kisses it good night—but they’re few and far between. In the hands of artist Jurgens, the characters seem puffy and overblown, lacking the realistic touch fans have come to associate with Rising Stars.

Completists will want the full story behind Bright’s years as a cop. But they’ll know they’re only marking time until the next issue of the real Rising Stars comes out.

— Stephen C. George
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  NotesWriterArtist
Rising Stars Bright #1

March, 2003
Cover Price: $2.99
22 copies available from $0.80 		Fiona Kai AveryDan Jurgens
Rising Stars Bright #2

April, 2003
Cover Price: $2.99
10 copies available from $1.75 		Fiona Kai AveryDan Jurgens
Rising Stars Bright #3

May, 2003
Cover Price: $2.99
8 copies available from $1.43 		Fiona Kai AveryDan Jurgens