Not Tall Enough for the Wild Stars Comics

Posted On September 14, 2018

Are you up for a galaxy spanning multi-versal tale with dozens of characters, settings, and a whole lot of strange goings on? Have I got a comic series for you!

Michael Tierney first came to my attention with his modern man against gods tale, Shark Fighter, in Cirsova #2.  A somewhat dreamy tale of a scuba diver facing a threat far worse than a mere shark attack, it was one of the highlights of the issue.  His Bears of 1812 in Cirsova #5 (the Eldritch Earth issue) stands out for the criminally underused setting of a fantastic colonial era United States.

So it was without hesitation that I plonked my hard earned cash down on the digital barrelhead for the crowdfunding of Michael Tierney’s Wild Stars comic series.  I’m glad I did, because it’s a fun read, but it takes a lot more brainpower to get through than I’m used to using when reading funny books.  Like some of the best literature, it seems written more for the re-read than the first time through, unless you are prepared to go back and cross check events and characters mid-stream.

Essentially, it’s the story of a time-travel war.  Several realities are fighting for control of the future, and the somewhat disjointed nature of the earlier issues weaves together by the end of the series in one big showdown.  What I took for a framing device – a way to tell a bunch of different stories in different settings – turns out to be a carefully constructed narrative replete with call backs and foreshadowing.  I probably should have paid more attention to the first few issues, because the ending fell a little flat with my confusion over where all the pieces fit into the puzzle.

It’s a fun read, but be prepared to pay close attention if you get into it – you’ll get more out of your read through than I did mine.  I’m also hoping that Wild Stars: Force Majeure will help fill in a few gaps.  That was part of the Kickstarter, and I’m eager to see how it helps round out my understanding of what came before.

Stay tuned.  I’ll let you know