J. Michael Straczynski’s Top Cow Superhero Comic ‘Rising Stars’ In MGM Movie Deal

The superhero epic Rising Stars by J. Michael Straczynski has been optioned for a movie by MGM according to Deadline. The book, which came out in 1999, has been dollar bin fodder for years, seems to be picking up in sales. 
 
From Deadline.com

MGM has optioned Rising Stars, the Top Cow comic series created by J. Michael Straczynski. He is set to write the script, and Alex Gartner and Richard Suckle will produce for Atlas Entertainment. Straczynski created/produced the Emmy and Hugo-winning Babylon 5 series, and he most recently wrote and exec produced with Lily and Lana Wachowski the Netflix series Sense 8, and his script credits include Changeling, Ninja Assassin, Thor, Underworld Awakening and World War Z.
Aside from all this, he still finds time to create comics for Marvel DC, Top Cow and others, and his comics have sold over 11 million copies and earned him the Eisner Award and other honors. Rising Stars follows a special group of people all linked to one extraordinary event, and how they change the world we know into something we only imagined. It offers a new world of superheroes, as 113 children who were in utero when a meteor hit their Illinois hometown were left with special powers. Some of them are being murdered, and when that happens, their powers switch to the remaining “specials,” some of whom want nothing to do with this superhero business. Straczynski will also serve as a producer along with Atlas, though his Studio JMS banner.

Most copies of Rising Star can be found at Mycomicshop.com although the first issues there are pricey. Copies of Rising Stars #1 are fairly cheap on eBay but are drying up quickly. Copies of the first issue on Amazon start at 51 cents.
As has been suggested in the comments, look for the Rising Stars Prelude issue which predates the series and the Wizard 0 issue which also predates the series.

10 thoughts on “J. Michael Straczynski’s Top Cow Superhero Comic ‘Rising Stars’ In MGM Movie Deal”

        1. I actually loved the story and was excited when the book first came out. Another one of the books I have because I am a crazy hoarder who buys everything each week. It is a really good story and would make an excellent film.

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