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“Rising Sun” #1

By | January 17th, 2020
Posted in Reviews | % Comments

By mixing the background of feudal Japan and the classic clan societal system of that age, with super heroic tropes and visuals, “Rising Sun” hits more than it misses on this debut issue.

Cover by Martin Coccolo
Written by Ron Marz & David Rodriguez
Illustrated by Martin Coccolo
Colored by Katrina Mae Hao
Lettered by Deron Bennett

Chiyoko of the Koi Clan leads a group of powerful warriors, the best each clan has to offer, on a mission to save Japan from dragons and monsters. But perhaps the greatest threat she faces is not the many monsters who are ravaging the country, but her own team…

“Rising Sun” is a three-issue limited series focused on a group of clan champions within the context of a fantastic feudal Japan. This format, combined with the fact that these are unknown characters to its audience, forced writers Marz and Rodriguez, alongside illustrator Coccolo, to create something easily identifiable and unique, within a limited time span.

Coccolo had to make a very conscious choice when approaching the art for this book. It could be done in a style aligned with a manga aesthetics, or even with airbrushes, common to the original art of that time. Instead, Coccolo wen straight for a far western, super heroic flare, with each of the clan members looking like super humans on their own right. At first, the style is jarring against the backdrop, language, and themes the script is calling for, but that uneasiness quickly fades given how competent Coccolo is on the designs and execution of “Rising Sun.”

First, there is the character design. While not diverting much from classic archetypes (the lean masked ronin, the small sage, the round and fat wrestler), Coccolo makes it their own, with a lot of smaller details and nuances walking hand-on-hand with their personalities.

Then, there is the setting itself, with plenty of pagodas, temples, and narrow streets. Perhaps that jarring sense of being out of place is felt the most on this aspect, as often the environment is a reflection of how it is portrayed. But, again, the entire architectural layout feels honest and real.

Finally, there is creature and power design, which shines the most through the main antagonist of the piece, a behemoth of a dragon, taking most of panels and pages where it shows up.

Over at colors, Mae Hao follows suit with a vibrant color palette. When other series like eastern champions were done in soft pastels and muted colors (such as Marvel’s ‘Immortal Weapons’ arc on “Iron Fist”), “Rising Sun” is all vibrant reds and greens, flashy explosions and displays.

Marz and Rodriguez shares writing duties, coming up with the world, characters, and plot. There is a lot to be admired, but there is also a looming sense of familiarity.

While bringing so much to the table at once is a daunting task, and one that the team of writers did well, it was done with a lot of shortcuts in terms of originality. The story and themes of a diverse group of adventurers coming together for a broader good, and still needing to deal with their own rivalries and different values and world views, is far from new. Adding a bit of repetition to this, are somewhat choreographed interaction between key characters. Readers will be able to see from a mile away who will clash over leadership, who will be the most honourable, and how some problem resolutions are played out.

Still… it is really well made, and the present fun is undeniable. A lot of this has to do with dialogue, and actually how those choreographed moments are delivered. Sure, readers will see the in-fighting from afar, they will know how the main foes are defeated, but yet the experience of the team of writers is obvious, with each personality well-developed and the conversations surrounding them flows naturally from that.

Plot-wise, there is a sense that more is to be revealed for the next two issues. That should be an obvious statement, but there does seem to be more from a thematically point of view, as if the true purpose of the book has not yet been fully revealed. The ending itself of this debut issue is again played for safety, within the well-known confines of this type of story, but some underlying conversations and how the pacing is presented seems to hint at a broader canvas.

All in all, “Rising Sun” does not take many risks, other than choosing a certainly western style of visual adventuring for a setting that is so removed from that. That risk earns its reward given the competence of all involved, and if the plot is very familiar to its audience, the quality of dialogue and pacing make it really good.

Final Verdict: 7.7 – “Rising Sun” seems content on playing to what the audience is expecting, and does so in a well-realised final product.


Gustavo S Lodi

Gustavo comes all the way down from Brazil, reading and writing about comics for decades now. While Marvel and DC started the habit, he will read anything he can get his hands on! Big Nintendo enthusiast as well.

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