Shooting Star Comics Anthology (SSCA) is, like most anthology comics, a very mixed bag. There's some work within its pages that's good enough to grace the inside of any Image, DC or Marvel comic. Some of the other strips in SSCA, however, still have a long way to go.
Most of the strips in SSCA are superhero or superhero-themed. They range from strips like Passing in the Night, which is very X-Men (two heroes out for a night on the town struggle with their own and each others' emotions), to Aym Geronimo & the Postmodern Pioneers, a post-superhero team of extraordinary individuals, which both pokes fun at and has fun with genre conventions.
Indeed, Aym Geronimo is the highlight of both issues 3 and 4 of SSCA. This is mainly because it uses action rather than dialogue to push the narrative forward, and so any deficits it might have are forgiven as you sit back and enjoy the strip's dynamism. It also displays a welcome sense of fun.
Unfortunately, not every strip in SSCA is as successful. Wilde Magick, for example, the tale of an occult detective on the trail of kidnapped infants, has great art, but a far too linear narrative and a 'taking-itself-too-seriously' attitude that really lets the strip down. It's a shame really, because artist Sinclair Elliot is one of the standout talents in SSCA and deserves a better script to showcase his work.
The rest of the work in both issues of SSCA ranges from fair to poor. However, none of the strips' basic premises are without merit. Bedbug, for example, a Tick-like superhero strip, would do better if Scott Rogers got someone else to draw it and stuck to writing. Thrill Seeker Comics, a strip that plays with pulp conventions, reads like it's still finding its feet, but will, I suspect, blossom if given time to develop.
All in all, SSCA has potential. I think the editorial team, some of whom contribute to the comic, need to set a higher standard when it comes to commissioning material. If they do that, then SSCA will no doubt have a bright future.
Matthew Badham