Broken Frontier

Top Cow Productions will release Rising Stars: Voices of the Dead April of 2005, with writer Fiona Avery (Amazing Fantasy, Amazing Spider-Man) and penciler Staz Johnson (Spider-Man/Doctor Octopus). Rising Stars: Voices of the Dead is a spin-off to the much acclaimed Rising Stars series by J. Michael Straczynski, and concentrates on the largely overlooked story of Lionel Zerb who until now, was always considered a freak in the Rising Stars universe.

As a direct conduit to the dead, Lionel Zerb helps as a Ghost Interpreter, helping people deal with hauntings and other “spirit” cases. But one day, Zerb stumbles upon a force greater than he ever expected, and is forced to confront an ancient spiritual power that brings him closer to an understanding about the mysteries of the universe, and near his own death.

“I hope to give some play to the world of Lionel Zerb, which feels like a whole universe unto itself, set within the greater Rising Stars world,” says writer Fiona Avery. “Lionel’s gift, the ability to speak with the dead, has been a great opportunity to explore a facet of myth that has always haunted readers; from Ebenezer Scrooge’s ghosts of Christmas to The Sixth Sense”.

"Fiona Avery has a great 'voice' for the Rising Stars characters, and Lionel Zerb is one of the most interesting and complex of the bunch. Just as a reader, I'm very much looking forward to this series," says Top Cow editor in chief, Jim McLauchlin.