Super-Powered Comics: Astro City volume 1: Life in the Big City

Kurt Busiek kicked off Astro City as a six-issue series from the fine folks of Image Comics. It would soon jump to Homage, a subsidiary of Image/Wildstorm, later DC Wildstorm. But for now, it was truly a boutique book even though two of its creators were some of the hottest names in comics in the aftermath of Marvels.

Issue one opens with an obviously Superman-esque figure named Samaritan. But instead of the regular narrative in to battle concept we get from most titles (especially at the time), the issue instead focuses on a day in the life of the busiest hero on the planet. The narrator is Samaritan himself, and by page two we already can see this story is about the speed he pushes himself in to every day. We learn of the sacrifices he made and the desires he carries with him, while each superhero battle gets little more than a panel to cover it all.

Issue two introduces a regular contrivance of Mr. Busiek, used both in Astro City and his Marvels work: the story from the human perspective. We get a flashback to the late fifties and an early adventure of the Silver Agent and the Honor Guard. We get the first hints of the Silver Agent’s unpleasant fate as an intrepid young reporter takes it all in. But the fight again is not as key as the lesson learned by the young reporter, now a news editor telling a very important lesson.

Wrapped in a cover featuring a foreboding close-up of the hero featured within, issue three focuses on the Spider-Man analog Jack-in-the-Box. But even this story has a unique perspective: that of a criminal who accidentally sees Jack’s face. The criminal learns how the repercussions of his happenstance work on his own over-active imagination.

Issue four focuses on a young woman from Shadow Hill, the supernatural hub of the city. But during the day she works in City Center, and the dual nature of her life quickly shows signs of wear when the Hanged Man and the First Family (a Fantastic Four-style super-family) become involved.

Issue five features a key story to the future run of the book. Here we meet an alien advance scout. Despite being there to scout the earth for an attack force, he has a love for humanity. But his love is sorely tested as the story progresses.

Volume one closes with a story of Samaritan finally taking a day off to spend with Winged Victory, the book’s Wonder Woman analog. Between discussions, arguments, and accusations, the two enjoy an uneasy night to themselves in a way the DC characters never could.

None of these stories are Astro City’s finest (although Astro City 2 is a personal favorite of mine). But they do succeed at both introducing the main cast of the book while also clearly stating the kind of stories Mr. Busiek planned to tell in the long run.

All these stories were collected in the Astro City: Life in the Big City trade paperback. Everyone should check it out. If you like it, you will love the rest of Astro City. If you don’t... well then I am not sure why you are reading a blog about superheroes at all. Highly recommended.

Super-Powered Comics: Astro City: An Introduction

When I started reading comics, my first two books were G.I.Joe and Transformers. Until the late eighties, pretty much all my comic purchases focused on those and other toy/cartoon tie-ins, from C.O.P.S. to M.A.S.K. to Super Powers and beyond. As I got older, I started in on X-Men and the Avengers while the “Panic In the Sky” storyline brought me in to Superman. In those pre-teenage years I quickly became voracious in my comics reading. I bought every book I could off the newstand, whether they be Marvel and DC, or Image, or the Ultraverse, or even Dark Horse. I bought every issue of Wizard and Hero Illustrated, always wanting to learn more about my new hobby. I learned about the history of these characters over years and decades. I grew to love the superhero as a setting (or genre if you prefer).

So it should come as no surprise that one of my favorite titles ever is Kurt Busiek’s Astro City. Over the next few months, I plan on posting regular retrospectives about the characters, stories, and storytelling that Kurt Busiek, Brent Anderson, and Alex Ross bring to a book that everyone (and I do mean everyone should be reading). My plan is to cover a story arc (or so) every week and hopefully by the time I am finished, we will only be weeks away from the return of Astro City as a regular series.

Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross made a beauty of a book named Marvels only a couple years before. Marvels changed the way a lot of people looked at the superhero comics they read, and I strongly suspect its human interest angles mixed with classic continuity are an inspiration for many books on the market today. (Geoff Johns should stand up and wave right here.) It made household names out of two creators who up until this point were rather unknown. Ross’s only major published work at this point was The Terminator: The Burning Earth for Now Comics. Kurt had written Power Man & Iron Fist, Liberty Project, and numerous fill-ins at this point, but was still probably best known as the guy who came up with the way to bring Jean Grey back for X-Factor. Marvels changed the careers of both men, and in its aftermath came a creator-owned project: Astro City. Ross would provide the covers and long-time, under-rated penciler Brent Anderson (most famous for X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills) would draw the interiors.

I will start with a book that remains one of the most unique tales of the book: Astro City 1/2. The story focuses on every-man Mike Tenicek, just a guy haunted by dreams of a beautiful woman and their love affair. The dreams haunt him, consume him, until an appearance by the entity known as the Hanged Man (sort of a less kill-happy Spectre). And in the process, we get a view of the numerous big-time crossovers, massive crisis events, and the like. I will not say more than that (I may have spoiled too much even there), but I will say it is one of the most emotionally impactful super-powered stories I have ever read. Don’t believe me? Even the folks at Wizard have named it the 16th best comic in the history of their publication. I honestly would rate it even higher, at least in the top five.

So, yeah, Astro City knows how to tug on the heart strings too. More reviews as we continue, but for now, you can check out issue one-half in the back of the Astro City: Confession trade paperback. Highly Recommended.