Astro City: The Dark Age Book I #1
Originally Presented at Comixtreme.com on June 19, 2005
Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Darkness Falls (Thicker Than Water Part One)
In 1972, a pair of brothers in Astro City find themselves on opposite sides of the law.
Writer: Kurt Busiek
Pencils: Brent E. Anderson
Colors: Alex Sinclair
Letters: John Roshell
Editor: Ben Abernathy
Cover Art: Alex Ross
Publisher: DC Comics/Wildstorm Signature Series
Review: It’s been a while since we last paid a visit to Astro City, and I for one have been itching for a return visit. Not only that, but I’ve been itching to see this storyline, which Kurt Busiek has promised will, at long last, tell the story of the hero that has been referred to as the “poor, doomed Silver Agent.” For newcomers, here’s what you need to know: Astro City is a city of heroes. Pretty much every convention of superhero storytelling you can imagine exists here, and has for decades. But Busiek doesn’t tell the stories straightforward - he tells the stories that fall between the cracks - of the doorman working at the city’s premiere hotel, of the henchman who gets away as his boss is rounded up, of the businesswoman whose office is invaded by a supervillain bent on revenge on a superhero’s girlfrield, who happens to be your boss.
This storyline begins in 1972 (Busiek also bounces freely around the timeline), and is told through the eyes of Charles Raymond Williams and his brother, Royal James Williams. Charles is a cop, one of Astro City’s finest. Royal? A crook, a two-bit hood frequently too small to even catch the notice of the city’s heroes. The 70s were a turbulent time in the real world, and no less in Astro City, where issues like Vietnam and Watergate were at the forefront of people’s minds. But the thing that Charles is concerned about is the new vigilante on the streets, the Blue Knight, who does something that his city’s heroes have never done before - act as executioner for the criminals he rounds up.
Everything that makes Astro City so great is on display this issue. One of the best things that Busiek does is take the superhero conventions of the era (everyone remembers that the Punisher is a child of the 70s, right?), but puts his own unique twist on it, making it something a little different, a little more. What’s more, he’s taking us towards some serious payoff in this series. Although this story, he says, isn’t about the Silver Agent, it will finally reveal the fate of this hero, a question that has plagued the reader since the second issue of the first miniseries, almost ten years ago. What was done to him? And why are Astro Citizens of the modern era so ashamed of what was done? This issue, we get our first glimpse towards the answer.
Anderson’s artwork is as wonderful as always. He manages to give hairstyles and fashion a distinctive 1970s flavor, but keeps the look of the city itself as timeless as ever. This, like a great many Astro City tales, is told through the eyes of average people instead of the fantastic citizens, so the artwork has to be grounded in reality. The book has a very classical feel to it, and it always has.
Although this title has been sporadic since its inception, when it hits the stands there’s usually nothing better for people who want superheroes with a twist. The same holds true today. One can only hope that this series (which will be told in a trilogy of “Books” with interlude specials in between each volume) will keep it schedule and not make us wait too long.
Rating: 8/10