Welcome to Astro City
Giant company events in comicdom tend to suck. And by "suck" I mean, destroy all previous continuity and characterization for the sake of their sales boosting shock value. They know it too, since for all their touting of everything changing they never leave a lasting impression in the long run (incoming "Final Crisis" anyone?). Maybe comic fans are too set in their ways, or the stories just don't resonate. There may be differing opinions, but I can't for the life of me point out anything really worthwhile that Infinite Crisis or Civil War has done except to keep me out of DC completely, and on the fringes of Marvel's books that aren't directly impacted.
Of course I have my geeky and impotent comic rage over things like having Captain America who fought Nazis be told he was not really an example of an American because he didn't know what MySpace was. Or watch as DC killed off almost every character I followed, some in horribly pathetic ways, just for the sake of their modus operandi. I could exort for days how many mistakes and gaffs, some from negligence and some because Dan Didio hates life, all led up to a sort of disillusionment in superheroics for me.
But then I remembered Astro City and all my faith is restored.
Astro City is Kurt Busiek's magnum opus to superheroes. It sports some gorgeous Alex Ross covers, and anyone who knows Alex Ross should realize that alone is worth taking a look at. But Busiek, who penned a great framing novel in Marvels and managed his own quirky superhero stories like "Superstar: As Seen on TV" is at his best game with this universe.
It is not a series to recommend to a passing fan. Don't get me wrong, it's gorgeous and the writing is stunning. But for people who enjoy comic books when they step away from the spandex and into realms like WE3 or V for Vendetta, this series isn't going to hold their interest the same way. It might detract even from Runaways and Impulse fans, who follow the characters over the mythos. Astro City is for the die-hard, because this is a universe made for people who love superheroes. The people who get a little thrill looking up at the sky, who tied bedsheets to their necks as kids. People who, despite every reason to find such things silly and simplistic, will always cling to these figures as a representation of something they admire.
Busiek works best when he is on the outside looking in. Most of the stories aren't about the heroes of Astro City, but how people see them. They are larger than life, terrifying at times, noble, and sometimes downright annoying (Crackerjack, I am looking at you specifically). Sometimes we get a story direct from the hero's perspective, or someone close to them. My favorite arc, Confessions, is mostly told through the aspiring hero, Altar Boy, as he trains under the Confessor. Yeah, the names are silly but Busiek has this magic that suddenly makes all the silliness of most comics go away. You believe in what he's saying, and you care about how it's said. I was more unnerved by the Confessor than I have been at Batman for a long time.
Other notable parallels sometimes cast the archetype in a better light than you would expect. Samaritan, the Astro City version of Superman, is truly someone who is burdened by his tremendous powers. A one shot story follows him on his day as he tries to juggle all the crises that only he can prevent, or simply he's the one there willing to do the job. His mild-mannered reporter persona is there to make excuses for any semblance of a real life as he races around trying to save everyone he can. Samaritan is basically what would happen if Clark Kent knew that the world needed Superman and devoted himself to it. Minus the "woe I am the last of my planet" or the high-handed pathos you sometime find in Superman stories, Samaritan stories are plain and straightforward with an unquestionable mindset he devotes to his task.
Of course the best part of Astro City is the universe itself. The stories never clash under a single writer's control, and the events are portrayed as both larger than life and distant enough to get a good picture of the whole thing. Civil War? Yeah, that showed up in "Confessions" and was handled better in terms of making both sides appear reasonable (no cloning Norse gods here!) as the heroes were told to reveal their identities because of a suspected killer among them. They also touched on the idea of hero accountability in "The Dark Ages" arc, when the Silver Soldier (why, yes, this is a Captain America parallel) is charged with murder and sentenced to death as civil rights riots explode over the backdrop of an intergalactic war.
But by far my favorite story of Astro City's series was how they handled their own concept of being timestream punched. "The Nearness of You" tells of how continuity must, inevitably, screw up at some point and the consequences therein managed to evoke more emotion and sadness in me than all of DC's killing spree of their beloved heroes. Here, this is an entire story dedicated to the weight of such actions and the real gem of Astro City when reading, the humanity behind the superheroics.
Can I just mention how the Hanged Man is my favorite hero in this universe?
Plot happens, basically a time themed supervillain, Time Keeper, decides he's sick of being defeated by superheroes and decides to unravel time to stop them before they're created.
And that is why Astro City reaffirms my love of superheroes.
Of course I have my geeky and impotent comic rage over things like having Captain America who fought Nazis be told he was not really an example of an American because he didn't know what MySpace was. Or watch as DC killed off almost every character I followed, some in horribly pathetic ways, just for the sake of their modus operandi. I could exort for days how many mistakes and gaffs, some from negligence and some because Dan Didio hates life, all led up to a sort of disillusionment in superheroics for me.
But then I remembered Astro City and all my faith is restored.
Astro City is Kurt Busiek's magnum opus to superheroes. It sports some gorgeous Alex Ross covers, and anyone who knows Alex Ross should realize that alone is worth taking a look at. But Busiek, who penned a great framing novel in Marvels and managed his own quirky superhero stories like "Superstar: As Seen on TV" is at his best game with this universe.
It is not a series to recommend to a passing fan. Don't get me wrong, it's gorgeous and the writing is stunning. But for people who enjoy comic books when they step away from the spandex and into realms like WE3 or V for Vendetta, this series isn't going to hold their interest the same way. It might detract even from Runaways and Impulse fans, who follow the characters over the mythos. Astro City is for the die-hard, because this is a universe made for people who love superheroes. The people who get a little thrill looking up at the sky, who tied bedsheets to their necks as kids. People who, despite every reason to find such things silly and simplistic, will always cling to these figures as a representation of something they admire.
Busiek works best when he is on the outside looking in. Most of the stories aren't about the heroes of Astro City, but how people see them. They are larger than life, terrifying at times, noble, and sometimes downright annoying (Crackerjack, I am looking at you specifically). Sometimes we get a story direct from the hero's perspective, or someone close to them. My favorite arc, Confessions, is mostly told through the aspiring hero, Altar Boy, as he trains under the Confessor. Yeah, the names are silly but Busiek has this magic that suddenly makes all the silliness of most comics go away. You believe in what he's saying, and you care about how it's said. I was more unnerved by the Confessor than I have been at Batman for a long time.
Other notable parallels sometimes cast the archetype in a better light than you would expect. Samaritan, the Astro City version of Superman, is truly someone who is burdened by his tremendous powers. A one shot story follows him on his day as he tries to juggle all the crises that only he can prevent, or simply he's the one there willing to do the job. His mild-mannered reporter persona is there to make excuses for any semblance of a real life as he races around trying to save everyone he can. Samaritan is basically what would happen if Clark Kent knew that the world needed Superman and devoted himself to it. Minus the "woe I am the last of my planet" or the high-handed pathos you sometime find in Superman stories, Samaritan stories are plain and straightforward with an unquestionable mindset he devotes to his task.
Of course the best part of Astro City is the universe itself. The stories never clash under a single writer's control, and the events are portrayed as both larger than life and distant enough to get a good picture of the whole thing. Civil War? Yeah, that showed up in "Confessions" and was handled better in terms of making both sides appear reasonable (no cloning Norse gods here!) as the heroes were told to reveal their identities because of a suspected killer among them. They also touched on the idea of hero accountability in "The Dark Ages" arc, when the Silver Soldier (why, yes, this is a Captain America parallel) is charged with murder and sentenced to death as civil rights riots explode over the backdrop of an intergalactic war.
But by far my favorite story of Astro City's series was how they handled their own concept of being timestream punched. "The Nearness of You" tells of how continuity must, inevitably, screw up at some point and the consequences therein managed to evoke more emotion and sadness in me than all of DC's killing spree of their beloved heroes. Here, this is an entire story dedicated to the weight of such actions and the real gem of Astro City when reading, the humanity behind the superheroics.
Can I just mention how the Hanged Man is my favorite hero in this universe?
Plot happens, basically a time themed supervillain, Time Keeper, decides he's sick of being defeated by superheroes and decides to unravel time to stop them before they're created.
And that is why Astro City reaffirms my love of superheroes.