posted 08-29-2001 10:38 PM               

There are many smart people in comics who argue that the superhero genre is totally spent, stuck recycling old stories and old archetypes and doomed to tell superficial power fantasies, no matter how much the hot new creators of the moment try to dress them up.

Kurt Busiek's Astro City proves these critics wrong. In Astro City, Busiek, Anderson and Ross have created a wonderfully rich setting, a city with a history and character of its own that feels as real and as diverse as any American city. The only difference is that Astro City is full of superpowered individuals, and has been for at least 75 years. Some of these characters are allegories for established heroes published by DC and Marvel - analogues for Superman, Wonder Woman and the Fantastic Four (among others) appear in this volume. Others are wholly original creations, allowing Busiek to take various archetypes in new directions.

What sets Astro City apart is not so much its setting or any of the individual characters, although all of these are depicted with great skill and craft. The strength of this series is its determination to show the superhero genre's unexplored potential. As Busiek says in his introduction:

quote:

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I wanted to explore the rest of the genre, celebrating the power it has to make ideas come to life and seeing what it can do . . .This seemed to be the perfect chance to . . . wander off the main thoroughfares of a superhero world and see what stories have been waiting in the shadows to be told . . . what can happen if we stop heeding the siren song of What Happens Next and start wondering What Else Is There?

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Astro City shows that what can happen is that serious, dramatic stories can be told that still maintain the sense of wonder and spectacle inherent in the superhero genre.

Each chapter in Life in the Big City is a standalone short story, highlighting different corners of this fictional universe. The city's leading superhero tries to be everywhere at once, and berates himself for every wasted second as he longs for just a moment of his own. A small time hood learns a hero's secret identity, and tries to figure out how to profit from the knowledge. A beat reporter gets some advice from his editor on his first day on the job. A young woman tries to balance the demands of her family with her own hopes and desires. Despite the fantastic settings, the characters in these slice-of-life stories feel like real people, and that gives the stories real power.

posted 09-02-2001 12:17 PM               

I love Astro City so much that I came "this" close to tackling poor Mr. Busiek at the San Diego Comic Con until he told me when we'd get more issues. At this point, I'm so totally engaged by the characters, I'm getting pretty pissed at the lag time. One thing I especially like about this universe is that the narrative shifts back and forth from ordinary Castro City residents to the heroes.

posted 09-04-2001 02:09 PM               

His style worked best in Marels, if you ask me. Photorealistic art nicely paralleled Busiek's narrative structure rather well, and we truly got to see the New York City of Marvel's Silver Age through the eyes of a "regular guy." The two pieces of artwork that came with the Unbreakable DVD, however, were a bit over the top.

posted 09-05-2001 08:38 AM               

a) I want for of Busiek's stories
b) I want more glimpses into the city's backstory

Right now, I'm not sure which I want more. The inherent danger in reading AC is that is dangerously addictive. Why is it that I have to wait for much of the good stuff these days?

Dave, tell your pal Goss that he's next on my list!