Astro City MetroBook One!

Following the success of Marvels, the duo of Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross teamed up once again to bring the world a whole new superhero universe, a place filled with heroes, villains, and the assorted sidekicks, bystanders, witnesses, and others who live for the most part in a little burg dubbed "Astro City". It's a fantastic conceit, a city which no borders save those of the imaginations of the creators. Joining Busiek and Ross on this endeavor was Brent Anderson, a tremendous artist, previously best known for his work on Ka-Zar the Savage and Strikeforce: Moritauri. Busiek wrote them, Anderson drew them, and Ross wrapped these delicious packages in magnificent covers. The success of the boys at Image gave this concept a place to live for a time. 

In the very first issue of Astro City we meet Samaritan, the "Superman" of this universe. But these are different kinds of superhero yarns, less interested in the hustle and bustle of defeating criminals in never ending battles and more interested in the thoughts and feelings of those who wage those battles and those who merely witness them. I this debut story we follow the hero in and out of his secret identity as a fact checker for a publishing house and as the supremely powerful and stunningly swift hero who responds to threats on schedule measured in seconds. His single joy doing the work is flying, which he does much less than he'd like. 

In the second issue we meet the Silver Agent and a reporter who as a rookie came across the biggest story of his career. We seem him now as an experienced editor teaching his reporters to stick to the facts. Print what you can prove. Sadly for him, or perhaps not, he could not prove much of the story which resulted in the saving of the world no less. 

The third issue gives us Jack-in-the-Box, or more accurately a smalltime hood's impressions of the hero. The crook stumbles across Jack's secret identity and then quakes in fear as he tries any number of schemes to attempt to profit from that ill-gotten information. This is an ideal Astro City story since we only really see the superhero from the outside, just as we might in our own world should such things exist. 

Different emotions come into play in the fourth issue which showcases a young woman who lives in Shadow Hill, a ghetto area of Astro City, cloistered and rife with Old World customs and actual magic. It is watched over by an enigmatic figure called The Hanged Man.  She leaves her superstition behind to head into the gleaming city, inspired by Winged Victory to make something of her life. Choices we make are often very tough and often surprising. 

We meet Crackerjack, a bombastic hero who is full of bluster and braggadocio. He is under surveillance by a mysterious old man who is watching all of mankind to make some kind of judgement. Due in part to Crackerjack's behavior he makes the call, and we will learn the consequences of that in later issues. 

The sixth and final issue of the original limited series returns us to the character Samaritan as we follow him and the heroine Winged Victory as they try have a simple date. Other heroes work overtime to give them leisure to spend a few moments together. It probably doesn't end as you thought it might. Busiek's ability to develop character is amazing to behold and folks in his stories have an uncanny reality. 

The series returns as an ongoing and follow a gaggle of heroes seen from afar by a man who has just moved to Astro City from Boston along with his two young daughters. His wife has left him for another man and he's trying to live his life with as little bitterness as he can muster for the sake of his girls. Watching the heroes of Astro City and the threats they battle gives him pause, but also inspiration. 

We get the first continued story in a two-parter which focuses on Astra of the Furst Family. It's always fun to follow the echoes of other heroes Busiek draws upon to create his super folks for Astro City and the does a great job with the Furst Family which reminds me of the Fantastic Four and the Doom Patrol as well. We get a look at some of weirder places in this world as the family searches for their little girl who has gone on an adventure to learn hopscotch. 

Given the luxury of the ongoing series, Busiek and Anderson gives us the first full-fledged six-part epic set in the town of heroes. There is a serial killer in Shadow Hill and the inability of the heroes to find the culprit begins to scratch away at the good will people felt for the heroes. Goaded on by a mayor with ulterior motives, the story documents the heroes as they fall from grace. We see this through the eyes of a young man who has come to Astro City to become a hero and who gets the chance when the Confessor becomes his mentor and fights crime as the Alter Boy. The Confessor has secrets of his own. By the end of this saga the Confessor has transformed. The story leads us back to that lone tale involving Crackerjack and the weird little man who watched him. The call he sent was for invasion. 

The tenth issue introduces us to the Garbage Man, an old man who rankled against forced retirement and used his technical wizardry and his new leisure time to commit crimes. When he commits the perfect crime, he finds that enjoying his spoils in remote sunny climes is not what makes him happiest. 

Jack-in-the-Box is the center of the next two-part story which introduces to him properly. He's a toy manufacturer who is a second-generation hero, following in the footsteps of his father who used his wits and inventions to stop the company he worked for from turning his creations into weapons. Jack is visited by two weird versions of himself who claim to be his son from different futures. Both seek revenge for something Jack did. He soon finds his wife is pregnant and now there's a dilemma of how to be a good father a good superhero at the same time. 

The collection closes out with a special issue numbered one-half which appeared as a promotional giveaway. The story revolves around a man who dreams of a lovely woman he's never met. This vision interferes with his work and his love life. When he finally learns the truth, he's given a difficult choice by the Hanged Man. It's a delightful tale, an ideal example of what Astro City is about. 

These stories are stunning, and it was so much fun to read them again after so many years. Here's something I wrote about the series years ago. I'll  let me then speak for me now. 

Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson have told some utterly touching stories over the years about regular folks who just happen to have superpowers or who just happen to know someone who does. These are by and large gentle stories about all too mortal human beings trying to find a way forward in a world that doesn't always make the most sense. It's just like real life, but more colorful on occasion. That's the real secret of Astro City, that despite the likes of Samaritan, Silver Agent, The Confessor, and more, the world is very much like the one outside most of our windows. It's world of hard choices and difficult decisions made by regular folks with limited information and imperfect understanding. It's just like here and now.

 I'm already eager to dive into the second MetroBook. 

Rip Off