Underwhelming.
So people talk about Busiek's Astro City, a lot. Almost all of the thing I have heard about it are positive. Which would lead one to get ready to have your mind blown with how good this is, right? Well, it doesn't really do that at all. Don't get me wrong this book has a certain charm that makes you want to love it but it never really gets there.
What you get is six issues that are kind of standalone. The first and the last issue feature The Samaritan heavily. You also see Crackerjack come into play again and Winged Victory makes an appearance while you learn what she is all about. The issues themselves do a nice job with pacing and nothing ever feels like it went on to long or it was skipped over needlessly.
So, the issues do a lot of world building and showing how this world works and such. It does a fine job of doing it and the art by Brent Anderson is pretty good. My problem is that it never reaches that moment when you know this exceeds the hype, when you know this comic is fantastic. No, it seems to like being just okay for now. It's an okay book and if it did a few things differently it'd be a fantastic book.
The first issue could be summed up as - The toll of a monotonous life and it's effects on a super powered being.
The second - The truth must always be told, in some way.
The third and my personal favorite issue - The burden of secret identities and how it would it may effect a person that knows it.
The fourth - A woman goes through her day and we see how she is affected.
The fifth - An alien was sent to judge earth, when it looks at a superheroes activities we find out if Earth is worth letting live?
The sixth - Superman and Wonder Woman analogues must ALWAYS sexual tension, ALWAYS.
All interesting topics and some of them are handled better then others. Good topics, questionable execution.
6 Comments