Astro City
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Kurt Busiek's Astro City is a comic book series centered around a fictional American city of that name. Created and written by Kurt Busiek, the series is illustrated by Brent Anderson with charcter designs and painted covers by Alex Ross. The first series debuted in August 1995 published by Image Comics, and since then has been published sporadically (due to Busiek's health problems) by Homage Comics.
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Overview
Astro City exists in a world where superheroes have existed since at least the 19th century: the first public hero, Air Ace, appeared during World War I. Busiek has crafted a complex world with a huge cast of characters, many of whom have extensive backstories sketched out which are revealed as the series progresses. Some characters somewhat resemble characters from DC Comics or Marvel Comics universes, though the link tends to be inspirational only.
The series is an anthology that focuses on different characters living within Astro City and the stories are usually narrated from a first person perspective from the story's protagonist. Some issues of the series are one- or two-part stories, while others run as many as six issues in an extended arc.
The essential hook of Astro City is that it explores the reactions that people - both ordinary people and the heroes and villains themselves - have to living in their world. For example, in the first story, the character of the Samaritan (who resembles Superman) reflects on his life during a typical day, in which he spends almost all of his waking hours flying around the world to help people, and never has any time to enjoy the sheer physical sensation of flight. Other stories involve a date between two high-profile heroes, the initiation of a "kid sidekick" hero, the efforts of a reformed supervillain to find a life outside of prison, and the life of an innocent bystander in the days after having been held hostage by a supervillain.
Characters
- Samaritan - An extremely powerful hero who travelled from the future to make the world a better place. Based on Superman
- Silver Agent - An armored vigilante with an infamous past that revolves around some mysterious event in the seventies that caused super-heroes to go largely mistrusted for a long while. Pronounced dead. Based on Captain America
- Jack-in-the-Box - A bouncy clown themed vigilante with no real powers but a bunch of clown themed weaponry and amazing agility. Based on Spider-Man.
- Crackerjack - An egocentric and reckless blowhard with amazing agility and a staff weapon.
- Hanged Man - A mysterious supernatural entity that floats around with a burlap sack over his face and a noose around his neck. Based on Phantom Stranger.
- First Family - A family of interdimensional explorers and superheroes. Based on the Fantastic Four.
- Winged Victory - A feminist, Greco-Roman themed superhero. Based on Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl.
- Steeljack - A former supervillain who attempts to reform. Consciously modeled after Robert Mitchum.
- The Confessor - A mysterious vigilante with a dark secret. Based on Batman.
- Altar Boy - The Confessor's sidekick. Based on Robin, the Boy Wonder.
Collected editions
- Astro City: Life in the Big City (ISBN 156389551X, collects Astro City Vol. 1 #1-6)
- Astro City: Confession (ISBN 1563895501, collects Astro City Vol. 2 #1/2, 4-9)
- Astro City: Family Album (ISBN 1563895528, collects Astro City Vol. 2 #1-3, 10-13)
- Astro City: Tarnished Angel (ISBN 156389663X, collects Astro City Vol. 2 #14-20)
- Astro City: Local Heroes (collects Astro City: Local Heroes #1-5, Astro City Special: Supersonic, "After the Fire")
External links
- The Astro City Rocket (http://www.astrocity.us) - the official Astro City website