I'll come right out and say it: Astro City is the best superhero comic of the last decade.
What makes Kurt Busiek's creation tick is how he tempers a fondness for comics' Silver and Golden Ages with the hard-won knowledge of the last 20 years, when comic readers learned to prize things like realism, grittiness, and complex moral ambiguities instead of the clear-cut white hat/black hat dichotomy of old. Astro City assimilates all of what's best about superhero comics, distilling the genre down to its pure, quicksilver essence.
Busiek recognizes superheroes as archetypal characters, and appropriately most of the characters in Astro City are pastiches. Samaritan is essentially Superhuman with a time-traveller's twist; Confessor is a mix of Batman and Ghost Rider; Crackerjack combines Spider-Man with Booster Gold (and actually, I've always thought of Crackerjack as kind of like how it would be if Flash Thompson had become Spider-Man—wasn't that a What If?). But these characters are also unique, with quirks and complexities that distinguish them from their inspirations: it's all a part of how Astro City seamlessly blends what's familiar and classic with what's new and unusual.
For those who are unacquainted with the series, I thought I'd prepare an Astro City Buyer's Guide of sorts, to direct you towards what I consider the five most essential Astro City stories (both single-issue and multi-part arcs), the ones that show the best the series has to offer and also present a good starting point for further delving. So, without further ado:
5. Astro City, Volume 2, #10: "Show 'Em All"
This issue introduces the Junkman, a crotchety old thief whose resentment of Astro City's smug heroes inspires him to prove he's better than any of the superjerks. Following a $7 million dollar heist, Junkman finally retires, satisfied with outsmarting the superhero community—until he discovers that no matter what exotic clime he visits, people look up to the capes rather than to the villains that bedevil and occasionally outwit them. And so Junkman returns to Astro City, intent on proving his superiority once and for all. This story shines in how it depicts superheroes from an unusual perspective (that of a villain, and an intellectual one rather than a standard-issue megalomaniac), and also for how it paints an endearing picture of Junkman himself, the kind of dastardly rogue that the reader can root for. "Show 'Em All" won the 1998 Eisner Award for Best Single Issue or Story.
4. Astro City: Local Heroes, #1-5
Local Heroes spotlights some previously unknown Astro City characters from the perspective of average citizens whose lives they change. "Newcomers" depicts a family just moving to Astro City and faced with the reality of living in the superhero—and supercriminal—capital of the world. "Shining Armor" tells the tale of a young woman who falls in love with a superhero named Atomicus during the Atomic Age, putting a delightful twist on the old Kent/Lane office romance. In "Pastoral", a cosmopolitan Astro City teen is exiled to the countryside for a summer with her aunt and uncle, and quickly becomes miserable being so far from her beloved superheroes...until she finds that the country holds a few surprises of its own. (Also, she wears Hanged Man earrings!) And the two-part final story of Local Heroes is the best of them all: "Knock Wood" and "Justice Systems" chronicle the fall and rise of Vince Oleck, an attorney for the mob who finds his faith in law and order on the verge of collapse...until he meets the Blue Knight. It's essentially the greatest Punisher story never written, one that cuts to the core of who that character is and what role he plays in society. I think Local Heroes may be the best all-around introduction to Astro City: a series of diverse, self-contained stories that get you acquainted with the book's aesthetic.
3. Astro City Special #1: "The Eagle and the Mountain"
I mentioned this one in my last post. One of the best single-issue Astro City stories, "The Eagle and the Mountain" at long last introduces the fearsome Infidel, a character Busiek and Ross had been kicking around for years. He turns out to be one of the greatest villains the series has yet shown us, and actually quite original: despite the obvious connections to Ra's Al Ghul and Doctor Doom, the Infidel seems genuinely his own, and instantly memorable—it's a great example of the series' ability to tap into archetypal ideas, delivering them pure and uncut. And the process also enrichens the character of Samaritan by giving him an arch-nemesis who is truly his equal, and who he shares a very interesting relationship with. Few single issues better illustrate why this series is so excellent, and why it's the kind of comic that gets you excited about superheroes again.
2. Astro City, Vol. 2, #1/2: "The Nearness of You"
Astro City has won three Eisners for Best Single Issue or Story, but in my opinion it's a capital crime that this issue didn't snag one of them. "The Nearness of You" centers on a tortured and very normal man haunted by memories of events that never happened, and how the Hanged Man (my all-time favorite Astro City character) reveals to him why he is so unhappy—and gives him the chance to forget. To me, this is the best single story Astro City has ever done, and furthermore, it's one of the most moving comics I've ever read. I cannot read this issue without getting chills. It shows how what makes this series isn't flashy costumes or superhuman slugfests, but the fragile, embattled humanity of its characters, who Busiek portrays with consummate skill. Superhero comics have never been more beautiful or heartbreaking.
1. Astro City, Vol. 2, #4-9: "Confession"
"Confession" won the 1998 Eisner for Best Serialized Story, and you don't have to be Lex Luthor to figure out why. "Confession" is about as exciting, unpredictable, charming and flat-out cool as superhero comics get. The arc tells the story of Brian Kinney, a young emigrant to Astro City determined to become a superhero, and how an enigmatic and frightening masked avenger called the Confessor adopts him as an apprentice. On the surface, this story looks a lot like the familiar narrative of how Dick Grayson became Robin—but as always with Astro City, it's more than that. Flourishes small and large—like Brian's relationship with his father, the backstory of the Confessor, and the dramatic plot twists—add up fast and force you to rethink your ideas about superheroes, all while the story rapidly unloads memorable characters and set pieces. The result is that, although it seems familiar at times, you'll come to realize that you've never read a superhero story like "Confession" before. At times it recalls everything from "Days of the Future Past" to Watchmen to The Long Halloween, but in the end "Confession" stands alone. Absolutely essential reading. [If you just buy one Astro City story, get the "Confession" trade paperback, which also features "The Nearness of You" at the end.]
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Astro City is currently embroiled in a seriously epic 16-part saga called "The Dark Age", which I have a few thoughts about—but I'll save them for another time.
(One last note: I think Alex Ross' covers for Astro City are by far his best work. In my opinion, his style is a natural fit for Astro City, much more so than his renditions of iconic Marvel and DC characters. He won the Eisner for Best Cover Artist three years in a row, from 1996 to 1998, and then again in 1999 and 2000. Not to be trifled with. His work on the Steeljack story arc is especially impressive—dig that reflective metal skin!)
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