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Astro City Metrobook #5
Astro City: Metrobook, Vol. 5
Star creators Kurt Busiek, Brent Anderson, Alex Ross and friends bring you more stories that changed how we think about superheroes.
Quarrel and Crackerjack have been crimefighters for years, but now face aging and retirement. Former super-criminal Steeljack helps an old lover solve a dangerous mystery. The First Family face peril on a far-flung planet. Plus much more, from dangerous dreams threatening Samaritan, the world’s greatest hero, to a day in the life of a sorcerer’s assistant. Comics legends Kurt Busiek, Brent Anderson, Alex Ross and friends continue to showcase the human within the superhuman.
Collects ASTRO CITY Vol. 3 #11-16 & 25-34
Quarrel and Crackerjack have been crimefighters for years, but now face aging and retirement. Former super-criminal Steeljack helps an old lover solve a dangerous mystery. The First Family face peril on a far-flung planet. Plus much more, from dangerous dreams threatening Samaritan, the world’s greatest hero, to a day in the life of a sorcerer’s assistant. Comics legends Kurt Busiek, Brent Anderson, Alex Ross and friends continue to showcase the human within the superhuman.
Collects ASTRO CITY Vol. 3 #11-16 & 25-34
544 pages, Paperback
Published March 19, 2024
6 people are currently reading
68 people want to read
About the author
Kurt Busiek
1,859 books626 followersKurt Busiek is an American comic book writer notable for his work on the Marvels limited series, his own title Astro City, and his four-year run on Avengers.
Busiek did not read comics as a youngster, as his parents disapproved of them. He began to read them regularly around the age of 14, when he picked up a copy of Daredevil #120. This was the first part of a continuity-heavy four-part story arc; Busiek was drawn to the copious history and cross-connections with other series. Throughout high school and college, he and future writer Scott McCloud practiced making comics. During this time, Busiek also had many letters published in comic book letter columns, and originated the theory that the Phoenix was a separate being who had impersonated Jean Grey, and that therefore Grey had not died—a premise which made its way from freelancer to freelancer, and which was eventually used in the comics.
During the last semester of his senior year, Busiek submitted some sample scripts to editor Dick Giordano at DC Comics. None of them sold, but they did get him invitations to pitch other material to DC editors, which led to his first professional work, a back-up story in Green Lantern #162 (Mar. 1983).
Busiek has worked on a number of different titles in his career, including Arrowsmith, The Avengers, Icon, Iron Man, The Liberty Project, Ninjak, The Power Company, Red Tornado, Shockrockets, Superman: Secret Identity, Thunderbolts, Untold Tales of Spider-Man, JLA, and the award-winning Marvels and the Homage Comics title Kurt Busiek's Astro City.
In 1997, Busiek began a stint as writer of Avengers alongside artist George Pérez. Pérez departed from the series in 2000, but Busiek continued as writer for two more years, collaborating with artists Alan Davis, Kieron Dwyer and others. Busiek's tenure culminated with the "Kang Dynasty" storyline. In 2003, Busiek re-teamed with Perez to create the JLA/Avengers limited series.
In 2003, Busiek began a new Conan series for Dark Horse Comics, which he wrote for four years.
In December 2005 Busiek signed a two-year exclusive contract with DC Comics. During DC's Infinite Crisis event, he teamed with Geoff Johns on a "One Year Later" eight-part story arc (called Up, Up and Away) that encompassed both Superman titles. In addition, he began writing the DC title Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis from issues 40-49. Busiek was the writer of Superman for two years, before followed by James Robinson starting from Superman #677. Busiek wrote a 52-issue weekly DC miniseries called Trinity, starring Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. Each issue (except for issue #1) featured a 12-page main story by Busiek, with art by Mark Bagley, and a ten-page backup story co-written by Busiek and Fabian Nicieza, with art from various artists, including Tom Derenick, Mike Norton and Scott McDaniel.
Busiek's work has won him numerous awards in the comics industry, including the Harvey Award for Best Writer in 1998 and the Eisner Award for Best Writer in 1999. In 1994, with Marvels, he won Best Finite Series/Limited Series Eisner Award and the Best Continuing or Limited Series Harvey Award; as well as the Harvey Award for Best Single Issue or Story (for Marvels #4) in 1995. In 1996, with Astro City, Busiek won both the Eisner and Harvey awards for Best New Series. He won the Best Single Issue/Single Story Eisner three years in a row from 1996–1998, as well as in 2004. Busiek won the Best Continuing Series Eisner Award in 1997–1998, as well as the Best Serialized Story award in 1998. In addition, Astro City was awarded the 1996 Best Single Issue or Story Harvey Award, and the 1998 Harvey Award for Best Continuing or Limited Series.
Busiek was given the 1998 and 1999 Comics Buyer's Guide Awards for Favorite Writer, with additional nominations in 1997 and every year from 2000 to 2004. He has also received numerous Squiddy Awards, having been selected as favorite writer four years in a row from 1995 to 1998,
Busiek did not read comics as a youngster, as his parents disapproved of them. He began to read them regularly around the age of 14, when he picked up a copy of Daredevil #120. This was the first part of a continuity-heavy four-part story arc; Busiek was drawn to the copious history and cross-connections with other series. Throughout high school and college, he and future writer Scott McCloud practiced making comics. During this time, Busiek also had many letters published in comic book letter columns, and originated the theory that the Phoenix was a separate being who had impersonated Jean Grey, and that therefore Grey had not died—a premise which made its way from freelancer to freelancer, and which was eventually used in the comics.
During the last semester of his senior year, Busiek submitted some sample scripts to editor Dick Giordano at DC Comics. None of them sold, but they did get him invitations to pitch other material to DC editors, which led to his first professional work, a back-up story in Green Lantern #162 (Mar. 1983).
Busiek has worked on a number of different titles in his career, including Arrowsmith, The Avengers, Icon, Iron Man, The Liberty Project, Ninjak, The Power Company, Red Tornado, Shockrockets, Superman: Secret Identity, Thunderbolts, Untold Tales of Spider-Man, JLA, and the award-winning Marvels and the Homage Comics title Kurt Busiek's Astro City.
In 1997, Busiek began a stint as writer of Avengers alongside artist George Pérez. Pérez departed from the series in 2000, but Busiek continued as writer for two more years, collaborating with artists Alan Davis, Kieron Dwyer and others. Busiek's tenure culminated with the "Kang Dynasty" storyline. In 2003, Busiek re-teamed with Perez to create the JLA/Avengers limited series.
In 2003, Busiek began a new Conan series for Dark Horse Comics, which he wrote for four years.
In December 2005 Busiek signed a two-year exclusive contract with DC Comics. During DC's Infinite Crisis event, he teamed with Geoff Johns on a "One Year Later" eight-part story arc (called Up, Up and Away) that encompassed both Superman titles. In addition, he began writing the DC title Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis from issues 40-49. Busiek was the writer of Superman for two years, before followed by James Robinson starting from Superman #677. Busiek wrote a 52-issue weekly DC miniseries called Trinity, starring Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. Each issue (except for issue #1) featured a 12-page main story by Busiek, with art by Mark Bagley, and a ten-page backup story co-written by Busiek and Fabian Nicieza, with art from various artists, including Tom Derenick, Mike Norton and Scott McDaniel.
Busiek's work has won him numerous awards in the comics industry, including the Harvey Award for Best Writer in 1998 and the Eisner Award for Best Writer in 1999. In 1994, with Marvels, he won Best Finite Series/Limited Series Eisner Award and the Best Continuing or Limited Series Harvey Award; as well as the Harvey Award for Best Single Issue or Story (for Marvels #4) in 1995. In 1996, with Astro City, Busiek won both the Eisner and Harvey awards for Best New Series. He won the Best Single Issue/Single Story Eisner three years in a row from 1996–1998, as well as in 2004. Busiek won the Best Continuing Series Eisner Award in 1997–1998, as well as the Best Serialized Story award in 1998. In addition, Astro City was awarded the 1996 Best Single Issue or Story Harvey Award, and the 1998 Harvey Award for Best Continuing or Limited Series.
Busiek was given the 1998 and 1999 Comics Buyer's Guide Awards for Favorite Writer, with additional nominations in 1997 and every year from 2000 to 2004. He has also received numerous Squiddy Awards, having been selected as favorite writer four years in a row from 1995 to 1998,
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
April 3, 2024
This collects 20 issues of Astro City. Some of the issues are standalones but others link together for larger stories. Kurt Busiek is the writer, as always, but Brent Anderson shares the art chores with a slew of other artists.
As with the rest of the series, Busiek examines the lives of people, super and otherwise, in a city of super heroes. My favorite stories in this collection were the Starbright-Simon Says birthday party, Quarrel and Crackerjack dealing with getting other, Wolf Spider meeting some heroes from his childhood, and the Steeljack story at the end. Yeah, that's half the book now that I think about it.
Astro City is a consistently great series and this volume is no exception. Four out of five stars.
As with the rest of the series, Busiek examines the lives of people, super and otherwise, in a city of super heroes. My favorite stories in this collection were the Starbright-Simon Says birthday party, Quarrel and Crackerjack dealing with getting other, Wolf Spider meeting some heroes from his childhood, and the Steeljack story at the end. Yeah, that's half the book now that I think about it.
Astro City is a consistently great series and this volume is no exception. Four out of five stars.
April 2, 2025
The Sorcerer's Assistant (v3 #11).A good story mainly because the Silver Adept a delightful new hero. But we also get an eponymous assistant who offers her own view, and feels very much like the story line of Jason Aaron's Dr Strange, out a year later. The actual story isn't that different from Busiek's original Samaritan short, with that slight twist. [4+/5]
The Deep Dark Woods(v3 #12). A story that's nice mainly for its conception of a gentleman thief. Astro City shines when it plays with archetypes. [4/5]
Waltz of the Hours (v3 #13). I did not like this the first few times I read it, because its structure makes it very challenging. But read very carefully, this is an intriguing story that dances through a few interconnected storylines, and they all actually make sense and the shattered timeline may actually add to the story! [4+/5]
Ellie's Friends (v3 #14-15). A two-part story that could have been one. It's a bit slow in the first part, despite its cute story of someone who revives broken criminal 'bots. (And the deconstruction of "what happens to the 'bots criminals use is cool.) It picks up in the second half when you realize there's a mystery to be uncovered. [4/5]
Wish I May (v3 #16). The story of Starbright is the best of this series of shorts. Its focus on villainy, heroism, and prejudice just makes you want to see more of this character, as is true with the best of Busiek's heroic inventions. And the best part is the final-page epilogue suggests we will [5/5].
[#17 which should have been next was "Sorrowsday", the Microverse & Honor Guard story, but it eneded up back in v4. Which is probably fine, since the stories that led off v5 were all pretty distant from the heart of Astro City.]
Lover's Quarrel (v3 #18-21). We've known that Astro City embraced change since at least Confession. But it doesn't just change, it also ages, and that's what this story is all about. Quarrel and Crackerjack have been with us since some of the earliest Astro City stories, and now 20 years have gone by. So now we get a beautiful story that never could have been told by DC and Marvel, about what happens when a hero gets to old to adventure.
I loved this story for the backstory of Quarrel: learning who she is and what made her that. It's also great for the relationship between Quarrel and Crackerjack. However its best feature is that look at aging, and how we find new challenges as the old ones leave us behind.
It's one of Busiek's best. I'm glad he still has it himself [5/5].
[The next story should have been "Hero's Reward" and "Sticks", but that also was back in the previous volume. It's a pity for "Hero's Reward" which offer some reflected themes from "Lovers' Quarrel", but "Sticks" was more obviously a distant story.]
Lucky Girl (v3 #25). Nice to learn to the background of the second Hummingbird and to get Busiek's take on the Brigadoon trope. As usual Busiek intertwines the plot with serious character work, but this is a pretty pragmatic origin story otherwise [4/5].
In Dreams 2015 (v3 #26). This 20th anniversary Samaritan story (26) is a deliberate mirror of his original appearance. Its reflections of that debut issue are very nicely done, though the story mainly feels like a setup for things to come. [4+/5]
Game Over (v3 #27). Busiek clearly has a lot of fun introducing characters and then a few years down the road revealing who they really are, and that's what we get here for American Chibi. [4/5].
Yesterday's Heroes (v3 #28). Next up we get the origin of Wolf Spider. Unfortunately the modern-day plots associated with these flashbacks are growing increasingly shallow: this one's main value is that it recinorporates some old Astro City Lore, deepening the world's verisimilitude [3+/5].
The Menace from Earth (v3 #29-30). The First Family are back in the spotlight in a tale that uniquely is seen from the point of view of one of an enemy race. Busiek gives us great insight into that alien culture, making it one of the better tales from this volume, though I might have loved it more at one issue [4+/5].
Nightmare Life (v3 #31). Nice to finally get background on the Living Nightmare and offer him a big turning point. But, this is a pretty standard super-story, other than the fact that it offers the kind of change that is too infrequent in standard superhero fare [4/5].
Things Past (v3 #32-34). The return of Steeljack has been long-awaited, as I always felt like "Confession" and "The Tarnished Angel" together formed the heart of Astro City. This one has lovely detective work, great links to Steeljack's past, and a terrific ending. If it doesn't have the depth of "The Tarnished Angel", that's because it's half the length [4+/5]
The Deep Dark Woods(v3 #12). A story that's nice mainly for its conception of a gentleman thief. Astro City shines when it plays with archetypes. [4/5]
Waltz of the Hours (v3 #13). I did not like this the first few times I read it, because its structure makes it very challenging. But read very carefully, this is an intriguing story that dances through a few interconnected storylines, and they all actually make sense and the shattered timeline may actually add to the story! [4+/5]
Ellie's Friends (v3 #14-15). A two-part story that could have been one. It's a bit slow in the first part, despite its cute story of someone who revives broken criminal 'bots. (And the deconstruction of "what happens to the 'bots criminals use is cool.) It picks up in the second half when you realize there's a mystery to be uncovered. [4/5]
Wish I May (v3 #16). The story of Starbright is the best of this series of shorts. Its focus on villainy, heroism, and prejudice just makes you want to see more of this character, as is true with the best of Busiek's heroic inventions. And the best part is the final-page epilogue suggests we will [5/5].
[#17 which should have been next was "Sorrowsday", the Microverse & Honor Guard story, but it eneded up back in v4. Which is probably fine, since the stories that led off v5 were all pretty distant from the heart of Astro City.]
Lover's Quarrel (v3 #18-21). We've known that Astro City embraced change since at least Confession. But it doesn't just change, it also ages, and that's what this story is all about. Quarrel and Crackerjack have been with us since some of the earliest Astro City stories, and now 20 years have gone by. So now we get a beautiful story that never could have been told by DC and Marvel, about what happens when a hero gets to old to adventure.
I loved this story for the backstory of Quarrel: learning who she is and what made her that. It's also great for the relationship between Quarrel and Crackerjack. However its best feature is that look at aging, and how we find new challenges as the old ones leave us behind.
It's one of Busiek's best. I'm glad he still has it himself [5/5].
[The next story should have been "Hero's Reward" and "Sticks", but that also was back in the previous volume. It's a pity for "Hero's Reward" which offer some reflected themes from "Lovers' Quarrel", but "Sticks" was more obviously a distant story.]
Lucky Girl (v3 #25). Nice to learn to the background of the second Hummingbird and to get Busiek's take on the Brigadoon trope. As usual Busiek intertwines the plot with serious character work, but this is a pretty pragmatic origin story otherwise [4/5].
In Dreams 2015 (v3 #26). This 20th anniversary Samaritan story (26) is a deliberate mirror of his original appearance. Its reflections of that debut issue are very nicely done, though the story mainly feels like a setup for things to come. [4+/5]
Game Over (v3 #27). Busiek clearly has a lot of fun introducing characters and then a few years down the road revealing who they really are, and that's what we get here for American Chibi. [4/5].
Yesterday's Heroes (v3 #28). Next up we get the origin of Wolf Spider. Unfortunately the modern-day plots associated with these flashbacks are growing increasingly shallow: this one's main value is that it recinorporates some old Astro City Lore, deepening the world's verisimilitude [3+/5].
The Menace from Earth (v3 #29-30). The First Family are back in the spotlight in a tale that uniquely is seen from the point of view of one of an enemy race. Busiek gives us great insight into that alien culture, making it one of the better tales from this volume, though I might have loved it more at one issue [4+/5].
Nightmare Life (v3 #31). Nice to finally get background on the Living Nightmare and offer him a big turning point. But, this is a pretty standard super-story, other than the fact that it offers the kind of change that is too infrequent in standard superhero fare [4/5].
Things Past (v3 #32-34). The return of Steeljack has been long-awaited, as I always felt like "Confession" and "The Tarnished Angel" together formed the heart of Astro City. This one has lovely detective work, great links to Steeljack's past, and a terrific ending. If it doesn't have the depth of "The Tarnished Angel", that's because it's half the length [4+/5]
August 13, 2024
I'm not sure if these are still classic Astro City stories but there still very good.
Favs?
SteelJacks poignant story ..delving into his past and present circumstances..from a Super Villain to someone just trying to make his way today in Astro City.
Ellie's Friends..sweet little old lady who seems to be in over her head reclaiming and repairing various Robots.
Favs?
SteelJacks poignant story ..delving into his past and present circumstances..from a Super Villain to someone just trying to make his way today in Astro City.
Ellie's Friends..sweet little old lady who seems to be in over her head reclaiming and repairing various Robots.
April 14, 2024
Recent Reads: Astro City Metrobook 5. The fifth collection of Kurt Busiek's ongoing story of life in a world of superheroes is a bittersweet volume. At its heart are stories of loss and change, of the things that happen when we move on to other things. But there is still hope.
January 24, 2025
As usual, there's some duds in here, a lot of good ones, and a handful of classics. Busiek is crazy reliable, I've gone through like 20 years of Astro City now and there's been no real drop in quality. Nice to see Steeljack again.
April 22, 2024
An excellent read! 4 stars
Astro City has to be my favorite Superhero series of all time. The slice-of-life feel, the developed characters and the characterful art keeps me returning to this series time after time. Now with the publication of the MetroBooks I'm absolute over the moon!
Full marks for this installment. Not the least because it had some of my favorite stories in it. I'm especially fond about the one about the Robot Museum and the one about the assistant of this universe's Dr. Strange.
Four stars and I'm anxiously waiting for MetroBook #6
Astro City has to be my favorite Superhero series of all time. The slice-of-life feel, the developed characters and the characterful art keeps me returning to this series time after time. Now with the publication of the MetroBooks I'm absolute over the moon!
Full marks for this installment. Not the least because it had some of my favorite stories in it. I'm especially fond about the one about the Robot Museum and the one about the assistant of this universe's Dr. Strange.
Four stars and I'm anxiously waiting for MetroBook #6
December 19, 2024
This fifth collection is Astro City stories shines almost as often as it falls prey to the easy, boring story choices of the superhero genre at large
There are good, surprising stories, like a talented boy discovering the horrors of his world, with no amount of hitting people in the face capable of saving it; or a living nightmare that feeds on fear coming to learn how to overcome its own. But too much is still predictable, too much your regular superhero fare, readable, but not capable of touching one deeply; and a few start off promising, like an antique robots showrunner haunted by suppressed memories landing in hot water due to a foolish relative, but they too often run out of steam before the end with the same old, same old “hit people in the face and everything will be fine” superhero naive optimism perking up again.
Still, it contains the first Astro City trans story, that's nice. I'm not entirely sure how successful it is, but you can see the good intentions behind it, and that's something to appreciate. Plus, y'know, that there is one as well.
When it comes to art, there are some strikingly drawn pages in the book (a gloomy winter morning in a city returning from a nightmare, or the washed-out drawings of a chibiless reality), but those are mostly done by outsiders and the main style is also what I consider the most usual superhero flare, all glinting tight costumes and bright colours, and fist-pumping action that teeters on the edge of legibility. Astro City is one of the few comics with such style that I'm willing to read, so great is my dislike of it and yet my love for the series. I'm less sure what to make of their tendency to draw people’s bodies with weird lines and forms, presumably intended to be realistic lumps and swooping fat on human bodies, but somewhat off-putting in their mass of tangled lines; still, I appreciate it's not just power fantasy but that there's an attempt at catching real humanity, the people not just something you can take to the bathroom with you, but approaching something closer to reality; still, the artists can rarely resist the temptation to draw a smooth feminine thigh or carefully formed curve of a buttock, and these are some of the most comic-booky drawings of the series. There aren't many anatomically messed up poses, but the number isn't nil either.
Astro City remains a weird, endearing beast. For its highs, I would love to give it a four, but for its mediocrities, I cannot go above a three; I still love Astro City, but I do wish there were more stories here to remind us why we fell in love with it in the first place.
There are good, surprising stories, like a talented boy discovering the horrors of his world, with no amount of hitting people in the face capable of saving it; or a living nightmare that feeds on fear coming to learn how to overcome its own. But too much is still predictable, too much your regular superhero fare, readable, but not capable of touching one deeply; and a few start off promising, like an antique robots showrunner haunted by suppressed memories landing in hot water due to a foolish relative, but they too often run out of steam before the end with the same old, same old “hit people in the face and everything will be fine” superhero naive optimism perking up again.
Still, it contains the first Astro City trans story, that's nice. I'm not entirely sure how successful it is, but you can see the good intentions behind it, and that's something to appreciate. Plus, y'know, that there is one as well.
When it comes to art, there are some strikingly drawn pages in the book (a gloomy winter morning in a city returning from a nightmare, or the washed-out drawings of a chibiless reality), but those are mostly done by outsiders and the main style is also what I consider the most usual superhero flare, all glinting tight costumes and bright colours, and fist-pumping action that teeters on the edge of legibility. Astro City is one of the few comics with such style that I'm willing to read, so great is my dislike of it and yet my love for the series. I'm less sure what to make of their tendency to draw people’s bodies with weird lines and forms, presumably intended to be realistic lumps and swooping fat on human bodies, but somewhat off-putting in their mass of tangled lines; still, I appreciate it's not just power fantasy but that there's an attempt at catching real humanity, the people not just something you can take to the bathroom with you, but approaching something closer to reality; still, the artists can rarely resist the temptation to draw a smooth feminine thigh or carefully formed curve of a buttock, and these are some of the most comic-booky drawings of the series. There aren't many anatomically messed up poses, but the number isn't nil either.
Astro City remains a weird, endearing beast. For its highs, I would love to give it a four, but for its mediocrities, I cannot go above a three; I still love Astro City, but I do wish there were more stories here to remind us why we fell in love with it in the first place.
January 6, 2025
While this didn't really feel as groundbreaking to me as the previous Astro City volumes I've read, returning to Astro City is always a nice time. The arc about Quarrel and Crackerjack dealing with ageing while being superheroes without powers was really interesting, it's an angle that should be so obvious but because Marvel and DC use a sliding timeline it's one that hasn't been explored much. The new Steeljack arc was fun too, but I think the real standout for me was the two-issue arc about the child growing up in a warlike alien empire, being raised to fight the First Family.
I was really anxious about reading the Starbright issue. As a trans woman, I have seen a lot of things written by well-intentioned cis people that end up feeling really icky and transphobic even when they weren't intended to be. And while it does have the disconnect that's inevitable when cis people try to tell trans stories, the Starbright issue was definitely one of the better things I've seen. That being said,
I was really anxious about reading the Starbright issue. As a trans woman, I have seen a lot of things written by well-intentioned cis people that end up feeling really icky and transphobic even when they weren't intended to be. And while it does have the disconnect that's inevitable when cis people try to tell trans stories, the Starbright issue was definitely one of the better things I've seen. That being said,
May 8, 2025
The Penultimate collection of Astro City is a mixed bag.
About halfway through this book I was struck with the thought that Busiek was unable to capture the lightning in a bottle that was the first two volumes of these Astro City stores, but then in the second half I discovered while he couldn't capture it again, he could imitate it.
I think a large part of my disconnect with this series at this point is most of the newer characters just aren't resonating with me. The only real exception to that in this volume was Starbright. I did like that issue a bit, and that issue was the beginning of turning it around for me.
The second half of this volume is basically sequel crazy. We get a sequel to the very first issue of Astro City, we get one to the Steeljack story, we get one . The Living Nightmare gets a sequel to the "In Dreams" sequel that is also in this book.
But probably my favorite story here was the "Invasion of the First Family" story with it's focus on an alien youth and it's focus on "How would this look like if you were a citizen of an evil empire when the heroes come a knockin'" Since this focus on viewpoints was the thing that made Astro City really work in the beginning.
Luckily this volume was mostly lacking of The Broken Man since that particular storyline hasn't interested me at all.
About halfway through this book I was struck with the thought that Busiek was unable to capture the lightning in a bottle that was the first two volumes of these Astro City stores, but then in the second half I discovered while he couldn't capture it again, he could imitate it.
I think a large part of my disconnect with this series at this point is most of the newer characters just aren't resonating with me. The only real exception to that in this volume was Starbright. I did like that issue a bit, and that issue was the beginning of turning it around for me.
The second half of this volume is basically sequel crazy. We get a sequel to the very first issue of Astro City, we get one to the Steeljack story, we get one . The Living Nightmare gets a sequel to the "In Dreams" sequel that is also in this book.
But probably my favorite story here was the "Invasion of the First Family" story with it's focus on an alien youth and it's focus on "How would this look like if you were a citizen of an evil empire when the heroes come a knockin'" Since this focus on viewpoints was the thing that made Astro City really work in the beginning.
Luckily this volume was mostly lacking of The Broken Man since that particular storyline hasn't interested me at all.
May 12, 2025
Non ci sono abbastanza aggettivi per descrivere la bellezza di un così raffinato equilibrio tra stato dell'arte e narrazione senza sbavature.
Astro City, si sa, è il regno dei topos, quando si parla di supereroi, ma anche di criminali, di assistenti, di mostri spaziali, di cartoni animati...niente è sprecato. Ogni ritorno di un personaggio è sempre graditissimo e mai pesante, ogni scena uno spettacolo. Ogni focus su un singolo personaggio è una storia immensa. E Steeljack rimane il mio migliore criminale redento.
Astro City, si sa, è il regno dei topos, quando si parla di supereroi, ma anche di criminali, di assistenti, di mostri spaziali, di cartoni animati...niente è sprecato. Ogni ritorno di un personaggio è sempre graditissimo e mai pesante, ogni scena uno spettacolo. Ogni focus su un singolo personaggio è una storia immensa. E Steeljack rimane il mio migliore criminale redento.
September 25, 2025
Probably my least favorite stretch of Astro City stories... and still, it's worth five stars. We get to check back in with Steeljack (a favorite character) as well as brilliant tales about the First Family & aliens as well Ellie's "friends". The real kicker is the story of Quarrel and Crackerjack - and what it means to be a superhero who's aging.
Astro City is the my favorite graphic novel series - hands down. Hoping & praying that Kurt Busiek will find some relief for the health issues he has been dealing with and be able to give us more stories in this amazing universe.
Astro City is the my favorite graphic novel series - hands down. Hoping & praying that Kurt Busiek will find some relief for the health issues he has been dealing with and be able to give us more stories in this amazing universe.
July 25, 2025
The fifth compilation of Astro City, Kurt Busiek's brilliant deconstruction and critique of the superheroic comic-book genre told through a comic-book universe at the same time unique and strangely familiar, as it is built on all the recognizable tropes of the genre. This volume is the usual mix, with some arcs for Crackerjack and Quarrel, the First (Furst) Family, and Steeljack (the Steeel-Jacketed Man), as well as a nice call back to one of Samaritan's early stories . . . Great stuff!
April 14, 2024
A reminder of why I love Astro City. An unique blend of classic superheroes tropes, unashamed fantasy and realistic portraits of life, changing times, and little-big moments full of humanity and wonders.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 25, 2025
The fifth compilation of Astro City, Kurt Busiek's brilliant deconstruction and critique of the superheroic comic-book genre told through a comic-book universe at the same time unique and strangely familiar, as it is built on all the recognizable tropes of the genre. This volume is the usual mix, with some arcs for Crackerjack and Quarrel, the First (Furst) Family, and Steeljack (the Steeel-Jacketed Man), as well as a nice call back to one of Samaritan's early stories . . . Great stuff!
May 5, 2025
(This review covers the complete series)
A grounded, character-focused approach to superhero storytelling, the story introduces a city full of heroes and villains, seen mostly from the perspective of everyday people. The action takes a back seat to the smaller moments, how people live, react, and adapt in a world full of superpowered beings. The writing is sincere and occasionally heartbreaking, and the clean, traditional art helps bring a sense of realism to the larger-than-life setting.
A grounded, character-focused approach to superhero storytelling, the story introduces a city full of heroes and villains, seen mostly from the perspective of everyday people. The action takes a back seat to the smaller moments, how people live, react, and adapt in a world full of superpowered beings. The writing is sincere and occasionally heartbreaking, and the clean, traditional art helps bring a sense of realism to the larger-than-life setting.
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