The Broken Man’s history, spanning over a century and a half, is revealed at last. Michael Tenicek, Astro City’s most tragic survivor, hosts a support group for others like himself. And in between, we meet or re-meet heroes and villains ranging from Jack-in-the-Box to Mister Manta to Kittyhawk, G-Dog and the Pet Patrol. Star creators KURT BUSIEK, BRENT ANDERSON, ALEX ROSS, and friends bring to live the heroes, villains, and others of comics’ most astonishing city.
Kurt 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,
The Other Side of the Story (v3 #35-36). It's amazing how much time has gone by since Busiek started Astro City and that now that Jack in the Box is back, we're also seeing the son who hadn' teven been born in his last main appearance preparing for college. This is a terrific story because it lays out a mystery, uncovers yet another secret of Astro City, and reveals the deeply human consequences of it all [5/5].
The Music of Astro City (v3 #37-38). Busiek has occasionally delved into how media interrelates with supers, and these two issues return to that theme with a focus on music. They're OK, with their greatest strength being a return to not just media, but the history of Astro City. The first issue, with its narration by the Broken Man, is not surprisingly scattered. I really hope there's a pay-off for these stories in the end. The second story, with its look at Jazzbaby and other heroes of the 1920s is a fine historical without a lot of depth to it [3+/5].
The Parties of the Two Parts (v3 #39-40). Marta! I cannot believe we get another story about Marta of Shadow Hill. It's great to see her 20 years later in life, what she's made of herself, and how she's stayed true to her ideals. The first part, with its focus on the Hanged Man is terrific, in part because we finally learn his origin (sort of). The second part is weaker, both because it feels like the Hanged Man story gets dropped and because lawyer-dealing-with-supers-law was pretty much the whole premise of recent She-Hulk volumes. Still, it's a fun two issues [4+/5].
The Sky's the Limit (v3 #41). Ah, at long last, the secret origin of Astro City. It makes ssense with all the stories we've gotten of Romeyn Falls, but it's great to finally see the transition. Busiek of course gives it a very human twist, this time by returning to the trope of the Earthman fighting in the stars (like Flash Gordon or Adam Strange) [4+/5].
The Deep Blue Sea (v3 #42). This story about a villain lost for civilization is a slight little bit. Enjoyable enough, but no depth and no real continuity with the rest of Astro City [3+/5].
My Dad (v3 #43). Wow, when did Busiek come up with this origin for the Gentleman? Did he know it from the start? It's a great use of a particular heroic trope that hasn't really been seen in Astro City before (think: Captain Marvel) and it makes for a touching and intriguing story [5/5].
The Cat Who Walked through Walls (v3 #44). A super-pet! A nice element to add to Astro City, but not much beyond that [3+/5].
Ch-Ch-Changes (v3 #45-46). Finally, the full story of the Broken Man. It's a cool origin, and it nicely links together many past stories, at last revealing the puzzle that Busiek has been laying out for years. Will we actually get a conclusion to this story though? That's still a question to be answered [5/5].
Who's a Good Dog? (v3 #47-48). Jeez, stories about pets can always leave me weeping, and this one does. It starts a little slowly, but it's got a nice surprising legacy, and it's ultimately about how pets can help us better ourselves. What's not to like? [5/5]
Resistance (v3 #49). Busiek creates a neat new hero, but works too hard to be topical with the protest movement of the era (c. 2017) for this to be a really great piece [3+/5].
Aftermaths (v3 #50-52). Ah, of course, Busiek had to return to his masterpiece to close out the series, "The Nearness of You." It's a little hard to know what to think of Michael, twenty years on. Yes, he's still wrapped up in his grief, yes he's allowed the decades to slip by, but he's turned that grief into a constructive force to help others. It's a touching story.
And I'm very sad it's all at an end. Unless there's a v4 or a graphic novel someday? The Broken Man is still out there, as Busiek reminds us in the last isseu!
Take these premises alone - a superhero duo of a pet and his owner coming to grips with the reality of the shortness of a dog’s lifespan (I cried my eyes out), a grief therapy group for those who have lost close ones to supervillain attacks, a journalist searching for her activist father in a phenomena where random protesters turn into superheroes (the most pro-protest, anti-oppression Astro City has ever been), two adults on opposing sides trying to find out why neither of their fathers came home one night long ago, a colourful superhero that moves on the changing tides of popular music against the bigots of whatever day they happen into, a young girl with unaware psychic powers recreates her dead father as a glorious superhero to be the best of them all - I just …
After the fifth Metrobook, I was wondering whether Astro City had lost it. There were glimmers of what had made AC great within that collection, but most stories seemed to boil down to the usual superhero fisticuffs, which AC had never really been about (at least not mainly). It had been the little stories of people just trying to live their lives in this weird city, facing mundane challenges & familiar emotions in extraordinary circumstances. And yet in the fifth collection most problems were solved by some superhero just beating up some supervillain. Hardly the most enticing stuff.
But the sixth keeps coming up with these bangers where any action is just part of the larger story under the focus. Take for example a cast away ex-supervillain who has spent decades trying to build a flying suit to escape the island and to continue his reign of terror. Instead he finds himself returning to save a ship full of people from a group of bandits. And yet the fighting & the blasting contained in the deed isn't what makes the ending hit - it's his simple understanding that he has changed. He's not really drawn anymore to what made him tick previously, especially all that supervillain stuff; most of all he just wants to get back to the slow & quiet life of his island. Part of it is, true, his oversensitivity to human speech and interaction that has developed through decades of solitude, but it doesn't seem like he really cared about human interaction that much to begin with.
Sure, there's still some superhero fisticuffs, but what really matters is what the participants take out of it. And perhaps nowhere else is it as clear as the three connected stories that end the collection. They tell of the aforementioned victims of supervillain action who spend large chunks of their days meeting up with others like them to talk about their losses and to help each other live just a little bit better. Here the action is the furthest thing from desired, and the sole action scene there is didn’t ,ake me cry because of the fisticuffs or any of the heroes, but two characters on the sideline, a parent soothing their child in terror, all she can do is to hold his hand and keep talking, and then where the story goes … a cut to where she is now, without her arm. It hit hard, especially as her story had to go on.
Some of the stories do tread more cartoony (some intentionally so), and the superhero element can throw the occasional wrench into the relatability of some of these tales. Take the grief one even - these stories are relatable for the sense of loss and grief, and the terror one must feel being in such a dangerous situation (plus supervillains aren't the only people taking hostages), but the lead’s story concerns a person who was wiped from existence and he was offered the option to lose his memory of her. It might raise the question “what's it got to do with real life?” where things like that are just impossible. And yet it builds into a much more poignant question - if you could choose to forget the trauma, would you do it, if it meant also forgetting wholesale the person you lost? And that, for me, shines a light on why forgetting isn't necessarily preferred, and why some pain can be better than none when behind the pain are memories of happiness; a valid reminder that for all the ache we might feel for losing somebody, we must remember we're not losing all of them.
Some might still choose to forget, and that's okay too – Astro City has a lot of heart & understanding.
This is the weakest book. In my memory (when I read this issue to issue) it was due to all the fill ins. But honestly, the fill ins were ok. I think in retrospect it's two things. 1) I never really got invested in the music hero stories that are a recurring throughline. I enjoyed it at first (in early volumes) but by this point I just lost interest in it. Also 2) I think the writing in this book is a bit weaker. More of the stories feel like background dump on characters. Some of those are more interesting then others (Jack in the Box's enemy in particular) but even the ok ones felt they were missing a little something. Earlier stories had background AND the story stood on it's own. These were carried by how interesting that story was. The Gentleman and his daughter have a great hook. But is the story about them good? I don't think it is. This book ends with a 3 part return to the main character of Nearness of You. That's the best Astro City story of them all so returning to it is a dicey decision. Part 1 is pretty good. If that was it, I'd say it was a good story but maybe not worth attaching it to the Nearness of You. Part 2 has to spend a lot of time retelling Nearness of You. I am not sure that was worth it. But then I read part 3 and was near tears. So.... whether it was just leveraging that class older story or not, it worked. And as a final issue (for now). It's a good one to go out on.
Re-read of everything except the first part of the G-Dog story, which I accidentally failed to buy in single-issue form. Excellent series, showcasing the lives of ordinary people living in a world with superheroes, and the ordinary lives of superheroes living in a world where superheroes have kids and families and regular lives.
A strong ending for the series, before the return to Image and the current hiatus that followed a one-shot published in 2022. It starts undertone with the first few stories, but then we have some great examples of that mix of superheroes tropes, everyday life, and emotions that makes Astro City something really unique.
Pretty solid as always! I don't care for the Broken Man (and I hope we are done with him), but his storyline works well enough here. As usual, I prefer the smaller, one off stories to the multi-part epics, which Busiek always struggles to wrap up satisfyingly.
Highlight: the aquatic supervillain marooned on the desert island.
I'd actually missed a few of these - esp. the sobering/beautiful story of Miranda's People - so it was a delight to dive into the new stuff and enjoy the kinship of the stuff I already read.
Astro City is my favorite comic book series - bar none.
I’m glad I bought this! The last three Metrobook collections weren’t really "great", and I had lost some enthusiasm for the saga, so I picked up this volume just for collection. Luckily, it turned out to be great, far better than the previous ones!
I'm legit sad that there's no more Astro City for me to read. And also kind of peeved that if (or, more hopefully, when!) it does come back, I'll have to buy it twice: First in floppies, because I won't be able to wait, and again when Metrobook 7 is published so it'll all look nice on my shelf.
So, the big problem is that this series ends on a cliffhanger and there's no more issues as of the time of this review. So, that's not great. And Brent Anderson's art is really hit or miss in these later comics. And, I don't love Busiek revisiting past stories like The Nearness of You, though it's not as offensive as it could have been. Also, I hate looking at the Broken Man. That design is just awful.
The sixth 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, including the story of the Broken Man (at last!), and a two-part callback to my absolute favorite story from the past, "The Nearness of You." Also, a story about a corgi superhero called G-Dog, who was a Very Good Boy, and made me cry a little.
Vol.6 goes back to the strength of the first volume. Written as an anthologie of loosely connected short stories, each of them paints a colorful picture of te Astro City world. The stories are mostly Slice-of-Life featuring a number of recurring characters from previous volumes mixed in with brand new ones.
As usually the artwork is really good and appropriate the all the different stories and tones conveyed. In short full marks from me for both narrative and artwork.
Recent Reads: Astro City Metrobook 6. The latest collection of Kurt Busiek's superhero anthology takes us to the end of volume 3, with more slices of life through the titular city. As always, you'll laugh, you'll cry, especially in the story of G-Dog. There's a lot in here, comics at their finest.