Astro City, Vol. 2: Confession

Astro City #2

by Kurt Busiek, Brent Anderson (Illustrator), Will Blyberg (Illustrator)

Brian Kinney struggles to become the sidekick to Astro City's vigilante, known as the Confessor, only to learn that his hero holds a dark secret.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Comic Book, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Fantasy

298 pages, Comic

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

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,

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 4 out of 5]

This second volume looks at Astro City through the eyes of a novice superhero side-kick as the city turns more and more anti-hero. A really neat volume across all the issues; we get to see the underbelly of the superheroes' world, where they drink, where they train, how they liaise and self manage. We also have the main arc showing how fear is used to ostracise and then attack a minority, an often told story, but done very well here with a lot of passion. Astro City has so many good things about it, and I feel what makes it so grand is not individual stories or volumes, but the constructed reality of Astro City itself, so multi-layered and well thought out. 8 out of 12, Four Star read :)

2019 read; 2015 read

You are now leaving Astro City

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Brian King goes to Astro City to become a hero, he falls under the wing of The Confessor. But what is the Confessor's secret? Who is killing people on Shadow Hill? And why is Astro City turning against the very heroes that protect it? That's what Brian, The Altar Boy, means to find out...

After loving the first volume, I knew I was in for the long haul. Fortunately, I was able to find Astro City volume 2 on eBay for less than an arm and a leg. How the hell is part of this series out of print?

Anyway, the second volume of Astro City is more focused than the first. A single character is used as the point of view character. Brian King heads to the big city to make a difference and quickly finds himself working for The Confessor. The Confessor molds Brian into a detective, just as the relationship between Astro City and its heroes becomes toxic.

While the story is about super heroes and an alien invasion on the surface, it's really about how easy it is for public opinion to shift and for people to become nasty. When the mayor outlaws super heroes, things get ugly in a hurry. Parts of it felt like Marvel's Civil War event ten years before the event.

Using the powerless Altar Boy as the point of view character worked really well. He was a super hero but still enough of an outsider to make it work. The origin of the Confessor was great, although Wizard spoiled it not long after the storyline concluded back in the day. The truth behind why the city turned on the super heroes made a hell of a lot more sense than Marvel's Civil War at any rate.

While you can feel the reverence Kurt Busiek and company have for the whole concept of super heroes, it doesn't feel like they're constrained by the concept. Focusing on the humans in the middle of the super hero conflicts gives the stories a much more personal touch.

As I said when I read Astro City, Vol. 1: Life in the Big City, I didn't really get Astro City when it first came out. Now, a couple decades later, I totally get it. The best super hero stories are the ones that aren't hamstrung by decades of continuity and aren't forced to maintain the status quo: Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns, and later Astro City. Five out of five stars.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

While the first trade collection of Astro City is marvelous. This second book is actually even better, telling an entire contiguous story instead of a series of (excellent) shorter stories.

You could conceivably start reading the series here without much missing context or confusion. But the continuity purest in me will always encourage you to start from the beginning. The entire series is brilliant, so why deny yourself any part of that experience?

[mark monday · Rating 4 out of 5]

I Confess, when flipping through the pages and seeing a Batman-like superhero named The Confessor who dresses like a sinister priest and has strange hypnotic powers and a resentful Robin-like sidekick named Altar Boy... the whole thing looked so goofy at first glance. but it's not! it is marvelous. smart and sweet and emotional and surprising and a whole lot of fun.

I Confess, when I first saw the familiar Astro City narrative start again - a newcomer to Astro City is dazzled by all the amazing things - I thought that maybe the template would create tedium. but I was wrong! this is the first actual story arc in the series: six juicy episodes full of boy coming of age, mysterious dark mentor, a superhero registry created by a reactionary mayor, a serial killer, vampires, shapeshifters, and an alien invasion. the scale is widescreen and epic but as usual the story itself is intimate and quite moving.

I Confess: an underrated film by Alfred Hitchcock starring Montgomery Clift, Quebec City, and many shots of Monty walking about, deep in thought. just thought I'd throw that in.

I Confess, I almost forgot to read the final standalone story. what a mistake that would have been! "The Nearness of You" is sad and lovely, a story about time gone awry, a strange love, the eerie hero The Hanged Man recounting a great battle that never was. it was nominated for an Eisner, deservedly.

I Confess, I read the introduction by my hero Neil Gaiman last. I was afraid of spoilers. but it is a great intro and I should have read it first! here's Gaiman on Astro City:

"Astro City is what would have happened if those old comics, with their fine simplicities and their primal, four-colour characters, had been about something. Or rather, it assumes they were about something, and tells you the tales that, on the whole, slipped through the cracks."

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kurt Busiek shifts gears, going from an anthology series to a long form story. Confession is the story of a teenager newly arrived in Astro City. Circumstances allow him to become a sidekick, the Robin to Confessor's Batman. The story is told from Astro Boy's perspective as he unravels the Confessor's secrets all in the midst of a super hero backlash from the city. A serial killer has been murdering people in Astro City and the heroes have been unable to find the killer. The city begins to unravel as turmoil boils over. The story pulls some from Batman and Robin, some from DC's Legends and even from the X-Men's Mutant Registration Act stories (This was written way before Marvel's Civil War.), mixing it all up into a thrilling plot.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

While the first volume of Astro City was structured as an anthology of different stories each issue, this volume goes in a different direction and focuses solely on one protagonist, telling the story of Brian Kinney, a bright-eyed young man who comes to Astro City with dreams of rubbing shoulders with superheroes. He gets more than he bargained for when he becomes Altar Boy, the sidekick of the city's mysterious vigilante of the night, the Confessor. The events that follow challenge Brian's every romantic notion of being a hero, revealing everything from its lack of glamour to the shifty and unstable relationship between the vigilantes and the public they serve.



The classic superhero sidekick has always been a convention steeped in marketing and pandering, but Busiek uses it here to start a conversation about responsibility and distrust, while showing us why sidekicks can actually be important and essential. Astro City's first volume was good but this one has already taken the series to a new height.

"In the final judgement what is more important? The burdens we bear, or the way we bear them?"

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the first arc of Astro City, Kurt Busiek, Brent Anderson, and Alex Ross (with the inking of Will Blyberg, the coloring of Alex Sinclair, and the lettering of John Roshell) tackled one of the oldest, cheesiest, and obviously commercial staples of superhero comics: the teenage sidekick. And what better way to explore the teenage sidekick than by riffing off of the oldest and most well-known teenage sidekick in the world, and his even more iconic mentor?

Brian Kinney is Altar Boy, the newly minted sidekick of Astro City's most enigmatic and vigilant defender The Confessor. The silly name and the lame costume aren't what he envisioned for himself when he chose to move to Astro City and follow his goal of becoming a hero lauded with praise, glory, and respect from the masses, but at least he's somebody. Not like his deceased father, who's kindness and generosity was taken advantage of in their small town community while he lived and was spoken of with mockery and criticism after he died. But there's a growing current of doubt, fear, and animosity directed towards the heroes of Astro City this record-hot summer. Ritual murders are going unsolved in the Shadow Hill part of the city, despite the best efforts of law enforcement and the superhero community. And when the mayor of Astro City posits that a unknown superhuman must be behind the Shadow Hill murders he proposes a superhero registration that further inflames the tension and widens the divide between the superheroes and their supporters, and government forces and paranoid citizens that expands throughout the country, to the delight of a nefarious force.

I don't know how but in 6 issues Busiek told a heartfelt coming-of-age tale that raises the teenage sidekick above it's blatantly commercial purpose and celebrates the appeal and virtues behind the archetype, making it clear why the teenage sidekick has been almost as long-lasting as the superhero itself. Not just that, but he also wrote a compelling sub-plot about distrust and conflict between the government (local and federal) and costumed vigilantes that's better thought-out and better executed than any similar story line done by DC and Marvel since the arc was completed in 1997. And hell, I'll even call Astro City: Confession one of the best Batman and Robin stories ever told, even though Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson (and Jason Todd, Tim Drake, and Damian Wayne) are nowhere in sight.

Or, as Neil Gaiman simply puts it at the end of his excellent introduction to this volume, "Astro City, in the hands of Kurt Busiek and his collaborators, is art, and it is good art. It recognizes the strengths of the four-colour heroes, and it creates something - a place, perhaps, or a medium, or just a tone - in which good stories are told. There is room for things to mean more than they literally mean, and this is certainly true in Astro City."

4 1/4 stars

[Danielle The Book Huntress · Rating 4 out of 5]

Confession takes the Astro City series to the next level with this story of a young man who comes to the big city to make his name and becomes the sidekick of the mysterious superhero Confessor. The drawing and coloring was gorgeous and vivid. It seemed to almost leap off the page at me. I think this volume was more emotional and much darker than Life in the Big City.

This reminded me a lot of Batman, which may or may not be intentional. I felt like the young boy was both a Batman in the making and Robin at the same time. He has his share of anger at this father's passing and the way he feels that his dad failed him. And an anger at bullies and the unjust. While Bruce Wayne was more angry at the criminal who murdered his parents, I think he also resented his parents for leaving him, for putting their philanthropy before him. In the Robin parallel, he takes on a mentor who is mysterious and driven, who inspires his loyalty the hard way. And from whom, he takes on a mantle and continues his legacy.

Some aspects of this novel hit home very closely. It deals with suspicion and prejudice, and the injustice that seems so intrinsic to a society. How people use ridiculous reasons to hate each other, and that allows deep injustice to occur in the world, often right under their prejudiced noses. The fact that being a hero rarely pays off materially, but requires an unflinching commitment, often at the risk of personal endangerment, and dealing with the fact that your work is often goes uncongratulated and the public opinion can change in an instant.

While Life in the Big City is a more upbeat, bright view of superheroes, this is superheroes in the dark. There are moments that hit me hard, and I had to go back and double check that I had read the former panel right. And I was sad to see my understanding was correct.

I think this is a seminal graphic novel work for superhero fans. Maybe I don't get an opinion (because I haven't read as many GNs as others), but that's how I feel. It shows the truth of the nitty gritty of being a superhero, and the narrator (the young man) is like a stand-in for all of us readers who were in awe of the various superheroes growing up (and even now as grown up geeks). We can see that it's not all it's cracked up to be. The first volume also showed this, but I still think it was more of a 50s style, everything is bright version of that. This is the version in which all the illusions are ripped away and you see the unvarnished truth.

This is a strong graphic novel and it deserves a high rating. I think if I wasn't in such a persistent reading slump, it might have been a five star book. It caught me at a less than ideal time, so I'm going to give it a 4.25/5.0 stars.

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty damn good. A more focused story on one main character and his life as a sidekick looking into the world of superheroes.

So there's a murder. Then another. And another. It keeps going and going and now it's caught national attention. At the time that is happening a new kid, nicknamed alter boy, joins the Confession! Together they begin to work together. Think of it like Batman and Robin. By the time they make a name for themselves this murdering of young people has gone on long enough and the city can't stand it anymore. They want answers. The mayor begins to blame Superheroes for not helping and BAM it's starting a war between regular beings and superheroes.

Good: It amazes me this is early 1990's because the art is freaking great. I also really love Alterboys inner thoughts. The way he couldn't figure out what was right and wrong, his past with his father, trying to trust his mentor, and trying to do what he thinks it's good. Not to mention the overarching themes and plotting is all top notch. This was engrossing, well done, and well paced.

Bad: The last story is kind of out of nowhere, and boring. It doesn't do anything to add to the rest of this story.

Overall I loved this for 90% of it. There's a few luls and the last issue is kind of a pointless issue but still solid shit. I'm going with a 4 out of 5 for this awesome volume.

[Jan Philipzig · Rating 2 out of 5]

Apart from a cheesy coming-of-age story, Astro City Vol.2: Confession does not add much to the old, worn-out formula: evil alien with a sinister hidden agenda masquerades as one of us, tries to turn us against our benevolent protectors. Professionally done by everyone involved, but lacking the originality and brilliant touches of the first volume. Seriously overrated.

[Molly™☺ · Rating 3 out of 5]

A political piece akin to, but preceeding, Marvel's Civil War, which sees the government enacting a law requiring heroes to be monitored. Confessor and Alter Boy act as Batman and Robin substitutes in this more gritty and grounded world of superheroes, and their characterisations and arcs are wonderfully woven into the plot. The twists and turns keep the experience fresh and engaging, and the final payoff is executed decently, even if the main crux relies on shock value rather than a true unravelling of a mystery. However, once the wool is pulled from readers' eyes, it becomes less crime fiction and far more reminiscent of an action-focused hero team up, with dramatic set pieces and panels. The quality of the introspection and dissection of what it means to be a hero is definitely the best part, and despite its somewhat failure in the mystery department, Confession is well worth a read for those on the lookout for more thought-provoking comic media.

[Sesana · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Astro City story in more than two parts! So far, everything that I'd read of Astro City had been, essentially, short stories. And there was no lack of ambition in plotting this. It's a novel take on Batman, in many ways, and on Marvel's tendency for the normal human population to cycle between outright adoration of their heroes and witch hunts. And there's an alien invasion. It's a lot, but it's managed well, If I were working in Marvel editorial, I'd be embarrassed that Busiek wrote a Civil War-style story years before they got around to it, and did it so much better. I also like that I can see Astro City unfolding into a place that feels real, that has its own sense of history. It feels like there's been a lot of groundwork done just on the history of the place, things we might never see in full but are there anyways. And maybe we will see it, and I look forward to that.

After the Confessor and Altar Boy story, there's one short story, The Nearness of You. Well worth the read, it's hauntingly lovely, about a battle that never was and the forgotten, human collateral damage. It seems it was nominated for an Eisner that year, and it earned it.

[Drew Canole · Rating 2 out of 5]

I do feel like I'm missing something here. To me, this was a pretty dull super-hero tale. One I've seen many times before. It's told well, although I wasn't attracted to the artwork.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Busiek's first Astro City epic is an intriguing one, because he deftly threads together several major plotlines,then he subverts it all by largely summarizing the ending.If anything,the result feels more epic but simultaneously it allows him to cast a strong spotlight on the characters at the center of the storyline: the Confessor and Altar Boy. And, it's a great character study that had me desperately wanting to see more of the characters for years afterward.

I think that the storyline doesn't hold up to rereading as well as some of the other Astro City volumes because it's so heavy on mystery and revelation, but it's still brilliantly put together for a first-time read.

The short story that ends the volume, "The Nearness of You", may be one of Busiek's best Astro City stories ever. The last pages always fill my eyes with tears. Very deserving in its Eisner nomination.

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A re-read. So many elements. And definitely better than the first volume but clearly builds on it. So many details that reference DC and Marvel, characters and stories, but done in a different way. And then I go to look and Marvel's Secret Invasion was 2008 and this book was 1999. And Secret Invasion was preceded by the Superhuman Registration Act. This book is also makes nice use of going deep in some parts and shallow in others. And you start to see the characters from volume one gaining depth, while at the same time new characters are still appearing.

Surprisingly awesome. Well written, good art, good ideas, good story. And it answers the question, How do you get to be a superhero sidekick in yet a slightly different way. In this book we basically follow just one character which I think works a bit better. I like it's take on propaganda and crowd manipulation. And again the book is quite light with its darkness.

[William Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

There have been few books, few works of art, few pieces of music that I've experienced and felt resonate way down deep in my bones. It isn't often that something comes along and immerses my entire being in it, so perfect that it feels like I am living it. The fits time I heard Black Sabbath's "Iron Man". The first time I saw Pantera live at Ozzfest 98. The first time I saw Francis Bacon's "Figure with Meat" at the Art Institute in Chicago. When I first read Fante's 'Ask the Dust'. A few others here and there, but there aren't many milestones like that. Things that changed my perception one way or another, things that made me feel alive both literally an figuratively, feelings that can barely be explained.

Astro City is now one of those experiences. It's sad it took me so long to get around to it, that I just shrugged it off when it hit the stands way back when in 96. I let a completely biased opinion of Busiek's work from the Big2 get the better of my judgement. Sigh.

But now as I'm plowing through every single volume he's printed, it just keeps getting better. "Confession" is head and shoulders above the first volume, if you can believe it. A truly linear story that echoes once again Golden Age story-telling and artwork and encapsulates everything good about the art form, America's greatest art form (again, sorry Jazz). It has heart, it's supremely human, it is bold and imaginative and a pure delight to read. It gives me the kind of feeling that reading my very first comics gave me. And it pulls so tenderly at my heart strings that it's hard not to let nostalgia overwhelm me.

This is modern literature at its finest. It's comic books at their best. It's perfection.

Writing: A+
Art: A

[Shelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore Astro City. I read the first volume, then picked up the current ongoing series with the first Vertigo issue, and have slowly been reading the trade collections in between. This is the second volume and it's about as perfect as a superhero tale can get, starting with the introduction Neil Gaiman wrote for the volume. The first 6 issues are one story, an origin story of Confessor and the youth who travels to Astro City to meet the heroes and become someone important. Along the way, his smarts and tenacity earn him a position as Altar Boy, the Confessor's sidekick. But it's not just fighting crime that Confessor teaches young Brian; there are life lessons, too, and over the course of the story, Brian learns a lot about what it means to be a hero and what it means to really matter. There's a lot about mob paranoia and fear mongering that fits as well with things going on in the world in 2016 as when the story was published in the 1990s. There's a nifty short story about lost love that's included and which brought some moisture to my eyes. Sketches and a cover gallery fill up the back pages.

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was really, really good.

I picked this up after seeing it recommended somewhere, and I'm glad that I didn't read the excerpts back then, because I'm pretty sure that would have spoiled it for me.

Like Neil Gaiman writes in his introduction - things can mean more than they literally mean, and that is when what we like to call art happens. Taken at face value alone, Confession is already a good story. But because it means more than it literally means, it's a great story. And like all great stories, it involves Batman. (I'm kidding. Maybe.)

I don't want to say too much here in order not to spoil anything, but let me just say that among the many things this story does is summing up what Batman is about. (Better than a lot of stories that actually involve Batman, in my opinion.) It's also a great story about a boy coming to a big city hoping to fulfill his dreams. And there's more, and if all that isn't enough, there's another story at the end of this book which isn't connected to rest at all and which is just very, very beautiful and heartbreaking. So if you like that sort of thing, do read this.

Finally, I just want to add that that this can be read even if you don't know anything about Astro City at all. You can trust me on this, because I didn't know anything about it either. I definitely want to read more, though.

[Brenda Clough · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, this is superb. In his ASTRO CITY work, Busiek shows what can really be done with the superhero. I have a particular weakness for secret identities, Batman-and-Robin analogues, and plot twists, so this graphic novel is bliss.
The story is narrated by Brian Kinney, AKA Altar Boy, a superhero sidekick and one of the most delightful youngsters in the trade. His mentor, The Confessor, is a fascinating and conflicted figure (see if you can spot his first appearance, at the private party in the first story) whose secrets I will not spoil for you. Let young Brian take you on the tour.
This one stands perfectly well alone and is a fine place to begin if you want to try out the modern graphic novel.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty cool volume. It's hard to say too much about this one without giving the big twist away. I'll start by saying there's a cool vampire hero. Then, the people turn against the heroes and start to persecute them even after they've saved everyone time and time again. But of course, there's a twist. The other story is a very touching one of the type you don't see in comics often enough.

Brent Anderson's art is great as always, and I'll say again I feel he is underrated.

Overall another strong volume. Astro City is almost like the perfect superhero comic in that it brings all the tropes together in new way, but stays true to tradition at the same time. It's a balancing act not just anyone can pull off but Busiek has done it well.

[Rod Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

#ThrowbackThursday - Back in the '90s, I used to write comic book reviews for the website of a now-defunct comic book retailer called Rockem Sockem Comics. (Collect them all!)

From the January 1999 edition with a theme of "Worst of '98 and a Gem for All Time":

INTRODUCTION

Howdy, and welcome to the second entry in a new annual tradition.

Since I tend to write about the comics I like and mostly give middling to positive reviews all year long, I use New Year's Day as an opportunity to reflect on the comics I didn't review -- the dregs of the comic book industry.

Yes, it's the LWYBM Worst of '98!

Huzzah!

Note: For balance, you'll find a glowing review of one of the best superhero books of the 'Nineties -- ASTRO CITY -- after all the dreck.

Disclaimer: Keep in mind, many more awful comics exist than you'll find listed here; these are only the ones I had the misfortune of reading this year.

FROM THE BACKLIST

ASTRO CITY Volume 1 #1-6 (Image Comics)
ASTRO CITY Volume 2 #1/2-15 (Homage Comics/Image Comics)

DC Comics helped redefine superhero comic books in the 80s with the publication of WATCHMEN and BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS. These two limited series crystallized the grim-'n'-gritty and apocalyptic movements. They began a tradition of deconstructing the role of the superhero in a real society -- taking the consequences of superpowers to logical extremes in futuristic settings or alternate realities-- that has lasted well into the 90s. It's my hope that Image Comics' (soon to be DC Comics') ASTRO CITY represents the next wave in superhero comics: thoughtful tales of hope and wonder that respect the long history of comics.

ASTRO CITY is a labor of love for writer Kurt Busiek (AVENGERS, IRON MAN, THUNDERBOLTS, MARVELS), interior artists Brent Anderson (STRIKEFORCE: MORITURI) and Will Blyberg (DNAGENTS), and cover artist Alex Ross (MARVELS, UNCLE SAM, KINGDOM COME). Indeed, ASTRO CITY is blessed to have such outstanding covers by painter-without-peer Ross and the fine interior artwork by Anderson and Blyberg. But while they are all collaborators in the creation, ASTRO CITY's greatness is almost entirely attributable to Busiek.

Busiek's wonderful stories change viewpoint for each issue or story arc. As in MARVELS, many stories are told from the perspective of ordinary mortals who look on with respect, fear, and awe as the superheroes struggle with world-threatening menaces in the skies above Astro City. Most stories are told from the perspective of the heroes or villains of Astro City, putting a fresh spin on the hoary old icons of comics. Astro City has its own versions of Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman & Robin, the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, Captain America, and so on. Busiek reinvents these archetypes, giving them depth and character that make the clones superior to the originals. (Take that, Spider-Man!)

Busiek also varies the way his stories are presented. Each issue of the first volume of ASTRO CITY (collected as ASTRO CITY: LIFE IN THE BIG CITY) is a self-contained story focusing on a single character while giving tantalizing glimpses of the complex world Busiek has created and the dozens of heroes with which he has peopled it. With the second volume, Busiek begins to give deeper insights into his heroes by interspersing continued sagas with the single-issue stories. Issues #4-9 tell the saga of the Confessor and Altar Boy -- Roman Catholic doppelgangers of Batman and Robin -- and their fight against shapechanging alien invaders (Skrulls, anyone?). Issues #11-12 examine the serious repercussions superheroics have on fatherhood through the jesting hero known as Jack-in-the-Box. And issue #13 begins the saga of the villain known as Steeljack, who is trying to reform himself by becoming a detective. His only credential as a private investigator is that he looks like Robert Mitchum in "The Big Sleep," but his desire for reform is strong and my interest in his tale is high.

The single issue stories are the best, however, and my favorite ASTRO CITY story remains the one from the first issue of the first series. In it, Samaritan -- the equivalent of Superman in Astro City -- counts the seconds of flight he is allowed to enjoy as he zips from crisis to crisis. With supreme power comes supreme responsibility, Busiek shows us, as Samaritan's greatest joy in life totals up to mere minutes in the course of twenty-four hours. "In Dreams" is the best Superman story never published by DC Comics.

I could rave forever about ASTRO CITY, but suffice it to say, ASTRO CITY is the best superhero comic of the '90s. Buy it today and hope that its influence is felt for years to come.

Grade: A+

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't believe how everything in this story came together. I finished it two days ago, and I'm still marveling at the fact that Busiek was able to combine vampirism, alien invasion, superhuman registration, serial killings and summer mob violence into a Batman analog. Take that, Civil War and Secret Invasion! Image Comics did it first!

Initially, I was so in love with the short story format Busiek introduced in "Life in the Big City," that I didn't want to trust a longer plot line, especially since it involved the creation of a sidekick for The Confessor, a quasi-religious figurehead of terror. But I shouldn't have worried. Busiek blessed even that mysterious man with a gentle humanity that Batman has been devoid of since the 1980s. And his sidekick, Altar Boy, had a believably hot temper that would turn him to seeking fame and recognition, even as he keeps his identity a secret. And of course, those are ridiculous names for superheroes, so a little bit of fun can always be had in that.

So many themes are crammed into this volume about detective work and the true nature of Samaritan acts. It draws from all sorts of Batman lore and the caring yet bounded relationship established between the two partners allows for greater understanding of a hero's psyche reacting just as an ordinary citizen's. Again, the art work is top-notch and the character development wholly satisfying and redeeming of anyone trying to make a place for themselves in this life.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't loved a comic book series so much since Locke and Key, The Walking Dead or early Fables. While these all have very different stories, the high quality of characterization and world building are what I admire in all of them.
Astro City is a city inhabited by superheroes, but most of the stories are told from the point of view of the humans whose lives are affected, for better or worse, by living among these powerful beings. Great great stuff, and I'm glad there are many more to read.

[Carlex · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my dreams, this is how a superhero comic should be done, so... five stars!

[Daniel Phillips]

This volume thankfully doesn't suffer from the pointillist textures of the digital download of Volume 1, which caused a horrible visual glitch that spoilt pages of the artwork. The artwork is pretty great when you can see it properly; the aesthetic is rich and painterly, but still recognisably comic book art, like a less uncanny version of the art style from Alan Moore's run on Miracleman. This book is a huge melting pot where you have superheroes, angels and biblical figures, mutants and robots, cloaked ninjas, vampires, Lovecraftian monsters, aliens and spaceships all coexisting in the same world. So I'm looking forward to this one, having had a quick flick through, since it seems to go far beyond the conventional requirements of superhero comics.

[Jiro Dreams of Suchy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Astro city is such a great series- this deals with superhuman registration, classic alien invasions, the role of heroes in a world of bad actors and what it means to be good.

When I was teaching there was a poster in the hallway and it said something like, “you are who you are when no one is watching” or something like that with some squiggly middle school drawings. This collection really deals with all the pain of being good when it’s hard and especially when it’s not rewarding.

The nearness of you is a 10/10 story that anyone, even people who don’t enjoy comics or heroes, can read and shed a tender tear.

[Pat the Book Goblin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was much better than the first one! I really liked the story of Confessor and Altar Boy. Confessor’s story was so unique and different than most superheroes and it was really refreshing.

[B. P. Rinehart · Rating 5 out of 5]

My review of volume 1: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I would highly suggest that you read volume 1 and the first part of Astro City, Vol. 3: Family Album before reading this story!

Though Astro City has been ongoing since 1996, this storyline is still considered one of if not the best of its run. Along with Kingdom Come it is considered a direct reaction against the "dark age" of comics which started with the release of Watchmen and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and it may be one of the best comic book stories of the 1990s.

It builds from a (deceptively-little) plotline in the previous issues of Astro City (which you have to read in volume 3, remember) and looks at one of the 3 Batman stand-ins of Astro City: The Confessor. A solitary vigilante by trade, he reluctantly takes on a sidekick who is determined to fight crime along side him. Just as this is happening the little story line from vol. 3 blows-up in spectacular fashion. We see, for the first but not last time, the ugly side of Astro City when it gets really desperate.

I wish I could say more, but that would be a disservice. If you like Batman, the X-Men, or wondered what an earlier interpretation of Marvel's Civil War and Secret Invasion combined would look like, here is your comic.

[Melissa Koser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Update on 1/5/19: Rereading this upped the rating to five stars. This is a fantastic, gripping story. It's not a rip-off of Batman and Robin; it's a story about humanity, with a terrific plot and characters on the side. Loved it!
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While still enjoyable, this book was not as fresh feeling as the others in the series. The Confessor and Altar Boy felt too much like Batman and Robin for a lot of the book. However, there was a fascinating twist on the Confessor that brought the book back up to four stars. For me, the interest was not in who he was but rather how he reacted to it. And as always, Busiek has come up with new superheroes and powers that are unique and interesting.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything comes together in this one. There have been a lot of stories that pay "homage" to the Batman mythos, but this does it the best that I've seen.