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bfab18's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
rohitremeshhello's review against another edition
4.0
Its like the bootleg version of your recognizable superhero properties. Everybody is a mix and match of everyone else. I love the Astro City series and its deep dive into the lives of these superheroes. Slowly you get a sense of the history of the place from snippets of conversations and narrations. Everything is related.
dantastic's review against another edition
4.0
The Junkman wants to prove he's still a good criminal even though he's old. Astra Furst wants a chance to be an ordinary kid. Jack in the Box meets versions of his future son. And Loony Leo, the cartoon come to life, is down on his luck. All of this and more in Family Album, the third Astro City collection!
Here we are, the third Astro City volume. It's real and it's spectacular. Busiek continues to focus on the human aspects of life in Astro City. The first tale is about a family that moves to Astro City to start a new life and gets a good look at what that entails. It was a nice slice of life tale.
The second story was my favorite of the collection. Astra Furst, third generation member of the First Family, decides she wants to try out being an ordinary kid. It nearly brought a tear to my eye and made me wish Kurt Busiek would be given free reign on the Fantastic Four. The First Family is what the Fantastic Four could be if they were ever allowed to progress, multiple generations of super heroes.
The fourth story featured a criminal called The Junkman and was about getting older in Astro City. I'm amazed at how easily Busiek made me a fan of The Junkman, who will probably never be featured in another story.
The fifth tale was of The Jack in the Box, Astro City's Batman/Daredevil hero. Super heroing his hard but what about having kids? I would gladly read more about Jack in the Box. And the First Family, for that matter.
I wasn't crazy about the sixth tale when I realized it was about a cartoon lion brought to life but it wound up being really good. Poor Loony Leo.
Kurt Busiek's love for the super hero genre shines through in each story. As with the last two volumes, Astro City feels like it has decades of history prior to this book that I haven't read yet. Brent Anderson and Will Blyberg did a great job bringing his vision to life. Once again, I'm irritated that it took me two decades to get interested in Astro City. I'm not sure I'd put it in the same league as Starman just yet but it's really great. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Here we are, the third Astro City volume. It's real and it's spectacular. Busiek continues to focus on the human aspects of life in Astro City. The first tale is about a family that moves to Astro City to start a new life and gets a good look at what that entails. It was a nice slice of life tale.
The second story was my favorite of the collection. Astra Furst, third generation member of the First Family, decides she wants to try out being an ordinary kid. It nearly brought a tear to my eye and made me wish Kurt Busiek would be given free reign on the Fantastic Four. The First Family is what the Fantastic Four could be if they were ever allowed to progress, multiple generations of super heroes.
The fourth story featured a criminal called The Junkman and was about getting older in Astro City. I'm amazed at how easily Busiek made me a fan of The Junkman, who will probably never be featured in another story.
The fifth tale was of The Jack in the Box, Astro City's Batman/Daredevil hero. Super heroing his hard but what about having kids? I would gladly read more about Jack in the Box. And the First Family, for that matter.
I wasn't crazy about the sixth tale when I realized it was about a cartoon lion brought to life but it wound up being really good. Poor Loony Leo.
Kurt Busiek's love for the super hero genre shines through in each story. As with the last two volumes, Astro City feels like it has decades of history prior to this book that I haven't read yet. Brent Anderson and Will Blyberg did a great job bringing his vision to life. Once again, I'm irritated that it took me two decades to get interested in Astro City. I'm not sure I'd put it in the same league as Starman just yet but it's really great. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
bkoser's review against another edition
5.0
Junkman!
The consensus seems to be that this is the best volume so far, but I do prefer Vols 1 and 2.
Added to the list of stories I'm looking forward to:
- Silver Agent
- The Gentleman
4.5 stars
The consensus seems to be that this is the best volume so far, but I do prefer Vols 1 and 2.
Added to the list of stories I'm looking forward to:
- Silver Agent
- The Gentleman
4.5 stars
chitownbookworm's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
clarks_dad's review against another edition
5.0
What else could I give this but 5 stars? This time Busiek and crew go back to the anthology format, but follow a theme. All of the stories are about family and family issues. The best story in the entire anthology is the very first one, which won an Eisner Award for best single issue. It's about a father moving his two daughters to Astro City to escape the east coast and a messy divorce. He wants a fresh start and some excitement, so he comes to the most hero populated city on the planet and immediately begins to question his decision. As much as Astro City is a home for heroes, it attracts just as many villains and disasters. This story is poignant and real and, as I mentioned in a previous review, really develops the idea of normal people living in a superpowered world, rather than vice-versa. It's very engaging and very well done.
The writing as always is brilliant, avoids the corny, soap-opera like quality of dialogue present in so many comics today and walks a fine line between true drama and melodrama.
Other stories in this volume include a two-part story on Astra, the youngest daughter of the First Family (a Fantastic Four homage) and how she copes with childhood being a superpower. A one-shot on the JunkMan, a piece that focuses on villainy and how normal people can get caught up in being villains and then relish in it, but for reasons that seem very down to earth and very far from the typical comic backstories (revenge, megalomania, greed, etc.). There's also a two-parter on Jack-in-the-Box, in which Busiek explores how a superhero might create and maintain a family and what the consequences of raising such a family might be.
All stories are brilliantly done and illustrated. I think Astro City is probably my favorite continuing comic series. It avoids the ups-and-downs and the soap opera-ness of the longtime continuing comics and the cycles of death and return that ruin such series. Astro City is young and vibrant and there are stories on every corner. Definitely looking forward to the next volume.
The writing as always is brilliant, avoids the corny, soap-opera like quality of dialogue present in so many comics today and walks a fine line between true drama and melodrama.
Other stories in this volume include a two-part story on Astra, the youngest daughter of the First Family (a Fantastic Four homage) and how she copes with childhood being a superpower. A one-shot on the JunkMan, a piece that focuses on villainy and how normal people can get caught up in being villains and then relish in it, but for reasons that seem very down to earth and very far from the typical comic backstories (revenge, megalomania, greed, etc.). There's also a two-parter on Jack-in-the-Box, in which Busiek explores how a superhero might create and maintain a family and what the consequences of raising such a family might be.
All stories are brilliantly done and illustrated. I think Astro City is probably my favorite continuing comic series. It avoids the ups-and-downs and the soap opera-ness of the longtime continuing comics and the cycles of death and return that ruin such series. Astro City is young and vibrant and there are stories on every corner. Definitely looking forward to the next volume.
unrealpunk's review
4.25
The three issues of the Astra arc are my three least favorite issues of the series thus far, in no small part because the art makes the main character look much older than she's supposed to be. That storyline isn't the greatest either. But the last four issues are all quite good; it feels like, along with the issues collected in Astro City Confession, the series is really hitting its stride. And the last issue about Loony Leo is surprisingly original and all-around great.
ostrava's review against another edition
2.0
A bit of it is volume 1 stuff, a bit of the rest was new stories that failed to capture my attention. Overall, a fairly unimpressive anthology, the lower rating than the first volume is just me growing more and more impatient of seeing ANY of the supposed brilliance of this series.
So, wow, you've turned superheroes and supervillains into human beings, what an accomplishment. Out of the first three volumes, only the second one was aiming at something but didn't quite accomplish what I wanted it to accomplish, and we're going nowhere.
But I'm stubborn, so I'll read some more. EVENTUALLY, there's gotta be a book that grabs me. This stuff is doing nothing for me, we're still on square one.
So, wow, you've turned superheroes and supervillains into human beings, what an accomplishment. Out of the first three volumes, only the second one was aiming at something but didn't quite accomplish what I wanted it to accomplish, and we're going nowhere.
But I'm stubborn, so I'll read some more. EVENTUALLY, there's gotta be a book that grabs me. This stuff is doing nothing for me, we're still on square one.
mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
5.0
A re-read. I definitely preferred the longer story of volume 2. But this definitely still works. The little kid art was perhaps a bit off.
Wow. This series just keeps on getting better and better as I read more of it. This book is all disconnected short stories but all set in the superhero community in some way of Astro City. And the pacing and the range is just really good. The characters are all different but believable, even the cartoon lion brought to life (as a cartoon). Sure others have played in this space, the famous kid who just wants to be a kid, the scary clown. But the old smart guy criminal who just wants respect for his brilliance and maybe even pulls it off. Maybe I'm just getting old.
Wow. This series just keeps on getting better and better as I read more of it. This book is all disconnected short stories but all set in the superhero community in some way of Astro City. And the pacing and the range is just really good. The characters are all different but believable, even the cartoon lion brought to life (as a cartoon). Sure others have played in this space, the famous kid who just wants to be a kid, the scary clown. But the old smart guy criminal who just wants respect for his brilliance and maybe even pulls it off. Maybe I'm just getting old.