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Astro City, Vol. 6: The Dark Age - Book 1: Brothers & Other Strangers by Bret Anderson, Kurt Busiek
bowienerd_82's review against another edition
4.0
Oh man, this one was intense. I almost didn't want to read it as we got to the fate of the Silver Agent, but it was too well written not to read.
jgkeely's review against another edition
3.0
There's more than one way to deconstruct comics. Moore's dark, cynical, political style has been very influential--partially because his own works are so well-respected, but also because many comic authors come from the same tradition of British black comedy comics, a la 2000AD.
But Busiek is definitely American, through and through, and his love for the four-color capes comics shines through. With Moore, there's always that sense that the heroism of these supermen is detached, self-serving, and just another representation of the self-justifying power structure.
And this story arc is, quite openly and deliberately, Busiek's attempt to come to terms with the affect that Moore has had on comics. In this first collection, we only get a few hints, but it's clear that Busiek's use of antiheroes and moral relativism in these books is an analysis of the dark, violent, sometimes absurdly amoral underbelly of comics.
For Moore, hope lies in the heart of the normal man, flawed as he may be, but Busiek sees in heroes something more uplifting. Even when their ideals are flawed, even when the heroes themselves fail to uphold them, they are inspired to keep going, to strive for something. It doesn't matter if it's naive, or how many times it is played false, that hope that things can be better is still there.
But he is by no means an idealist. As evidenced in this story, times of crushing darkness do come, when all is pressing and it seems inescapable. But we survive--not unscathed--but still here, still glad to be alive.
His character The Silver Agent is representative of this. He is the symbol of ultimate hope, coming to save the day, but he is usually absent, little more than a memory. People lament their fates and complain about how things 'were better before', but that's just nostalgia--things have always been different, and we have always needed help to persevere. The Agent shows up to stop us from being wiped out, but he doesn't stay to restructure our lives for us, we must continue to muddle through. All we get is a nudge.
But his love for the classic stories of American capes comics can sometimes be overwhelming. Most of Astro City is superb: a thoughtful psychological deconstruction of the superhero genre with equal parts loss and redemption. This collection, however, starts to feel more like an above-average four color adventure rather than the complex, purposeful storytelling I've come to expect from Busiek.
This arc has many asides, characters popping in and out for a bit of exposition, realities clashing, a constant succession of 'world ending' events, and a number of other bright, clashing cliches. Sometimes, these moments are clearly satire, lightly mocking the fact that the world is always ending and the super teams always seem to be lost in some alternate dimension or far-flung world. But Busiek also starts to play it straight, letting these elements become the plot, which usually makes for a rather unfocused story, losing the thrust of characters.
We keep returning to the central characters and their experiences, but the asides are numerous and divergent. It's not Busiek's normally precise and thoughtful style, and we sometimes lose the thread of the story or the individual characters in the many converging plots.
It's still a good book, and better than 95% of the capes comics I've ever read, but it's starting to resemble them more than it exceeds them.
My Suggested Reading In Comics
But Busiek is definitely American, through and through, and his love for the four-color capes comics shines through. With Moore, there's always that sense that the heroism of these supermen is detached, self-serving, and just another representation of the self-justifying power structure.
And this story arc is, quite openly and deliberately, Busiek's attempt to come to terms with the affect that Moore has had on comics. In this first collection, we only get a few hints, but it's clear that Busiek's use of antiheroes and moral relativism in these books is an analysis of the dark, violent, sometimes absurdly amoral underbelly of comics.
For Moore, hope lies in the heart of the normal man, flawed as he may be, but Busiek sees in heroes something more uplifting. Even when their ideals are flawed, even when the heroes themselves fail to uphold them, they are inspired to keep going, to strive for something. It doesn't matter if it's naive, or how many times it is played false, that hope that things can be better is still there.
But he is by no means an idealist. As evidenced in this story, times of crushing darkness do come, when all is pressing and it seems inescapable. But we survive--not unscathed--but still here, still glad to be alive.
His character The Silver Agent is representative of this. He is the symbol of ultimate hope, coming to save the day, but he is usually absent, little more than a memory. People lament their fates and complain about how things 'were better before', but that's just nostalgia--things have always been different, and we have always needed help to persevere. The Agent shows up to stop us from being wiped out, but he doesn't stay to restructure our lives for us, we must continue to muddle through. All we get is a nudge.
But his love for the classic stories of American capes comics can sometimes be overwhelming. Most of Astro City is superb: a thoughtful psychological deconstruction of the superhero genre with equal parts loss and redemption. This collection, however, starts to feel more like an above-average four color adventure rather than the complex, purposeful storytelling I've come to expect from Busiek.
This arc has many asides, characters popping in and out for a bit of exposition, realities clashing, a constant succession of 'world ending' events, and a number of other bright, clashing cliches. Sometimes, these moments are clearly satire, lightly mocking the fact that the world is always ending and the super teams always seem to be lost in some alternate dimension or far-flung world. But Busiek also starts to play it straight, letting these elements become the plot, which usually makes for a rather unfocused story, losing the thrust of characters.
We keep returning to the central characters and their experiences, but the asides are numerous and divergent. It's not Busiek's normally precise and thoughtful style, and we sometimes lose the thread of the story or the individual characters in the many converging plots.
It's still a good book, and better than 95% of the capes comics I've ever read, but it's starting to resemble them more than it exceeds them.
My Suggested Reading In Comics
antij's review
5.0
A complex story about two brothers living in a world of superheroes during the seventies. It has the "real world" feel that is missing in a lot of comics especially at the big 2. Really enjoyable. Can't wait for Book 2.
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