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mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
4.0
A re-read. This one just felt long. Good but too detailed. And strangely enough didn't really improve by reading the first volume. I actually like the epilogue at the end though. 3.5 of 5.
Astro City is consistently predictably good. And this one though a bit weaker does not break that pattern. A little too long, a little too involved and yet always at a higher level - almost like this story was a side story. And then at the end it was a side story. As always there were bits and pieces of the history and characters we'd seen before. But always something new. And on to the next one.
Astro City is consistently predictably good. And this one though a bit weaker does not break that pattern. A little too long, a little too involved and yet always at a higher level - almost like this story was a side story. And then at the end it was a side story. As always there were bits and pieces of the history and characters we'd seen before. But always something new. And on to the next one.
rouver's review against another edition
4.0
Clearly, a continuation of The Dark Age Book One, and a good one at that. It wraps up the story from bk 1, continuing to be told from the point of view from the two brothers. They've reconciled their differences & have decided to band together on their mission of revenge against the man who killed their parents. They're intent on retribution while huge powers fight & wage war around them in the world & Astro City.
Not only are these books excellent, but it's opened up a new world of fantastic stories & writers to me. I love reading the introductions to find additional books to search out & read.
I've seriously been thinking of purchasing the series (I know!) just so I can re-read them at my leisure.
Not only are these books excellent, but it's opened up a new world of fantastic stories & writers to me. I love reading the introductions to find additional books to search out & read.
I've seriously been thinking of purchasing the series (I know!) just so I can re-read them at my leisure.
bowienerd_82's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent conclusion to the epic storyline. I loved the moment of when everything changed for the better- so iconic.
mrpink44's review against another edition
4.0
I think it says something that I completed both volumes - 16 issues in 9 days. The end left a little bit to be desired. I had to re-read some pages to figure out if I understood what happened. I was partially expecting a twist that didn't come for part of the story. Overall though, this 16 issue arc was a lot of fun - it was a bit darker and dealt with some issues about what a hero is, what happens when masked men start to take things to far in terms of punishment, and how strong the pull of vengeance - and its consequences are.
jgkeely's review against another edition
3.0
It starts to feel like every modern American comic is still reaching back to Alan Moore, and Watchmen. Whether they want to or not, there is almost no escaping him. But curiously, it's been something absent in much of Busiek's excellent Astro City--a series which deconstructs superheroes in a much more sympathetic, hopeful way, hearkening back to the Silver and Golden Ages of comics.
Well, until now.
As evidenced by the title, this collection is about the difficult times: an era of violence, of hopeless, a time with no heroes, no one to look up to. For Busiek, that means the Modern Era of comic books, also known as 'The Dark Age of Comics'. Starting with Watchmen, this period opened the doors for maturity, depravity, moral relativism, and heavier themes.
Like most movements, it started out on the top, with a few visionary talents looking to break out and explore something new. Then it spread, influencing everyone from the most savvy to the lowest denominator in comics, eventually becoming a much-belabored joke, less concerned with the political ramifications of violence than with endless decapitations and giant guns. And that's what Busiek explores in this story.
When his characters talk about the increasingly violent nature of so-called 'superheroes', he's talking about the literary movement as much as his story. When he asks whether we made these new 'heroes', or whether we just got the heroes we deserved, he's talking about the progression of comics. His world physically shifts and changes, ushering in this darkness, this ravenous thing which is self-feeding, cannibalistic. The events and characters mirror the real changes in the industry that Busiek witnessed over the past thirty years.
For those of us with a background in these changes, there are a lot of references, in-jokes, parallels, and insightful observations about the nature of the industry. We see 'expies' of all sorts of familiar, Dark Age characters: Guy Gardner, Nightwing, Cloak & Dagger, Savage Dragon, Spawn, Punisher, Swamp Thing (who even looks like Alan Moore), and I'm sure many more that I didn't recognize.
We even get a brief panel of a many-armed man with a sword and sunglasses, clearly an homage to Rob Liefeld's idiomatic style, complete with reference to the hilariously unnecessary character 'Forearm' (who had the special power of possessing four arms).
It's an interesting tack for Busiek to take, breaking away from the style of his other Astro City books and coming closer to something like the deeply sarcastic satire of Marshal Law. But Busiek always retains such a sense of hope, even in the darkest moments. He is self-aware, but not cynical. For him, every heart has its redemptive place.
Yet, somehow, this doesn't overrun his stories, it doesn't turn them into cheap, hokey melodramas. But then, Moore's cynicism doesn't turn his stories into hopeless trudges, either. For both men, there is a focus on the story, and on pure character, separate from any ideal or hypocrisy those characters might hold.
But while the parallel themes of this work are interesting (using hope to deconstruct the cynical deconstruction of comics), the execution leaves something to be desired. We rush through large, complex events: the world almost ends several times an issue, which is part satire, but also a concession of a certain type of comic. Yet the character progressions are strangely plodding and straightforward, especially for Busiek, who usually reveals his characters with such deliberation.
In the end, Busiek's subversions rarely went far enough. The cliche comic elements were central to the story, and while he poked fun at them, the poignancy and gravitas of the story still relied upon them. We were asked to care about the ridiculous, which is not uncommon in comics, but it's hard to suspend disbelief for a parody. We're being pulled in two directions at once as we're asked to invest in something that is being deconstructed.
Busiek seems satisfied to relegate the Dark Age to history, to give it a start and an end and leave it at that. I would have hoped for something more: for an indication that this darkness, this cynicism has ultimately changed us. It has not made hope impossible--indeed, in some ways, it has strengthened it, since we have so much more to hope for--and it's hardly something so easily bookended.
The Dark Age is not over, because there is no author out there who is moving on to the next step (at least, not that I have seen). It's why we keep returning to Moore, even though his work, in his own words, should be out-of-date by now. The future of comics will not be defined by Cynicism vs. Hope, by Moore's Dark Age vs. Busiek's Golden Age, but by their combination, and by the new voices that rise out of it.
I had originally posted here the review for the first volume. This has been rectified.
My Suggested Readings in Comics
Well, until now.
As evidenced by the title, this collection is about the difficult times: an era of violence, of hopeless, a time with no heroes, no one to look up to. For Busiek, that means the Modern Era of comic books, also known as 'The Dark Age of Comics'. Starting with Watchmen, this period opened the doors for maturity, depravity, moral relativism, and heavier themes.
Like most movements, it started out on the top, with a few visionary talents looking to break out and explore something new. Then it spread, influencing everyone from the most savvy to the lowest denominator in comics, eventually becoming a much-belabored joke, less concerned with the political ramifications of violence than with endless decapitations and giant guns. And that's what Busiek explores in this story.
When his characters talk about the increasingly violent nature of so-called 'superheroes', he's talking about the literary movement as much as his story. When he asks whether we made these new 'heroes', or whether we just got the heroes we deserved, he's talking about the progression of comics. His world physically shifts and changes, ushering in this darkness, this ravenous thing which is self-feeding, cannibalistic. The events and characters mirror the real changes in the industry that Busiek witnessed over the past thirty years.
For those of us with a background in these changes, there are a lot of references, in-jokes, parallels, and insightful observations about the nature of the industry. We see 'expies' of all sorts of familiar, Dark Age characters: Guy Gardner, Nightwing, Cloak & Dagger, Savage Dragon, Spawn, Punisher, Swamp Thing (who even looks like Alan Moore), and I'm sure many more that I didn't recognize.
We even get a brief panel of a many-armed man with a sword and sunglasses, clearly an homage to Rob Liefeld's idiomatic style, complete with reference to the hilariously unnecessary character 'Forearm' (who had the special power of possessing four arms).
It's an interesting tack for Busiek to take, breaking away from the style of his other Astro City books and coming closer to something like the deeply sarcastic satire of Marshal Law. But Busiek always retains such a sense of hope, even in the darkest moments. He is self-aware, but not cynical. For him, every heart has its redemptive place.
Yet, somehow, this doesn't overrun his stories, it doesn't turn them into cheap, hokey melodramas. But then, Moore's cynicism doesn't turn his stories into hopeless trudges, either. For both men, there is a focus on the story, and on pure character, separate from any ideal or hypocrisy those characters might hold.
But while the parallel themes of this work are interesting (using hope to deconstruct the cynical deconstruction of comics), the execution leaves something to be desired. We rush through large, complex events: the world almost ends several times an issue, which is part satire, but also a concession of a certain type of comic. Yet the character progressions are strangely plodding and straightforward, especially for Busiek, who usually reveals his characters with such deliberation.
In the end, Busiek's subversions rarely went far enough. The cliche comic elements were central to the story, and while he poked fun at them, the poignancy and gravitas of the story still relied upon them. We were asked to care about the ridiculous, which is not uncommon in comics, but it's hard to suspend disbelief for a parody. We're being pulled in two directions at once as we're asked to invest in something that is being deconstructed.
Busiek seems satisfied to relegate the Dark Age to history, to give it a start and an end and leave it at that. I would have hoped for something more: for an indication that this darkness, this cynicism has ultimately changed us. It has not made hope impossible--indeed, in some ways, it has strengthened it, since we have so much more to hope for--and it's hardly something so easily bookended.
The Dark Age is not over, because there is no author out there who is moving on to the next step (at least, not that I have seen). It's why we keep returning to Moore, even though his work, in his own words, should be out-of-date by now. The future of comics will not be defined by Cynicism vs. Hope, by Moore's Dark Age vs. Busiek's Golden Age, but by their combination, and by the new voices that rise out of it.
I had originally posted here the review for the first volume. This has been rectified.
My Suggested Readings in Comics
rabbithero's review against another edition
4.0
The 80s is a bad time for Astro City's citizens, but a good time for their comics. These heroes are my favorites.
antij's review
5.0
A wonderful conclusion to the arc that started with the previous volume. Busiek never disappoints.
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