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mjfmjfmjf's review
4.0
I think I liked this volume better on re-reading. I thought the last story was a little weak, especially the art, but I liked Kittyhawk. My memories of that Dr. Strange book have apparently faded and I thought the Marta story was pretty good, and it was nice to see some of The Hanged Man's backstory. The Jack-in-the-box story had all the stuff I like in a Astro City story - good backstories, interesting characters, believable and readable. But I really liked the Mantis story.
Not the best Astro City volume. But still considerably better than most superhero comics. I liked all the stories. Even the relatively short somewhat silly Mantis story worked for me. The magic assisting lawyer/accountant felt a little unoriginal - I kind of saw this in Dr. Strange a couple years ago. But the art is fine and the writing is fine. I think part of the problem is that the bar for Astro City is so high at this point that being that good time after time is also hard.
Not the best Astro City volume. But still considerably better than most superhero comics. I liked all the stories. Even the relatively short somewhat silly Mantis story worked for me. The magic assisting lawyer/accountant felt a little unoriginal - I kind of saw this in Dr. Strange a couple years ago. But the art is fine and the writing is fine. I think part of the problem is that the bar for Astro City is so high at this point that being that good time after time is also hard.
jonmhansen's review
4.0
That cat walks through walls. Shoulda named it "Bob," or "Robert," if you're feeling formal.
justinlife's review
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Yes, I’m reading this out of order, but from what I can gather, it doesn’t matter. I’m really intrigued with this concept of short vignettes in a super hero city. This collection we get legacy drama, a lawyer figuring out spell contracts, an old villain deserted on an island and a super kitty. All the stories are interesting and play in this incredible world. I look forward to reading more.
trike's review
3.0
Can we just admire this cover for a minute? It so perfectly encapsulates everything about the title of this collection as well as the overall ethos of Astro City. Jack-in-the-Box at a urinal. So simple, so great. On Twitter the other day Kurt Busiek said that Alex Ross was sure this would be rejected and was surprised it wasn’t. But why would you? It’s perfect.
Okay, on to the individual stories inside. Any visit to Astro City is worth the time, particularly for comic book fans and longtime readers of AC, but some are better than others. Overall this was merely okay for me.
The lead story about digging up the past conflict between the original Jack-in-the-Box and Mister Drama was fine, but nothing terribly exciting came out of it. It definitely hewed closely to AC’s strengths of being a sort of third-person memoir of the city, but I found myself wanting to know more about the Trouble Boys who teamed up with second-gen Jack rather than the fate of OG Jack.
The second story sees the return of lawyer Marta Dobrescu, a character who debuted way back in Astro City’s earliest issues, some 23 years ago. The cool thing about AC is that the books move in real time, so someone like Marta, who was in her early- to mid-20s in 1995 is now in her late 40s or early 50s. That’s not something you see in superhero comics, where characters get partially frozen in time, aging a little bit and then getting rest.
We do get to learn the background of The Hanged Man, as well as why he hangs around (ha) AC. He enlists Marta to help the Silver Adept and her assistant Raitha McCann, who were featured in an earlier collection. This culminates in a potentially universe-ending conflict of magical godlike entities (the Silver Adept is very much the Sorceror Supreme of this world), all of it coming down to Marta’s interpretation of magical contracts. Unfortunately we aren’t given enough information to truly appreciate what Marta does at the end of the story, so the climax is robbed of a satisfying conclusion. I like all these characters, but the story really let them down.
Next we have Mister Manta doing the Tom Hanks thing in a superhero version of Castaway, except he’s stranded for decades rather than years. He was apparently a foe of Mermaid. She is someone who has been featured throughout AC history, as a member of Honor Guard (AC’s version of the Justice League), but Mister Manta is new to me. This was a solid story, though, and I enjoyed the designs of MM’s original 1980s suit as well as his Professor from Gilligan’s Island version he concocts during his long absence. As a hardcore introvert, I always wondered why Tom Hanks wanted to get off that island, and I had the same reaction to MM’s desire. I am much more in sync with MM’s eventual decision than with Tom’s.
The final story is one about a stray cat who gets powers and is adopted by a pair of superheroines during the 1980s. I don’t think I’ve seen Sunshrike and Nightingale before, but I liked the 1980s hairdos. The cat, dubbed Kittyhawk, goes on adventures and fights crime, teaming up briefly with Rocket Dog, before alerting Sun and Night to the hideout of the villain of the piece, Poppinjay. However, no one knows that Kittyhawk is doing any of this (other than Rocket Dog, of course), so the solution to the crime comes as something as a mystery to Heroes and villains alike. I do like that the henchmen look nearly identical to the henchmen from The Incredibles.
Good finish for a decent collection.
The art is uniformly excellent, even though usual artist Brent Anderson is absent.
Okay, on to the individual stories inside. Any visit to Astro City is worth the time, particularly for comic book fans and longtime readers of AC, but some are better than others. Overall this was merely okay for me.
The lead story about digging up the past conflict between the original Jack-in-the-Box and Mister Drama was fine, but nothing terribly exciting came out of it. It definitely hewed closely to AC’s strengths of being a sort of third-person memoir of the city, but I found myself wanting to know more about the Trouble Boys who teamed up with second-gen Jack rather than the fate of OG Jack.
The second story sees the return of lawyer Marta Dobrescu, a character who debuted way back in Astro City’s earliest issues, some 23 years ago. The cool thing about AC is that the books move in real time, so someone like Marta, who was in her early- to mid-20s in 1995 is now in her late 40s or early 50s. That’s not something you see in superhero comics, where characters get partially frozen in time, aging a little bit and then getting rest.
We do get to learn the background of The Hanged Man, as well as why he hangs around (ha) AC. He enlists Marta to help the Silver Adept and her assistant Raitha McCann, who were featured in an earlier collection. This culminates in a potentially universe-ending conflict of magical godlike entities (the Silver Adept is very much the Sorceror Supreme of this world), all of it coming down to Marta’s interpretation of magical contracts. Unfortunately we aren’t given enough information to truly appreciate what Marta does at the end of the story, so the climax is robbed of a satisfying conclusion. I like all these characters, but the story really let them down.
Next we have Mister Manta doing the Tom Hanks thing in a superhero version of Castaway, except he’s stranded for decades rather than years. He was apparently a foe of Mermaid. She is someone who has been featured throughout AC history, as a member of Honor Guard (AC’s version of the Justice League), but Mister Manta is new to me. This was a solid story, though, and I enjoyed the designs of MM’s original 1980s suit as well as his Professor from Gilligan’s Island version he concocts during his long absence. As a hardcore introvert, I always wondered why Tom Hanks wanted to get off that island, and I had the same reaction to MM’s desire. I am much more in sync with MM’s eventual decision than with Tom’s.
The final story is one about a stray cat who gets powers and is adopted by a pair of superheroines during the 1980s. I don’t think I’ve seen Sunshrike and Nightingale before, but I liked the 1980s hairdos. The cat, dubbed Kittyhawk, goes on adventures and fights crime, teaming up briefly with Rocket Dog, before alerting Sun and Night to the hideout of the villain of the piece, Poppinjay. However, no one knows that Kittyhawk is doing any of this (other than Rocket Dog, of course), so the solution to the crime comes as something as a mystery to Heroes and villains alike. I do like that the henchmen look nearly identical to the henchmen from The Incredibles.
Good finish for a decent collection.
The art is uniformly excellent, even though usual artist Brent Anderson is absent.
bowienerd_82's review
4.0
Astro City never disappoints- Kurt Busiek always manages to tell new and different stories in this beautifully constructed superhero universe. One of my all time favorite comic series, and one I can't believe isn't more popular.
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