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violetlantern's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
historytable's review against another edition
5.0
Some of the best Astro City, Confession and Nearness of You.
bfab18's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
dantastic's review against another edition
5.0
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 [b:Astro City, Vol. 1: Life in the Big City|72111|Astro City, Vol. 1 Life in the Big City|Kurt Busiek|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1468008741s/72111.jpg|97133], 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.
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 [b:Astro City, Vol. 1: Life in the Big City|72111|Astro City, Vol. 1 Life in the Big City|Kurt Busiek|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1468008741s/72111.jpg|97133], 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.
bkoser's review against another edition
5.0
One of the best things about Astro City is how quickly and completely Busiek and Anderson make you believe and feel for the characters. That's due partly to a familiarity with Batman, Spider-Man, and the other "ancestors", but also due to a familiarity with being a human.
clarks_dad's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. Wow. Wow. Is it possible for a sequel to be better than the original? For the second time only in my life I would have to say yes (the first of course being Empire Strikes Back). Busiek and crew deliver yet again and this collection is so very different from the first. In the first volume, we see an anthology of stories centered around different characters and the laying of the foundation of Astro City. This volume is a narrative following a young man from the countryside moving to the big city to live among heroes, and possibly to become one himself. This is very much a coming of age story and a story of vindication and self-realization, all tied up in an engrossing multi-part narrative.
Young Brian Kinney moves to Astro City after the death of his father to meet the heroes he reads about and sees on television. Along the way he is taken in by the Confessor (kind of campy, but really, really bad ass). The Confessor is a former Priest who, for surprise plot reasons I will not reveal, has turned to a life of crime fighting. The Confessor is the Batman of the Astro City universe and the hero Kinney becomes is very analogous to the Boy Wonder. The Confessor is a detective who uses reason, the night, psychology and fear to bring down his enemies.
There are several major themes explored in this volume, the most prominent of which is the resolution of a child trying to outgrow their parents' shadow and come into their own. Busiek handles the adolescent angst in a way that is not melodramatic or corny, making Altar Boy into something of a mix between the Jason Todd Robin and Tim Drake Robin, a very nice combination. Also discussed is the fundamental nature of a hero, something that can be old and trite, but is definitely not in Busiek's hands. Kinney arrives in Astro City wanting to make a name for himself. To be somebody. He does very well as a crime fighter, and when the people are applauding, he loves his job. When the people of Astro City turn on their protectors, he loses faith and some of the best lines of dialogue in the entire volume are the conversations he has with his mentor about why he does what he does. It's brilliant and quite sobering to comic nerds who get so wrapped up in the thoughts of glory and power (even while you'd admittedly want to do good) that more often than not this would be a thankless job.
The story ark will seem very familiar to fans of the marvel universe who, after reading this story, I charge with outright plagiarism. The heroes of Astro City and its citizenry are in a panic. There is a murderer loose on Shadow Hill and no one seems to be able to stop him (or her, that's never really made clear). Tensions mount as the heroes fail to protect the citizens and the mayor orders all heroes with mystic powers to register with the government. Sound familiar? Anyone familiar with Marvel's Civil War storyline will realize it's the exact same, except written almost a decade before hand. All of the confusion caused by humans fighting against and forcing the registration of heroes masks an underlying alien invasion. Turns out those nasty alien shapeshifters were manipulating the panic and chaos to prepare for their invasion. Sound familiar? This was the storyline Marvel used in it's Secret Invasion story arc earlier this year. Turns out Busiek combined the two most significant Marvel events of the past two years or so into one story a decade before Marvel did it. And guess what? He does it way, way better.
To the comic shop for volume three!
Young Brian Kinney moves to Astro City after the death of his father to meet the heroes he reads about and sees on television. Along the way he is taken in by the Confessor (kind of campy, but really, really bad ass). The Confessor is a former Priest who, for surprise plot reasons I will not reveal, has turned to a life of crime fighting. The Confessor is the Batman of the Astro City universe and the hero Kinney becomes is very analogous to the Boy Wonder. The Confessor is a detective who uses reason, the night, psychology and fear to bring down his enemies.
There are several major themes explored in this volume, the most prominent of which is the resolution of a child trying to outgrow their parents' shadow and come into their own. Busiek handles the adolescent angst in a way that is not melodramatic or corny, making Altar Boy into something of a mix between the Jason Todd Robin and Tim Drake Robin, a very nice combination. Also discussed is the fundamental nature of a hero, something that can be old and trite, but is definitely not in Busiek's hands. Kinney arrives in Astro City wanting to make a name for himself. To be somebody. He does very well as a crime fighter, and when the people are applauding, he loves his job. When the people of Astro City turn on their protectors, he loses faith and some of the best lines of dialogue in the entire volume are the conversations he has with his mentor about why he does what he does. It's brilliant and quite sobering to comic nerds who get so wrapped up in the thoughts of glory and power (even while you'd admittedly want to do good) that more often than not this would be a thankless job.
The story ark will seem very familiar to fans of the marvel universe who, after reading this story, I charge with outright plagiarism. The heroes of Astro City and its citizenry are in a panic. There is a murderer loose on Shadow Hill and no one seems to be able to stop him (or her, that's never really made clear). Tensions mount as the heroes fail to protect the citizens and the mayor orders all heroes with mystic powers to register with the government. Sound familiar? Anyone familiar with Marvel's Civil War storyline will realize it's the exact same, except written almost a decade before hand. All of the confusion caused by humans fighting against and forcing the registration of heroes masks an underlying alien invasion. Turns out those nasty alien shapeshifters were manipulating the panic and chaos to prepare for their invasion. Sound familiar? This was the storyline Marvel used in it's Secret Invasion story arc earlier this year. Turns out Busiek combined the two most significant Marvel events of the past two years or so into one story a decade before Marvel did it. And guess what? He does it way, way better.
To the comic shop for volume three!
unrealpunk's review against another edition
4.25
This is a Batman-based story that is more interesting to me than any actual Batman stories I know. I'm not the biggest fan of the artist Brent Anderson, and I thought he really struggled with the three issues that preceded this volume (#1-3 of Astro City's second series, collected in Astro City Family Album), but the storyline collected here seems to play to his strengths.
ostrava's review against another edition
3.0
The first couple of issues where an introduction to the overall feeling of Astro City, and despite not accomplishing much, they sit well if you have your expectations in the right place. But now? Now, we've started telling stories, so now we can finally be fair on our treatment.
And yet, I'm still unsure of how to feel about it.
This is a Batman and Robin story, if the former became a more mythical being and wrapped up in cheesy superhero exploration of the pre-Watchmen era. It does however, nothing with its characters.
Same old tango, same old stories about evil conspiracies and caped heroes who need to take them down, and not challenge societal's "real problems".
Why are people impressed? What's unique about Astro City? The fact that it's a post-90s era superhero comic that's not edgy, was the bar that low? And no, that doesn't mean it's not enjoyable. It does a good job with the characters, and in fact, it's one of the better stories I've read about Batman. But that doesn't mean I'm impressed either, it's just simply means I've come to expect little from these comics nowadays.
Have I become this much of a cynic? Or do my interests lie elsewhere? It's perfectly normal to enjoy heroic stories, but how many of these supers do we need in our life before realizing we're walking in circles?
I'll continue reading Astro City, but with low expectations from now on.
And yet, I'm still unsure of how to feel about it.
This is a Batman and Robin story, if the former became a more mythical being and wrapped up in cheesy superhero exploration of the pre-Watchmen era. It does however, nothing with its characters.
Same old tango, same old stories about evil conspiracies and caped heroes who need to take them down, and not challenge societal's "real problems".
Why are people impressed? What's unique about Astro City? The fact that it's a post-90s era superhero comic that's not edgy, was the bar that low? And no, that doesn't mean it's not enjoyable. It does a good job with the characters, and in fact, it's one of the better stories I've read about Batman. But that doesn't mean I'm impressed either, it's just simply means I've come to expect little from these comics nowadays.
Have I become this much of a cynic? Or do my interests lie elsewhere? It's perfectly normal to enjoy heroic stories, but how many of these supers do we need in our life before realizing we're walking in circles?
I'll continue reading Astro City, but with low expectations from now on.