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A review by trike
Astro City, Vol. 17: Aftermaths by Mike Norton, Kurt Busiek
5.0
I bought Astro City as soon as it came out. “Bought”, past tense, because this is the end of the regular book, which has been running since 1995. Astro City has survived numerous changes in publishers and formats over the decades, and I’m sure it will survive this new phase of switching from a monthly comic to original graphic novel format. I know I’ll be there.
Anyway, I’ve been putting off reading this because I knew it was the end and I kinda didn’t want to go there. I don’t know why I finally decided to dive into it now, but it was a strange coincidence. This year I meant to tackle my TBR but so far I’d only read one book off the stack. This is the first comic from the pile that’s on my nightstand.
The first story is a two-parter about G-Dog, a super-Corgi who becomes a member of the Pet Patrol. (There’s also Ghost Ferret, Rocket Dog, Dr. Monkey and Kittyhawk.) I loves me some animal superheroes; I had three supergroups in the videogame City of Heroes comprised of animal-themed heroes and villains, so I was all about this.
I’ve known Kurt Busiek online since a little before Astro City debuted, when Usenet was the only real social media going. Reddit is just Usenet with graphics. So I knew that G-Dog was based on his dog, Fenway.
This year we lost three dogs right in a row: Spartacus the Chihuahua had to be put down on March 31st because his quality of life was decreasing rapidly and he clearly had a fast-moving cancer. (https://www.instagram.com/tv/CNHdUxlDKld/?utm_medium=copy_link) Suddenly a few days later Maia the Schipperke had a seizure, perhaps a stroke, and died in the middle of the night. (https://www.instagram.com/tv/CNPSHDLjlQU/?utm_medium=copy_link) And then at the end of April, our friend had to put down her dog, Pixie, a Bichon, because she also had a rapid decline in health as she lost the use of her legs out of the blue. (https://www.instagram.com/tv/COT-bxwj32M/?utm_medium=copy_link) Pixie stayed with us several times a year over more than a decade. She treated Spart like a boyfriend — we joked that she liked the bad boys — and in their younger days she and Maia would parkour around the family room playing “the floor is lava”. So losing them all at once was a shock.
This is background for my reaction to G-Dog’s story, which is as pure a paean to canine friendship as I’ve ever encountered. Every single bit of it rings true, because Busiek has been there, and he gets it. Andy is a small-time crook who takes a Corgi puppy in lieu of payment, intending to sell the dog. Instead he ends up keeping him, naming him Hank. An amulet Andy stole is magic, because it’s Astro City, and Andy and Hank get accidentally morphed into G-Dog. Andy first wants to use these powers to steal, but Hank’s inherent goodness redeems him, and they become heroes. Really good stuff.
These issues were illustrated by guest artist Mike Norton, who created [b:Battlepug: Volume 1|13505293|Battlepug Volume 1 (Battlepug, #1)|Mike Norton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1360508239l/13505293._SX50_.jpg|19055541]. Even before that was a comic, I bought the shirt he was selling because at the time we had 5 Pugs and it’s awesomely goofy.
So he was the perfect choice to bring G-Dog to life. This is the great thing about Astro City: it can encompass all of these stories.
The other two tales here are Resistance and Aftermaths, which are about a journalist chasing down the legacy of her inventor father and a guy who runs a support group for people who’ve survived encounters with supervillains. These are equally good but clearly it was G-Dog’s story that resonated for me.
I’m anticipating the next phase of Astro City, which I hope comes sooner rather than later.
Anyway, I’ve been putting off reading this because I knew it was the end and I kinda didn’t want to go there. I don’t know why I finally decided to dive into it now, but it was a strange coincidence. This year I meant to tackle my TBR but so far I’d only read one book off the stack. This is the first comic from the pile that’s on my nightstand.
The first story is a two-parter about G-Dog, a super-Corgi who becomes a member of the Pet Patrol. (There’s also Ghost Ferret, Rocket Dog, Dr. Monkey and Kittyhawk.) I loves me some animal superheroes; I had three supergroups in the videogame City of Heroes comprised of animal-themed heroes and villains, so I was all about this.
I’ve known Kurt Busiek online since a little before Astro City debuted, when Usenet was the only real social media going. Reddit is just Usenet with graphics. So I knew that G-Dog was based on his dog, Fenway.
RIP Fenway.
— Kurt Busiek (@KurtBusiek) December 6, 2019
Best dog. pic.twitter.com/3vhJ2z7upc
This year we lost three dogs right in a row: Spartacus the Chihuahua had to be put down on March 31st because his quality of life was decreasing rapidly and he clearly had a fast-moving cancer. (https://www.instagram.com/tv/CNHdUxlDKld/?utm_medium=copy_link) Suddenly a few days later Maia the Schipperke had a seizure, perhaps a stroke, and died in the middle of the night. (https://www.instagram.com/tv/CNPSHDLjlQU/?utm_medium=copy_link) And then at the end of April, our friend had to put down her dog, Pixie, a Bichon, because she also had a rapid decline in health as she lost the use of her legs out of the blue. (https://www.instagram.com/tv/COT-bxwj32M/?utm_medium=copy_link) Pixie stayed with us several times a year over more than a decade. She treated Spart like a boyfriend — we joked that she liked the bad boys — and in their younger days she and Maia would parkour around the family room playing “the floor is lava”. So losing them all at once was a shock.
This is background for my reaction to G-Dog’s story, which is as pure a paean to canine friendship as I’ve ever encountered. Every single bit of it rings true, because Busiek has been there, and he gets it. Andy is a small-time crook who takes a Corgi puppy in lieu of payment, intending to sell the dog. Instead he ends up keeping him, naming him Hank. An amulet Andy stole is magic, because it’s Astro City, and Andy and Hank get accidentally morphed into G-Dog. Andy first wants to use these powers to steal, but Hank’s inherent goodness redeems him, and they become heroes. Really good stuff.
Spoiler
And when Hank the Corgi dies of old age at 15, bringing an end to the adventures of G-Dog, it hit me hard. Full-on crying, and I’m not ashamed to admit it.These issues were illustrated by guest artist Mike Norton, who created [b:Battlepug: Volume 1|13505293|Battlepug Volume 1 (Battlepug, #1)|Mike Norton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1360508239l/13505293._SX50_.jpg|19055541]. Even before that was a comic, I bought the shirt he was selling because at the time we had 5 Pugs and it’s awesomely goofy.
So he was the perfect choice to bring G-Dog to life. This is the great thing about Astro City: it can encompass all of these stories.
The other two tales here are Resistance and Aftermaths, which are about a journalist chasing down the legacy of her inventor father and a guy who runs a support group for people who’ve survived encounters with supervillains. These are equally good but clearly it was G-Dog’s story that resonated for me.
I’m anticipating the next phase of Astro City, which I hope comes sooner rather than later.