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evanmc 's review for:
Astro City, Vol. 1: Life in the Big City
by Kurt Busiek
What a fun freaking comic! The 'a day in the life' introduction to the characters and mythology of Astro City worked wonderfully. The first issue, focusing on Samaritan (a thinly veiled Superman clone) gets across the point that being a super hero in this universe is a lot of work, and sacrifice of any possibility of a normal life. These are themes that get brushed under the rug in the actual Superman books, but go a long way toward making Samaritan, a nearly invincible person, seem infinitely more human and relocatable. The other story arcs dealing with Jack in the box, the Hanged man, Winged Victory, and the Furst Family (fantastic 4, anyone?), are lighthearted and fun. They all have that common thread of showing the humanity of these heroes, and also build Astro City into something of a character itself by the end of the volume. These stories don't take themselves too seriously, and thats a breath of fresh air to the relentlessly dark and grim trend in comics lately. The art is wonderful as well, with a classic Golden Age feel to the character design in particular. The only thing I could do without is the very "90s" looking over-use of computer shading and coloring.