Astro City $39.95 from DC Comics

Credits:

Written by Kurt Busiek

Art by Brent E. Anderson

Color Art by Steve Buccellato & Electric Crayon

Lettering & Design by Richard Starking and John Gaushell

Inks by Tom Wegrzyn, Phillip Moy, Bud Larosa, Harry Candelario

Covers by Alex Ross

ASTRO CITY is not the real world.

Kurt Busiek, author of ASTRO CITY, says the shorthand for this kind of comic is “what superheroes would be like if they existed in the real world,” and we’ve all heard that. But Busiek is quick to point out that’s not a particularly meaningful description, because it ignores certain changes to the world that would come from the addition of superheroes. WATCHMEN toyed with that somewhat, by letting scientist Dr. Manhattan revolutionize transportation, the same way Reed Richards probably would if he truly existed. (Could you imagine the practical uses of “unstable molecules?”) Such ramifications are the stuff of alternate-universe science fiction. So what is going on in these newer, more aware comics liked DARK KNIGHT and KINGDOM COME, WATCHMEN and ASTRO CITY? Just good writing, I think, and really no more.

ASTRO CITY, the first six issues of which have been collected into a new hardback from Homage Comics, is the story of a berg very much like Marvel’s New York, or DC’s Metropolis or Gotham. The sky above and the earth below are full to the brim with a whole universe of superheroes, supervillains, and aliens looking to invade or give away power rings, depending. Busiek, Anderson and Ross did their homework up front to create the illusion of years and years of continuity. There’s a Superman-like Uber-hero called Samaritan, there’s a JLA-style team called Honor Guard, a Wonder-Woman-like power-wielder called Cleopatra. And so on.

This ain’t no real world. It’s a comic universe to play with.

And how Busiek then plays is fabulous. In this collection, Busiek spins seven tales that give us a peek into Astro City. We find out that the Samaritan sleeps barely two hours a night, spends the rest of the time flying from emergency to emergency, and counts on the relaxation in a seven-second flight. Then we see him attempt a dinner date with Cleopatra, both of them feeling guilty for not stopping hundreds of emergencies that happen while they try to make conversation.

We meet the reporter who learned of the secret return of The Old Soldier, nine years before the rest of Astro City knew. We meet a Rumanian woman who avoids vampires on her way to the bus she takes to go to work for the girlfriend of the First Family, the Astro City answer to the Fantastic Four. Her story involves a super-villain attack on the office building and her rescue by Nick Furst, but the story is about whether she should give up her old neighborhood and move downtown.

In ASTRO CITY, Kurt Busiek is peeking into a world he’s happy to leave unrealistic. This is a universe every bit as wacky and exciting as that of DC or Marvel. He peels back the layers and shows us some of the moving parts we don’t normally watch. The more you know about comics, the more you’ll enjoy this.