Customer Reviews

Astro City: The Dark Age Book One SC (Kurt Busiek's Astro City)

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Kurt Busiek's stepping back in time to look at the earlier history of Astro City, the 1970's and a glimpse of the 60's, is to look at today through a dark mirror. The collapse of the moral authority of the times, the blurring of the lines between good & evil is something that can only be fully appreciated by those who have lived through those times in this universe. And if there's a sense of vertigo, that something is not quite right - that feeling only resonates even more effectively today when we're finding ourselves in a 21st Century where there is a very real battle between Hope and the World as it Is.

Massive budget deficits; more torture revelations; the collapse of the banking system now propped like a zombie on the taxpayers dime, rising unemployment, accelerating climate change - if this isn't a comparable Dark Age, it's a pretty good facsimile. A story with politicians replaced by robot drones, corrupt authorities, waking nightmares, freakish crime lords battling for turf, conflicted heros battling their own demons - sometimes literally - well maybe it's not so strange and outrageous a territory as it might seem. Of late our own evening news programs feature stories and characters as grotesque as any found in this book.

Choosing to tell the story in loose fashion around the lives of two brothers, bonded by a shared tragedy, divided by their response to it, this offering is a bit rougher than previous entries in the Astro City universe. In a way it's a memoir told from two different viewpoints and as such it tends to skip through time from event to event. A clichéd way to view the two protagonists is that one is the 'good' brother on the side of law and order, while the other has chosen to turn to crime and is 'bad'. It would be as true to say both men are trying to live their lives by their own moral codes based on not so very different perceptions of the troubled world around them. Neither is getting much reward from their choices. 'Normal' humans both, they're doing their best to cope with a world in which it seems even those with special powers are overmatched.

If there is something frustrating about this book, it is that there are so many story threads, glimpses of a larger tapestry of which we can only see fragments. Busiek and artist Bret Anderson introduce a number of Super Heros and Villains, enough to fill an entire stable of comic books. We have to take what we can get for now, and at least some things hinted at in other Astro City books are finally getting revealed.

This is only part one, and however disjointed it may seem at times, the overall story arc builds to a satisfactory cliff hanger at its conclusion. The brothers are left at a key turning point; a major villain has emerged into view; a doomsday weapon is nearing the time when it must be used, and great powers together with great dangers are racing to an appointment with destiny.

Above and beyond all of this is the fate of the martyred Silver Agent. Wrongfully executed for a crime he was powerless to prevent, the unfolding of his story looks to be the culmination of the story arc in the sequel to this collection. Facing a certain doom, he appears again and again at critical moments to make a difference, then vanishes into Time with the parting promise to those encountering him that "things will get better."

What is the price he has agreed to pay, and to whom, are questions that will have to wait. The parallax view of our own world gained by venturing into this one is worth the price of admission.

Recommended.

I was a big fan of the first couple volumes of Astro City: I loved the concept, iconic characters free to have big or little stories without worrying about the status quo, and plenty of "slice of life" stories that show what it's like to live in any world with super heroes running around. That said, Dark Age really doesn't work for me. There's two big problems that bring it down. The first is that too often it gets as didactic as a bad history lesson: "then the First Family did this, then the Silver Agent did this, then the country all thought this..." it just goes on as it compresses and flattens the story of the universe. The story of the Silver Agent's final days gets a bunch of narration but we barely ever see him so there's sort of an expectation that we care about him just because he's a super hero. I think the project just gets too ambitious and starts reading less like a comic of the time and more like somebody talking about what comics were like back then. As much as comics of the 70's started dealing with mature themes like death, corruption, etc., it still featured a lot of fun that doesn't show up here.

The other problem is that the leads and the other characters are not particularly interesting or compelling, and they spend the majority of the story narrating to no one. There's a couple of moments with some gravitas but for the most part they're dull talking heads who mostly explain what happened in the 70's as if they were talking to somebody that hadn't lived through it. I don't know if it's intentional, but references to Nixon and public backlash about super heroes reminds me of Watchmen, which did something similar but in a way that made dozens of characters come to life in addition to telling an interesting story that's informed but not dependent on the past. Dark Age lacks that narrative hook that took something like Watchmen and made it approachable.

That said, the art's very good, there are some scenes that work, and I thought the action sequences were well done. It's not bad, but it's a little disappointing and not for everyone.

The Busiek series Astro City is a masterpiece in the comics genre. The latest addition to the series "Dark Age" is a worthy addition.

Kurt Busiek's series tackles the superhero mythos from a consistently different perspective. These stories are not about heroes versus villains as much as they are about the personal aspect of living in a world with superheroes. In Dark Age, the two main characters are not superheroes. On the contrary they are two normal brothers who do not even care for costumed villains or their heroic adversaries.

Charles and Royal Williams live in Bakerville. One day they tragically lose their parents who have been caught in the middle of battle between costumed super heroes and their equally flamboyant opponents. This trauma affects them in diametrically opposite ways. One, Royal, becomes a cynic only interested making a quick buck on the street. Charles becomes a dedicated police officer.

This era of the Astro City takes place during the Vietnam War. Traditional values are being challenged and Royal's cynicism and Charles' frustration are symptomatic of society. An event central to this era is the arrest and murder trail of Alan Craig, the Silver Agent. This character has been mentioned peripherally in other Astro City storie. Until now all we have known is this hero's treatment was it is the very public shame of Astro City. His story is fleshed out more in this graphic novel.

Meanwhile these two brothers find themselves caught in the middle of these very public battles of costumed adversaries. Royal, a petty criminal, finds himself the target of costumed vigilante who believes death is the only option for criminals. At the same time we see the rise of the Deacon, the Astro City crime overlord.

Rather than ruin it for potential readers I won't tell you more. 'Busiek' is a mark of quality. This is a very strong character-driven series. You should be able to enjoy this graphic novel even though you have not read any of the other Astro City graphic novels.

"Astro City: The Dark Age Book One"
Written by Kurt Busiek
Illustrated by Bret Anderson
(DC Comics, 2009)
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I was a Marvel kid, but a friend of mine who's more of a DC fan turned me on to Kurt Busiek's "Astro City" series a while ago, and I have been continually impressed ever since.

This new volume is one of the best, deepening the mythology of Astro City by delving into its "bronze age" (1970s-era) adventures. We are immersed in a proliferation of heroes, teams, crooks of all description, and see the very edges of numerous dopey, ridiculous plotlines, looking through the eyes of two regular citizens, in this case two brothers whose lives have taken different paths -- one becomes a too-honest cop, the other a cynical petty criminal -- as a result of a superhero-related tragedy in their childhoods. The stilted, simplistic tone of their story arc is in keeping with the rest of the book, which brilliantly mimics the formulas, cliches and would-be social commentary of the 'Seventies comics scene (which was trying to follow the lead of the movie industry, then in the throes of a seedy new realism, courtesy of Scorsese, Cassavettes, et al.) The work of Neal Adams is a touchpoint, as are Marvel's more prolonged attempts to address the urban decay in New York, and the Watergate-based disillusionment of Captain America. This book references the new heroes that emerged -- gritty, often bizarre vigilantes and street fighters, characters such as the Creeper, Luke Cage, the Punisher, etc. -- and meanwhile has it's "big" mainstream heroes, the Fantastic Four and Justice League/Avengers analogues off on grandiose cosmic adventures, completely removed from the day-to-day lives of its non-superhero protagonists. It's all pretty delicious for those of us who wasted their youth on the originals, and it's brilliantly done.

Younger comics fans might not realize that this is a stylistic homage, and may mistake Busiek's imitations of the sloppy writing of the time for the real thing -- but he is not a sloppy writer himself, not by a longshot, just a bright mimic and a clever mash-up artist. This book's a lot of fun, and gives just the right amount of super-powered action to make this an entirely satisfying read. Check it out! (Joe Sixpack, ReadThatAgain book reviews)

Anyone familiar with Kurt Busiek's Astro City knows there was an ongoing foreshadowing to something that ended up seeing the Silver Agent dead. There is a big statue early on in the series with the caption: "Our Greatest Shame" with the agent staring down obviously distraught. It was tantalizing to say the least.. What happened to the Silver Agent? Who was the Silver Agent?
But also in Astro City we realize that stories are told through regular people who somehow bear witness to the events of the heroes.. This is definitely a strength for this series, because everything is observed, not directly experienced (like Busiek's and Ross's Marvels)...
In any event, Busiek's storyline has hit a higher gear than ever in this first part to the Dark Age saga... It is by far the best Astro City story yet, and it will only get better with the second part... This was all obviously pre-planned, and looking back on all the hints and foreshadowing that was applied in relation to the silver agent, it was genius, and we were all getting sucked in slowly, not realizing we were going to get the full on serious story of these heretofore peripheral characters.

Any Astro City fan would be seriously missing out without this collection!!!

Astro City creator Kurt Busiek gets it. He realizes that superheroes are a well-established genre and just like crime dramas or westerns he does not need to waste time covering old ground.

So in AC we have new characters swiftly introduced with some quick shorthand, and then Busiek starts telling the interesting part of their story. In superhero land aliens and lab accidents are a dime a dozen. Busiek tells new stories with these familiar staples.

So in Dark Age he enters the 70s a time when life in America was going through tremendous social upheavals. He uses superheroes to tell the story of that time and capture the chaos in society.

Brent Anderson's art and Alex Ross' designs are just as beautiful as ever. Astro City books belong on every comic fan's bookshelf.

Kurt Busiek's Astro City series are modern classics - sometimes told in similar vein as older stories but with fresh perspectives and depth of characterization seldom seen. His stories are more often told from the viewpoint of the man on the street rather than an invulnerable superhero.

The Dark Ages continues this trend, but as the title indicates, these are not happy times for the citizens of Astro City. This is where their trust and belief in their heroes gets washed aside, where they fail not only those heroes but themselves.

Busiek presents this story set in the 1970's primarily through two brothers - Charles and Royal Williams - whose parents die in the crossfire between heroes and villians while they are still children. They take decidedly different paths in life - Charles becomes a policeman, Royal a thief - yet remain in contact. Their lives are affected on a daily basis by the super-powered community, in good and in bad ways, and through their eyes you get a feeling for how you might react yourself in those situations.

Busiek is at his best when showing how the common man is impacted by the super human, and this story line shows that off very well. Fans of Astro City know this is the big reveal of how the statue of the Silver Agent marking the city's "Greatest Shame" came to be, and this collection (which is the first half of the story) continues to have shadows around the circumstances but does give enough to explain the situation. With Watergate and Vietnam serving as backdrops, it is easy to understand how the citizens came to mistrust even the heroes. I guess they wouldn't be heroes if they didn't accept that from the people and do their jobs anyway.

If the second half is as well composed and illustrated as this volume, this will be a story that could be used in a history class to explain the disillusionment that hit the United States in the 1970's.

Highly recommended.

This particular instalment of the Astrocity really goes to town on the number of supes (masks) and the length of the plot.

This volume ostensibly features part one of a long story arc that broadly encompasses the lives of two brothers, one good cop, the other small-time crook and their run-ins with the law and the masks. In reality, too much is attempted here. The number of threads running in parallel thruout this arc is unbelievable. Masks are introduced at a furios pace, fighting long running battles with each other, on earth as well as off-world. The perspectives keep changing with the threads. Given the fact that many of these masks are new, the degree of confusion is really piled on here.

I can safely say that Astrocity has truly embraced the dark side of Marvel and DC, and gone for supe-convention style storylines.

I think this is the best volume by far. Busiek returns to the narrative structure and tells the story that he's been hinting at throughout the entire series. In past issues we get glimpses of the Silver Agent, statues, anecdotes, and through them all references to some tragedy that befell Astro City in the past. The Silver Agent is like the ultimate hero, but one that was fallen, either because of his own folly or because of self-sacrifice - we were never really sure. Until now. And boy does it not disappoint.

The story encompasses the late 60s early 70s when America was having doubts about itself, chaos and disorder seemed to reign supreme and many Americans feel they lost their sense of purpose and goodness. In front of this backdrop Busiek weaves the story of two African-American brothers whose lives were altered forever when a rumble between masks destroys their family apartment and kills their parents. One grows up to be a cop, to prove that human beings don't need superhumans and that we've made a huge mistake letting them do everything for us. He sees arrogance in the masks, and a sense of superiority, like their gods who think they know best - and a series of unfortunate events gets the American public feeling just about the same as Charles. His brother, Royal, turns to a life of crime, disheartened by the masks inability to save his parents, he loses faith in everything and sees life as a race to get what's yours and nothing more.

What's interesting is that throughout the tale, both brothers play off as mirrors to one another, beginning to question the events and attitudes that led them to their present lifestyles. Charles faces corruption in the police department and Royal faces the ever-growing brutality of organized crime and violence on the streets of Astro City and wonders how far he's really willing to go to just live a financially secure life. The brothers have a grudging respect for one another that is shattered at the apex of the story. What causes this? The radically different lifestyles? No. Not really. It's one of the two dreaded subjects never to discuss with family and friends because it tears relationships apart: politics (or religion).

As we see the brothers trying to live their lives, America's foremost hero, the Silver Agent is accused of murder, and there is overwhelming evidence showing his guilt. To compound matters, the Agent killed someone from another country and the international community puts pressure on America to live up to it's ideals and not give the Agent a simple slap on the wrist. The Agent is sentenced to death and is executed, and Americans in general are behind the decision, believing somehow that the death of the Agent can allow them to reclaim the moral high ground in the age of Vietnam and Watergate.

Or does it? Is the Silver Agent guilty? The tale unravels itself in very unexpected ways and remains unfinished. This is the first of two volumes and ends with quite a few questions raised. This is comic writing at it's finest. It follows the structure of a novel, builds and develops extremely complex characters in a setting that is finely researched and finely tuned to mirror the turmoil within the characters themselves. There is no greater comic besides Watchmen.

This is probably my least favorite Astro City story so far. For some reason, I don't care much about the interplay between the two main characters. The back story of the golden age Astro City heroes is always interesting, though. Even an ordinary Astro City story is better than most everything else out there.