Customer Reviews

Astro City Vol. 5: Local Heroes

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This volume in the Astro City series (vol. 5?) was a little different than the previous volumes. While the Astro City series has always tried to portray its heroes and people in a realistic light, this book seemed to focus more on the people and what it's like to live in the world of Astro City. The heroes are still there, but they are in the background. The stories follow the regular people and how they live their lives. This happened once before in one of the previous volumes. The story focused on a newspaper editor and his first story about the Shirrak shark worshippers. But here, all but one is about everyday people. Newcomers is about hotel doorman, Pete Donacek. Where the Action Is is about comic book writer Sally Twinings. Great Expectations is about stuntman turned actor, Mitch Goodman. Shining Armor is about political aide, Irene Meriwether. Pastoral is about city girl Camilla spending the summer at her Uncle's farm. Knock Wood is about attorney Vince Oleck. Justice Systems is also about Vince Oleck and continues from where the previous story ended. Old Times is about retired superhero Dale Enright, aka Supersonic. Since the Fire is about former firefighter Arnie Prentice. Don't get me wrong. Every Astro City book is well worth the price. And while I appreciate the intent behind focusing on the real people, I do still like reading about the super heroes rather than the local heroes.

Astro City has been a favorite of mine ever since I first stumbled upon it. Bringing to mind Hero Alliance with its non-standard approach to superhero comics, Astro City is about the people and the people behind the mask and not about the fights and defeating the supervillains. This collections contains stories of different sorts of heroes than what are usually found in a comic.

We start with Astro City as seem through the eyes of a doorman at one of its finer hotels. Next we see the city through the eyes of a local comic book company and includes some industry cameos. Next a soap opera star playing a super hero gets caught up in reality. Then we see a love story from the view of the mortal woman who loved and lost. Next an Astro City resident learns about heroes in the heartland. Then a two-issue story examines the legal system as it meet the hero world. Then a retired hero is called back into service. Finally a short story honoring firemen and 9/11 ends the collection.

A wonderful collection that shows not all superhero comics are cast from the same mold. Some aren't cast at all but finely crafted as unique works of art. If you are unfamiliar with Astro City, this volume would make an fine introduction to the series. Existing fans will still find it fresh and original. Check it out.

"Astro City: Local Heroes" is the fifth collected edition in the Eisner and Harvey award-winning series, and collects "Astro City Vol. 2 #21-22," "Astro City: Local Heroes #1-5," "Astro City Special: Supersonic," and "After the Fire" from the 9/11 benefit book. This is the last batch of short stories before Busiek and crew headed into Astro City: The Dark Age which was the longest running storyline for the series.

"Local Heroes" showcases much of what I love about "Astro City." How do courts of law work in a world of DNA clones and shapeshifters? ("Knock Wood") What about the small towns outside of the big city? ("Pastoral"). Are there any comic books in a place were real superheroes fly the sky ("Where the Action Is") and what do they watch on TV? ("Great Expectations"). For some of the stories, it helps to have a background in Silver Age comic books, like "Shining Armor," which shows what happens when Superman gets sick of Lois Lane's constant attempts to expose his secret identity. And you have to look closely at every panel. I only noticed later that the aged hero Supersonic from "Old Times" had popped up in the court case during "Knock Wood."

Some people might be disappointed that none of Astro City's big guns show up during "Local Heroes." No Samaritan. No Winged Victory. No Confessor. No First Family. Not even Steeljack. The only real impactful even from "Local Heroes" is the introduction of the Blue Knight who playes an important role in "Dark Ages." But I liked the focus on the fringe characters, the doormen an firemen and city-smart teens annoyed at having to spend the summer in the country with their cousins. The heart of soul of the series, the human element, is well-represented.

"Astro City: Local Heroes" collects 9 stories that have only one character in common: the city itself. Astro City is home to many superheroes - and supervillains - and as such isn't like any other place, but most of the people that call it home are "normal" people that wouldn't be out of place anywhere else. Yet the presence of these extraordinarily powerful people plays an important role in the lives of the everyday people that also choose to make Astro City home, and each of the tales in "Local Heroes" focuses on these people, using the Super heroes and villains as background characters (although not unimportant ones) to tell the tales of ordinary folks living in a world where the extraordinary isn't uncommon. The main characters of the tales include a hotel valet, a comic book writer, a stuntman/actor, a trial lawyer, a young boy, and an elderly retired super hero.
The ability to tell good human stories is something of a trademark of Kurt Busiek, and this one is on par with Marvels and Secret Identity two previous excellent works of his. It is a type of writing that I wish was more common in comic books. Highly recommended (and not just to superhero comicbook fans), 4.5/5 stars.

Another hit and for the same reason. This one is another anthology and focuses mainly on how normal people become heroes without being super. It's not so much about the masked heroes as it is about the firefighters, policemen and normal citizens whose lives are turned upside down by the presence of superhumans, both good and bad. Still lovin it.

This looks at superheroes from a different perspective than the traditional comic. Heroes are viewed through the eyes of the people that they effect and that are trying to survive around them. Also this addition allows a reader to jump right into the series without knowing any back story which is refreshing when compared to other series. Too often you have to go back to issue #1 of a series to really understand it, not in Astro City, many of this stories stand alone and are great reads in their own right.

All of the Astro City books are worth a read. Well-written, excellently drawn, in a universe separate from DC and Marvel.

This collection of nine mostly separate stories is considerably above the average, much better in my opinion than the earlier Astro City stuff I've read. "Knock Wood" and "Justice Systems" is the only two-parter, about a criminal defense lawyer who finds a new way to defend his obviously guilty mob client and finds himself in a bad place for doing his job; it's easily the best story here, with the attorney's musings (in 1974) about losing faith in society and the government, and in the legal system generally. "After the Fire" is a short one without even any superheroes in it, about real heroism; it's actually a very affecting short story with pictures. "Shiny Armor," which won an award, is about a superhero trying to learn to become human, and it's pretty good, too. The other stories aren't up to that level, but none of them are badly done.