Customer Reviews

Kurt Busiek's Astro City: Confession

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The world of Kurt Busiek's Astro City is truly one of the great fictional worlds ever created; I would rank it right up there with Tolkien's Middle Earth or the "Babylon 5" universe in terms of its richness, complexity, and emotional impact. "Kurt Busiek's Astro City: Confession" is a superb example of the power of Astro City. This book is essentially a novel in comic book form. It tells the story of Brian, a small town boy who moves to Astro City with dreams of joining the city's legion of costumed heroes. He ultimately joins up with the Confessor, a dark, brooding superhero, and together they face a chilling mystery that impacts all the city's heroes.

Many characters from other volumes in the Astro City series are woven into "Confession": Crackerjack, the Hanged Man, Winged Victory, Samaritan, and many more. Also woven into the superhero story are a number of "real world" issues: crime, spirituality, governmental intrusiveness, and more. Along the way are some innovative concepts and characters; I was especially intrigued by the Crossbreed, a group of evangelical Christian superheroes introduced early in the story.

"Confession" is at once a coming-of-age tale, an intimate character study, and a vast epic tale that spans many decades and the entire planet. The story is also a skillful blend of concepts from the horror and science fiction genres. Like many of the great graphic novels of our time ("Watchmen," "Marvels," etc.) "Confession" deconstructs the very superhero genre to which it belongs. The characters are compelling, the dialogue is gripping, and the visual artwork is awesome: many scenes look like something from a big-budget science fiction film. In my opinion, "Confession" is a profoundly moving masterpiece.

Kurt Busiek has crafted an excellent superhero storyline in Confession. Astro City has, and continues to be the best pure superhero comic out,and Confession is the highpoint of the series. The story is completely told through the eyes of the Confessors sidekick, the Altar Boy. The fact that Busiek pulls off this narrative without seeming derivative is one thing, but the most impressive part is the quality of the story itself, and the shocking secret that the Confessor hides, adds to the drama. Throw in some mysterious religious imagery, and you get a solid enjoyable story to read. While it isnt as shocking or hilarious as Preacher, its an excellently written, beautifully drawn story, in the mold of classic comic book storytelling.

There is a certain innocence to the Astro City comics that still speaks with wisdom and intelligence. They are beautifull to look at, funny, self-referential, and you always get the "why hasn't this been done before" feeling whenever you read one. This is the best of the four collections that are thus far available. The story of a young "robin-like" sidekick before, during, and after his initiation into the super-hero field. You can actually see the character grow as a person, a person who is likeable in all stages of his life. All the comic cliches are here, subtely altered and so made new again. There are super-heroes galore, but this story focus's on two in particular. Some of the twists are predictable and some aren't, but you always get the feeling that it doesn't effect the quality of the comic. If you guess it ahead of time, it is still a good read. The comic is something that you can give to your children, and they will enjoy it, but, aldults can enjoy just as much on an entirely different level. The comic is fun, intelligent, and still has that sense of wonder you remember from reading comics as a child. Don't pass this one up.

I'm not a comic book fan; they're much too convulted for my own tastes. But even the first time I read Astro City: Confessions I knew it was something else, something different. Confessions is more literature than it is comic book; it transcends the genre and becomes something new altogether.

Busiek has an amazing way of taking familar superhero comic themes and using them in new ways. Unlike some modern comic writers, he respects the genre and knows how to tell great stories within it, rather than cynically discarding the very things that make heroes so inspiring. The Confessor is clearly inspired by Batman, and Altar Boy is his Robin. But the basic similarity of the characters is used as a way of introducing a completely different kind of story. Even what appear to be relatively minor supporting characters are used to good effect, while also remaining surprisingly respectful to their own particular beliefs. Astro City is a great series, and a sure fire favorite for anyone who enjoys comics.

Kurt Busiek's "Astro City," while infrequent, is still hands-down the best comic book in recent memory, and possibly the best superhero series ever written. Busiek has created an entire universe with the feel and flavor of everything good about Marvel and DC's superheroes, yet injected them with his own flavor. He's got twists that make archetypes a little different than you'd expect -- sometimes a little more human, sometimes a little less, always something you wouldn't have thought of yourself but that leaves you slapping your forehead and going, "of COURSE!"

"Confessions" is the second Astro City collection, and the first extended storyline. (The first trade paperback, "Life in the Big City," was a collection of single-issue stories, this is one story over six chapters). Brian Kinney has come to Astro City in the hopes of becoming a superhero, a wish that seems on its way to fulfillment when the mysterious Confessor takes him under his wing. But the city is troubled at the moment. A serial killer terrorizes the people of Shadow Hill. Public sentiment is turning against superheroes. And Brian's mentor is not at all what he appears to be.

For all of the great work Busiek has done, this book is easily my favorite. It's everything that makes "Astro City" great -- classic archetypes twisted around, lots of mysteries, a logical but unexpected point of view... it is superhero storytelling at its finest.

This book also contains the short "The Nearness of You," which -- I'm sorry, Alan Moore fans -- gets my vote for finest single issue comic book story ever. It is tender, heartbreaking and wholly uplifting all at the same time. I still get teary-eyed when I read it.

"Astro City" is set to finally return to comic book shelves. If you haven't read it before, get books like this for a primer, then jump on-board!

Astro City continues to be the best superhero book being published, and with quality storylines like Confession, it's a sure bet to be listed as one of the top comic series of all time once the dust settles. Busiek combines excellent technical skills - he's a master of pacing, great with dialogue, and unmatched at finding new and interesting perspectives on a story - with a sense of wonder that most of the talented writers in the superhero business have long since abandoned. Absolutely peerless.

Kurt Busiek asks that question, to a certain degree, in all the Astro City stories. This story follows Brian, a young man who resents both the father that gave free checkups to his small town's children, and the adults who called him a bum after his death. Once Brian's grown up, he goes to Astro City to live among the heroes. Eventually, he catches the eye of a secretive superhero, The Confessor, who decides to make Brian his sidekick. Especially, the Confessor teaches Brian to observe a situation and pick out the fact that doesn't fit. This proves to be helpful when a mysterious killer begins ritually murdering people, the mayor demands superheros register their powers, ordinary people begin to get suspicious and resentful of the supers, and the Confessor begins to act oddly. This leads to several well plotted mysteries that don't always lead where you think they will. All this forms a beautiful story that explains why helping someone ungrateful can be the most heroic thing ever.
One minor concern is that the Shadow Hill Killer is delt with in one panel and is never fully explained. Also, if you have issues with Christianity, I would not read this book, as it has several Christian heros. Personally, I found the idea of a superhero with religious faith an intriguing idea.

The world of Kurt Busiek's Astro City is truly one of the great fictional worlds ever created; I would rank it right up there with Tolkien's Middle Earth or the "Babylon 5" universe in terms of its richness, complexity, and emotional impact. "Kurt Busiek's Astro City: Confession" is a superb example of the power of Astro City.

I've just bought and read this recently, and for my first Astro City book, I'd say it makes perfect sense without having read the previous book. There are three plot threads here: the Confessor trains his new sidekick Altar Boy, there's a serial killer on the loose, and there's an alien invasion. The most important of these is the first, in which the Confessor not only teaches his pupil the mechanics of crime fighting, but also what it means to be a hero. When the mayor of Astro City outlaws super-heroes and starts rounding them up, the Good Samaritan runs away! How heroic is that? Yet the Confessor and Altar remain to fight the good fight. With most of the emphasis being on the first and third plot threads, the serial killer plot gets a little short-changed (oh, so THAT'S the serial killer. Huh. I never would have guessed.) Nevertheless, this flaw, if it is a flaw, isn't bad enough that it hurts the book as a whole, for me anyway.