Astro City MetroBook Two!

The second Astro City MetroBook has some of my all-time favorite stories from the esteemed series by Kurt Busiek, Brent Anderson, Alex Ross and company. The series has established itself by this time as one of the best in all the field all time and has found a home for the time being under the Homage brand at Image Comics. 

The first story introduces us to Looney Leo, a cartoon character who is brought to life through the machinations of a supervillain. Evoking memories of Tawky Tawny, Leo is a much gruffer character and has a range of misadventures as he tries to find a path of sorts through a real life which he has little or no preparation for. I'm reminded of Fatty Arbuckle among other infamous characters from entertainment. 

And then we are treated to one of the all-time best stories in Astro City lore, the saga of the down and out Steeljack. Steeljack is an ex-con, formerly known as "The Steel-Jacketed Man", he's grown weary of a life of crime and is merely trying to find a way to get along. But this dour protagonist finds things quite difficult as he's forced time and again to mingle with old friends, most all of them hoods of some kind. When an unknown force is killing masked villains in the area, he gets pulled into becoming a de facto gumshoe, but as he tells time and again, he's not really cut out for it. As the story rumbles along for six issues we meet the discredited hero El Hombre and the whimsical and tragic villain Mock Turtle. This one has lots of twists and turns and we get to see the heroes from the other side for a change. 

One of the most fanciful stories is about a woman who writes comic book stories for the publisher Bulldog Comics. The editor is a blustery fellow full of positive thoughts who is able to talk talent into doing things they perhaps regret later. When a villain takes issue with how he's portrayed things get dangerous and more than a tad nasty. But that's nothing compared to what's coming. A great one. 

We switch from comics to television when the star of the show The Crimson Cougar wants a little taste of what it's like to be a real superhero. He regrets his decision pretty quickly and takes steps ultimately to remove himself from the limelight, with a little help from his friend. And that brings the first Astro City series to an end. But wait, it's not over yet by any means. 

Astro City converts now to a sequence of limited-series runs, the first is a five-issue run labeled "Local Heroes". This plays hob with the numbering but that's something for completists to worry about really. The first of these issues tells the tale which gives us a look at what it might like to visit Astro City for the first time and what it might take to live there full-time. Our guide is a doorman at a local hotel who welcomes the newcomers and reflects on his own days being fresh in town. 

We get a highly personal story in the second issue where we follow the memories of a older lady as she reflects on the past and her attempts to achieve all that life had to offer. She found success in a career and for a time a seeming romance with a freshly-minted superhero named Atomicus. But her efforts to unlock his secrets prove tragic. 

The third issue takes us outside Astro City to the small country town of Caplinville where we follow a teenager forced to spend the summer with her relatives. She's a big city girl and has a difficult time getting used to the slower pace of the rural community and then she finds even these folks have superheroes and secrets. The Roustabout is a fine addition to Astro City's cavalcade of heroes. 

We encounter the Blue Knight in this two-part story which focuses on an honest lawyer who gets trapped between doing his best for his mobster client and protecting himself and his family. His success in the courtroom surprisingly doesn't give him the security he desires and so the Blue Knight takes a hand. This closes the Local Heroes run. 

Echoes of the Silver Age resound as Supersonic is called out of retirement and back into duty to help save the city. This special issue focuses on a hero who knows he's lost a step or two but must still try and bring the opponent down. It's a battle not without cost, but also not without enlightenment. 

In a short story which nested among many others celebrating the bravery of first responders, we get a tale that has no superhero, just regular heroes. In the real world that's what we have. 

In Astro City - A Visitor's Guide we are treated to a small tale by Busiek and Anderosn of a woman who gets wrapped up inside a heinous villain who is just waiting his chance. She survives and even thrives after her brush with danger and even possible death. The rest of this charming comic are faux ads for various places in Astro City, a map of the city, a brief history, as well as a rousing roster of hero bios decorated with wonderful portraits by the likes of Carlos Pacheco, Jim Lee, Dave Gibbons, Jerry Ordway, Walt Simonson, Lee Weeks, Jackson Guice, Jim Starlin, Al Milgrom, Howard Chaykin, Mike Golden, Darwyn Cooke among many others. Alex Ross paints a stunner of a cover for this one. 

And that's the second MetroBook. Look for the next overview in a few weeks. 

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New Gods Book Two - Advent Of Darkness!

It's always tricky when anyone other than the original creator touches such personal projects like the Fourth World. But that was Kirby's scheme from the beginning, to kick off books like New Gods and Mister Miracle and then hand them over to other talents under his guidance. Well, his guidance might be missing, but those characters have been done by a host of talents in the decades since Kirby was forced to step away from them. 

After an epic story, we get a few single-issue efforts. In the first Orion seeks to track down and stop a serial killer named "The Poet". This story just goes to show how ineffective Orion can be in an operation requiring some element of stealth. 

In a second Orion is forced to battle against a human being who gains the power of the ancient gods, if only for a short time. A man who thinks he's made for greater things can prove to be a great menace. Rick Hoberg steps in to take on the pencil chores in this issue. 

We then are treated to another epic tale. In this one the menace of Darkseid is overshadowed by the return of the one god in whose shadow he will always live, his father Yuga Khan. Yuga Khan disappeared searching for the Souce but returns after uncounted years to take vengeance on those who killed his wife, before once again seeking the ultimate secret. His power is immense, far greater than Darkseid's and even the forces of New Genesis fall before his with little effort. He is a menace who we can only hope defeats himself. For his part Orion learns something about the nature of fathers and sons. I should also point out that this saga was a crossover of sorts with the revamped L.E.G.I.O.N. series of the time. We see only Lar Gand (better known as Mon-El) in the issues of the New Gods. 

The twenty-second issue of the run is my favorite so far as it tells the story of Metron and how his longing for knowledge brought tragedy and death to New Genesis. Rick Hoberg is the artist and does a great job on his issue which features a rejuvenated Stepppenwolf. We also meet a woman who might have been Metron's love in a different universe. 

Mark Evanier does a very clever job of telling a story of a gay man with AIDS in this tale which mentions neither homosexuality nor the loathsome disease. We meet a man who makes the ultimate sacrifice for others, others who reject him for what he is. In a story drawn by newcomer Steve Erwin we get a delicate but robust story which talks of things which regrettably were forbidden in many quarters in this time period. 

The Forever People show up as guest-stars in a two-part tale that introduces us all to Maya, the latest addition to the clan and the daughter of Beautiful Dreamer and Big Bear. In Maya is the target of Desaad  who wants to pressure the Forever People to doing what he wants. But they resist of course, and he sends deadly creatures from Apokolips to create havoc in the form of a nuclear disaster. It's all Orion can do to fend off the threats and the team calls upon the Infinity Man in their moment of desperation. 

The next issue is a follow up to the previous two as Orion and Lightray attempt to track down some denizens of Apokolips seeking to escape. A young boy learns to to some extent the real meaning of death while an ancient god from the zombie-like "Dreggs" finds resurrection. 

The series closes out with a two-part tale that features Lightray who seeks to bring back to life a young woman whose death seems especially pointless. His attempts to revive her bring danger to the world as a whole. By the story's end, the happy-go-lucky Lightray has a somewhat more sober attitude to life in general, though he is no less optimistic. 

And that closes the book on this second New Gods revival. There were some really good stories in this run. The introduction of a new Forager and of Darkseid's father Yuga Khan in particular stand out. But the best creation is "The Dreggs". These shambling echoes of the old gods offer up a great deal of story potential and make perfect sense in the Fourth World as a whole. I was less taken with Evanier's concept of the "Anti-Life Equation" which seemed erratically explained and even at some points rejected. The ideal of free will was central to the themes of Kirby's Fourth World and making the Anti-Life equation something other than the simple ability to control others utterly seems to undermine his aims. But on the whole, these are better than I expected. 

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New Gods Book One - Bloodlines!

In 1988 the New Gods returned yet again. This time it was in the hands of Mark Evanier, Jim Starlin and artists Paris Cullins and Willie Blyberg. This is a pretty robust revival with Cullins' artwork doing a lot to recapture some of the potency of Kirby's original art. Blyberg gives the pages depth and added drama. But it's the writing that really shines. By having Evanier write the series, it's the closest thing we will get to more Kirby without the great man himself. Evanier was there when the Fourth World first unfolded and bore witness as much as anyone an even wrote a page or two back then. 

The debut issue follows on after Cosmic Odyssey by Starlin and artist Mike Mignola. In that mini-series the New Gods had halted the assault on our dimension by a entity identified as the "Anti-Life". With the assistance of Superman, Martian Manhunter, and other DC supeheroes the denizens of New Genesis and Darkseid himself carry the battle to four worlds. One doesn't survive. But perhaps worse despite victory at great cost Darkseid becomes even more dangerous. In this issue Orion battles the Bugs, an underworld society led in part by Mantis, one of Darkseid's servants. He enters their territory to return the body of Forager who had died in the battle against the Anti-Life. 

The next three issues are written by Jim Starlin and have Orion become more comfortable with the Bug culture. This is due somewhat to the ally he finds in the new female Forager. Further he learns that people of New Genesis are responsible for the dire straits of the Bugs who suffered poisoning from long ago activities of the Gods to defend against Apokolips. Orion is infuriated and breaks with Highfather before becoming more deeply involved in the battle against Mantis and his faction of the Bugs. Meanwhile Metron slowly recovers from his catatonic state which started at the beginning of Cosmic Odyssey. Highfather finds a political rival in the military minded Commander, a member of the small committee which governs New Genesis. Also surprising was the return of Lonar who was killed in the 70's revival. I guess he got better. 

In the fifth issue Evanier returns and brings the Bug saga to a tragic and deadly end. Orion reverts to his warlike ways creating a situation in which the new Forager must abandon their partnership. This is a very powerful ending to this story line and I wonder if it was the one Starling anticipated. 

The sixth issue introduces the "Dreggs", walking dead creatures from the era of the Old Gods. In fact these shambling, mostly mindless zombies are those gods hovering on the edge of existence in this new world. Orion goes to Apokolips to confront Darkseid but finds himself the victim of the latter's Omega Rays. Lightray is busy trying to rescue Eve Donner, an Earth woman who needs the support of a strong personality. 

Then begins the "Bloodlines Saga". This is an extended story which sees Orion transported to a differernt part of Apokolips where he makes the decision to find his mother Tiggra who is held captive in Section Zero. To find this area circumstances lead Orion to pose as a recruit in Darkseid's legions where his savage nature marks him as a star. Right under the nose of his father he seeks his mother, aided by a hidden faction called the Hunger Dogs. We learn that both Desaad and Kalibak have schemes of their own and Kalibak's in particular is mysterious. Meanwhile in New Genesis the political struggle for control continues resulting in a plebiscite that strikes at the very foundations of "Supertown". We are treated to much of the back story for many of the key characters in the New Gods saga also as this sprawling saga unfolds. 

After the revelations of the previous issues we turn our attentions to Earth where both Orion and Lightrary find themselves. Eve Donner has returned too but unwittingly brings along a menace called a Reflektor, an Apokolitian creature that confronts people with their deepest fear. There is a reference to an earlier Forever People limited series in which they confront this creature. (More on that later in the month.) Lightray and Orion must confront their fears to defeat this menace, but it is not without incident or disagreement. 

I very much enjoyed this rendition of the New Gods save for one critical factor -- Orion's personality. Kirby was able to render Orion as a complex figure with oceans of suppressed anger, but with a calm and even cold demeanor. Too often in my opinion this series shows Orion as a raging creature, something Kirby also did but in limited ways. This seems to be the way DC saw the character at the time, and it's less effective than Kirby's more sedate Orion. 

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