Astro City: The Dark Age Book II #1

November 25, 2006

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: A Cold Wind Blowing (Eyes of a Killer Part One)

Charles and Royal’s story continues in the sizzling 70s!

Writer: Kurt Busiek
Art: Brent E. Anderson
Colors: Alex Sinclair
Letters: John Roshell of Comicraft
Editor: Ben Abernathy
Cover Art: Alex Ross
Publisher: DC Comics/Wildstorm

After too long a break, Astro City: The Dark Age returns. Book Two (subtitled “Eyes of a Killer”) picks up a few years after the first ends. Charles Williams is still a police officer. His little brother Royal, still a crook. But things are changing in the world around them. Heroes are no longer the objects of trust they once were, things are becoming strained between Charles and his wife, and both Charles and Royal are facing real dangers on the job, as it were.

This series starts in 1976, and Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson have done a fantastic job of emulating that 1970s comic book feel. Gleaming heroes like Samaritan, Silver Agent and the First Family are either absent or reduced to cameos, while characters in the kung-fu/pseudo-mystic vein take the forefront. We also see a lot from Street Angel, once a brighter character who has embraced a darker side (not unlike a popular JLA member who underwent a Bronze Age reinvention).

As always, though, Astro City isn’t about the superheroes as much as it is about life in a superhero universe, and the unique difficulties faced by Charles (a cop) and Royal (a criminal). Things feel very ominous for both of them, and you definitely get the feeling this issue that the current state of their relationship, not to mention their lives, will be drastically changed by the time this four-issue miniseries reaches its conclusion.

Brent Anderson, as usual, does a fine job on the artwork, and Alex Ross pulls off a particularly unique cover. While still using his regular linework and techniques, he’s dropped back to a muted color palette, doing the entire thing in shades of blue and pink. It makes for a very eye-popping cover, as well as a very unusual one for him.

This first issue is very promising, setting up a lot of things and showing us yet another invention of the Astro City universe.

Rating: 8/10

Astro City: The Dark Age Book One #4

October 17, 2005

Quick Rating: Great
Title: Execution Day (Thicker Than Water Issue Four)

The final fate of the Silver Agent!

Writer: Kurt Busiek
Art: Brent E. Anderson
Colors: Alex Sinclair
Letters: John Roshell
Editor: Ben Abernathy
Cover Art: Alex Ross
Publisher: DC Comics/Wildstorm Signature Series

The conclusion of the story Astro City fans have wanted to read for a decade is just the end of the first act of The Dark Age, and it’s a really good one. As the doomed Silver Agent sits on death row, on the day of his execution, an incredible threat from outer space prepares to destroy North America. But the real story is Charles and Royal Williams, the cop and the crook, brothers, who have carried a hatred for the Agent ever since their mother died during one of his battles. Now, as they await his execution, the chaos that engulfs Astro City sends a deadly warrior after Royal – and brings the brothers to a moment of truth.

Kurt Busiek told fans some time ago that the story that revealed the fate of the Silver Agent wasn’t actually the Silver Agent’s story, and he didn’t lie. Instead, it’s the backdrop for this intriguing character play starring two brothers who took the same tragedy and used it to forge very, very different paths in their lives. The story is set against one of those incredible superhero free-for-alls that make for multi-issue crossovers in this day and age, but the battle only exists to set up the confrontation of the brothers. The way the story ends is a clear turning point in their lives, and sets up the second book quite nicely even as it closes off the Silver Agent’s tale completely.

Brent Anderson has provided the artwork for every Astro City story to date, and honestly, I couldn’t imagine anyone else’s pencils telling these tales. He has an uncanny ability to contrast high-flying, even cosmic superhero adventures with down-to-earth stories and scenes of a couple of brothers just sitting in a bar. His pacing and choreography are absolutely remarkable, he knows just how to time a scene for maximum impact.

Alex Ross, as always, provides the cover art, and this has to be one of his best. The stark, black background with a single spotlight illuminating the ill-fated hero is a chilling image, and one that will jump right out at any fan who sees it sitting on the shelf.

This was a powerful Astro City yarn – not the best (that crown still goes to Confessions), but right up there. We’ll have a one-shot in a few months to tide us over, but Book Two can’t come soon enough.

Rating: 9/10