And Then I Read: ASTRO CITY 2

Image © Juke Box Productions.

In this issue of the relaunched (or really, just restarted by numbering) ASTRO CITY, writer Kurt Busiek does what he does best in my opinion: goes behind the curtain of superhero life to look at some of the support staff. In this case the focus is on a young woman who takes a job with the emergency call line for the super-group Honor Guard. There are some heroic moments in the story, but in this case they’re almost window dressing for the human story. Imagine yourself taking a top-secret job that has the potential to save lives every day, where people in desperate need for help beyond the scope of typical 911 services could put their fate in your hands. Yet, you can only discuss it with your fellow workers. There’s job satisfaction when you get the capes on the crime; there are some perks, like weekends in cities and destinations all over the world at no cost to you, but there’s a down side. What if you screw up? What if you miss the one in a thousand clue to a really major disaster? Or even just miss saving one life?

The cover by Alex Ross is fantastic, as always. Who else would go for that very close look at the woman’s face at upper left and make it work? The interior art by Brent Anderson is equally great. Fine coloring by Alex Sinclair and inventive lettering by Roshell and Betancourt of Comicraft fill out the credits. This is what more comics should be like, in my opinion.

Highly recommended.