Kurt Busiek is a very, very special writer. Looking at the human aspect of superherosim both from the perspective of the heroes and the people of the city the save is not a new idea in modern comics, but rarely has it been done better. Great book.

Kurt Busiek takes a more grown-up approach to the superhero while still maintaining the child-like awe that drew most of us into the Supermans, Spidermans and Batmans of old. The advantage? We end up with heroes that are real and without the crutches of virginal innocence that even they no longer believe or a cloud of unbearable pathos that says, "this is why I wear black latex."

We get real superheroes in real costumes with real feelings. Some are heroes for valiant reasons, some are heroes because they don't know what else to do, some want to do it for the fame and fortune and others have yet to reveal their real reasons. In each of the books, we're introduced to different heroes that inhabit Astro City either through themselves or through those that have observed them. While the stories start with Samaritan, it's clear that while we'll see him again, he's not going to be our main character throughout as Astro City has a good many stories to share.

The drawings of Brent Anderson (and Alex Ross's covers) are fantastic and lush with color. The level of detail in everything - from the backgrounds, to the costumes, to the anatomy really shows throughout the book and adds fantastic layers to the vignettes. ( )

See my review here: http://panelpatter.blogspot.com/2008/... ( )

This is the collection of the first set of Astro City comics and readers meet several of the heroes, villains, and ordinary folks who inhabit the world. The art is clean and crisp and the storylines fun and thoughtprovoking. Where do you go on a date if you're a superhero? What do you spend your time doing? How do ordinary people view you? ( )

Wonderful story! ( )