Thursday, February 23, 2017

Astro City #41

   Happy 100th to Astro City, which has been consistently one of the best comics since its first appearance 22 years ago.

   Of course, the comics industry has a long tradition of, shall we say, numbering difficulty, and this series is no exception - so we have issue #41 of the latest incarnation equalling 100 (when you add in the assorted mini-series, one shots and the original run).

   And the original creators, Kurt Busiek and Brent E. Anderson (with a terrific cover, as always, by Alex Ross), have served up a historic tale about one of the city's greatest heroes - the one it was named for.

   The Astro-Naut shows up just when the city is recovering from the depression and a crime wave - and the citizens need a lift.

   He starts as a high-flying science hero, but quickly becomes much more than that as the story builds in scale and impact.

   It's loaded with cameos and Easter eggs aplenty - a cosmic tale told from a ground-level perspective. Just the kind of clever, human story that has made this series exceptional.

   Every comics fan should be reading this series - it's earned its spot as comics royalty, and this issue is just further proof of that fact.

Grade: A

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