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Tuesday, June 4, 2019

Astro City Vol 17: Aftermaths (Superhero) (Graphic Novels)

by Kurt Busiek (Writer) & Brent Anderson (Illustrator)

Publisher: Vertigo Comics (May 14, 2019)

Hardcover, 160 pages








Say it ain’t so. This is the final volume of one of my favorite comics of all time. The authors claim that Astro City is not finished with the completion of its Vertigo series. Instead, they plan to revert the comic back to its earliest formula of graphic novels and short series. Here’s hoping, but I’m afraid I will never again see into a world I’ve grown to love.
Most of the stories collected here deal with the pain of loss, amid the sacrifice of a person who died for the greater good. They are incredibly well drawn and plotted and, at times, heartbreaking in effect. Exactly what we expect from Astro City.
The first story deals with a thief who steals a magic amulet that accidently bonds him with his pet corgi to become G-Dog (as in “good dog”). This bonding between adds an extra weight on the criminal’s conscience and forces him to give up his crooked ways. All is well until the dog begins to feel ill and the owner realizes just how long dogs live. We also see the return of the pet patrol, unseen for fifty issues, with Rocket Dog, Kittyhawk, Dr. Monkey, and Ghost Ferret.

The second story, and the worst of the bunch, is a short one about a journalist trying to track down her activist scientist father. She is convinced that his disappearance is connected to a new force called Resistor, who manifests in protests when things are about to become violent. Random people are transformed and keep the peace. She eventually discovers the connection and the price to be paid for peace.
The third story returns to one of the most tragic figures ever shown in Astro City. He last appeared in issue #6. After a Chrono-Crisis with the heroes fighting across time and space, certain events are altered and a man begins having dreams of woman he believes is his wife, but whom he has never met. It turns out she was erased from history, and he now memories of living two lives. He now works at a survivors group for those who have lost people during supervillain attacks. But once his story comes out, then the others in his group begin to doubt him.
For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst. 


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