Small fandoms pimping: Astro City

[runespoor]

You know how I said I'd have the snippets done by the end of the week? I lied.

Since it's Yuletide season, I've put together some pimping for two fandoms I'm hoping to see nominated for Yuletide.


a world full of heroes


What it is, what it features, and why it's awesome: Astro City is reverse-Watchmen. Watchmen answers the question: "how would superheroes be in our world?"; Astro City answers the question: "how would normal life go in a superhero's world?"

What does it mean to be an accountant from the "mystical" neighbourhood? If some C-rank TV actor playing a superhero on TV stopped an assault while wearing the costume, wouldn't it be dangerous? Secret identities in the country - everyone knows everyone, how does it work?

It's a love letter to the superhero myth.

Normal people are as likely to star in any given issue as the world's big names heroes; in fact, the longest arc the series has ever known ("The Dark Age") revolves around a pair of non-powered brothers. Most heroes are only the focus of one or two issues, so there's no decade-long publishing history to keep track of; many are homages to Marvel or DC heroes, with a shift in their story to make them unique.

It's a canon that loves the outsider point of view. It loves showing a day in the life. It loves stories, telling the life story of a one-shot character, and playing with the RL history of comics; in Astro City, Cleopatra I was a white, blond woman, and Cleopatra II is a statuesque super-strong dark-skinned woman. There are Prohibition-era heroes and 50s-heroes and nowadays-heroes, with names like the Bouncing Beatnik and the Gentleman. It's full of whimsy, and happy and sad from one issue to the next.

It's full of affection for its characters: Winged Victory, the Greco-Roman inspired controversial heroine whose main goal is the protection of women, Samaritan, paragon whose only personal life is to work as an editor, the metal-skinned ex-convict Steel Jack who's trying to turn his life around, naive, too-imaginative supervillain Mock Turtle, Astra of the First Family and her First world problems, super-hero Jack-in-the-Box whose wife is pregnant, android Beautie looking for her creator.

Many others haven't been explored yet in the comics.

Take Quarrel; she's the non-powered daughter of a costumed criminal and took her father's name before joining the Honor Guard, premier superhero group in the world, now approaching forty. Or Cleopatra I; what happened to her and how did she feel about some other woman receiving her power? Is the Hangman a human being, a ghost, or a force entirely out of human understanding? What about the Irregulars, a group of rebellious teen heroes - does Yolanda join them after she acquired her dead criminal father's power gloves and she's reasoned with by police detective Ruiz, ex-teen hero himself? Are Nightingale and Sunbird sisters, mother and daughter, lovers?...

It's a canon with PoCs in starring roles and LGBTQ characters that just beg to be fully explored.

Look, it's the only recent comic that dared to call the teen sidekick of a detective vigilante named the Confessor "Altar Boy" and managed to pull it off.

Take one issue, open it; you'll find a world of stories there.

Format: It's kind of a pain in the butt to keep track of it. There have been 3 on-going series and the Dark Age maxi series; luckily, the issues have been collected in trade paperbacks. Aside from the Dark Age, most of the other issues can stand on their own.

You can download it or part of it here, here, or here. If someone has a better resource, I'll be happy to edit this post.

Comments

[oddityangel.livejournal.com]

I love Astro City. It's where I go when the big two comic companies are disappointing me. Being able to pull off something (or someone) like Looney Leo and making it work is a gift.

I like how 'complete' the city feels. In earlier arcs you were aware that The Silver Agent was an important hero and something bad happened, but it wasn't until 'The Dark Age' that we really got details, and afterward things just made a bit more sense.

I wish the second 'Dark Age' trade would hurry up and come out, I need my Astro City.

[matt_doyle]

Astro City is the best thing ever.

[q99.livejournal.com]

Love it :) It's continuity is both extensive (with tons of little hints and references to unseen stuff) and accessible. And I love a good continuity comic

And, of course, it's really darn fun ^^