Title: Astro City: Metro Book 6 (TP)
Publisher: Image Comics
Writer: Kurt Busiek
Artists: Brent Eric Anderson, Ron Randall, Carmen Carnero, Matthew Clark, Sean Parsons, Rick Leonardi, Ande Parks, Mike Norton
Covers and Character Designs: Alex Ross
Colors: Peter Pantazis
Co-Colors: Alex Sinclair
Letters: John Roshell of Comicraft with Comicraft’s Jimmy Betancourt, Albert Deschesne & Sarah Jacobs
Creators: Busiek, Anderson & Ross
Price: $ 34.99 US, $ 46.99 Can
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Website: www.imagecomics.com
Comments: Originally presented in Astro City Vol. 3 35-52.
“What I did on my Vacation…” Ike’s grandfather was the original Jack-In-The-Box. Then his father took over. Then another person RJ took over. Ike now had his ideas and he trained for it. Jackie Justice his first try at being a hero does not work out. His father is working to discover more about the past and we end up with the Drama Queen!
“The Other Side of the Story” Mister Drama is born and we see his story unfold. Two families each against the other lead to two new versions of a superhero and supervillain facing off and then they are working together to uncover the truth.
Here one man steps up and realizes you do not need to be a superhero to help others and save them.
“This Town” A purple-skinned guy in his dream house narrates a tale about the past of music in Astro City starring Silverstring. Then we get a second story. Here all the black people have their part of town and their music, they are willing to share. Some people that are like the KKK do not like the sharing going on. Mister Cakewalk walks through Bakerville and fights crime. His time does come and we see a female dressed ssimsimilarlyhim. Who is she?
“Hot Time in the Old Town” Jazzbaby is a new music heroine in town. The coloring on her is beautiful. Jazzbaby faces Destine a man who ends up getting more dark magic than he bargained for.
“The Party of the First Part” Here a lawyer handles some clients with a magical approach. For this lawyer, Marta the Hanged Man comes. The Hangman has a frightening presence. The way he is drawn and posed brings this aspect out.
In “The Party of the Second Part” Marta is shown at work here on a mystical case. She gets right down to it. Marta is an amazing woman. Astro City and certain people are lucky to have her.
“The Sky’s the Limit” Astro-Naut has a personal flying machine that is simply amazing. He is an adventurer as well as a hero and he travels the space ways. He is also an inventor. His story is a sad one. Yet in the end, Astro-Naut is a hero and always has been and always will be. He brought hope to a city and its people. He saved them all.
In “The Deep Blue Sea” Mister Manta is a criminal and his life takes a turn in a way he did not expect. He is happy and in the end, that is all that matters. The art is so beautifully done illustrating Mister Manta in his costume and afterwards.
“My Dad” A young girl Tillie breaks the fourth floor and her dad is the Gentleman a superhero. But things are not always as they seem. Tillie though is one likable girl with a huge amount of power. She has a lot of responsibility and it is nice to see her do something for herself. Tillie will break your heart and make you fall in love with her.
“The Cat Who Walked Through Walls” Leah and Ginny aka Sunstrike and Nightingale. Nightingale found a cat which was called Kittyhawk. This cat as we see is no ordinary cat. This is a cute story about a cat and her two superhero women.
The purple guy narrating these stories is fun.
“Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes” Glamorex is an ostrangenge superhero she/he is a combination superhero. They end up changing or shattering. They are a very nice individual.
“The Day the Music Died” Something happened when Glamorex disappeared. The changed Glamorex is trying to figure out how to battle the Oubor. This story gets hard to follow and figure everything out that is going on. The breaking of the fourth wall is great though.
“Who’s A Good Dog?” A thief gets a dog and an amulet and when you combine all three you get a man/dog combination with dog powers. Yes, G-Dog is born. Andy and Hank do have a successful run.
“Dog Days” Andy has grown so much as a person and as a hero. If you do not believe a dog is man’s best friend you will after reading this story. G-Dog is drawn so cute. The bond between man and dog in this story will bring a tear to your eye.
“Resistance” Resistor is a different kind of hero. They fight against racism here.
A daughter just wants to connect with her dad who created a superhero. She tries hard to achieve it but he does not seem interested. She loves her dad so much and in a way, he lives on helping those who need it. This is a very emotional story about a daughter’s love for her dad.
“Aftermaths” Here we have a group of people just ordinary people who have suffered due to a superhuman. Michael runs the group and he does a lot to help others.
“Down in the Depths” The self-proclaimed Lord of the Spiders has many victims. Michael listens to a mother talk about her son and the Lord of Spiders. Michael is there for them. His story of why he does this may be hard to believe but he does not lie.
“And, in the End…” Michael is a real hero. He does not have powers yet he goes out every day and helps those who need it. He needs this after he suffered an unconventional loss. If you don’t believe it just takes it up with the Hanged Man if you dare. Michael is the true star of this book and he gives hope, that is his power. Forget a;ll the superheroes this man outshines them all and then some. You will feel sadness and joy for him and maybe most of all if you are lucky you will realize that a little of him is in you.
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