20 Years of Flight and Dreams
Astro City #26
I was a little surprised to see it’s been 20 years since the first ever issue of Astro City, but I do love that they reprised the very first story from the series, with Samaritan never having a chance to fly for fun except when he’s asleep and dreaming. But Samaritan’s dreams are no longer a refuge — he’s often jarred awake when he dreams of explosions targeting himself and Winged Victory. As a result, his waking hours are now stressful as he snaps at coworkers at his job and behaves recklessly with supervillains as a hero. What’s causing his bad dreams, and what is the solution?
Verdict: Thumbs up. A wonderful story, connected to the past but also addressing concerns in recent issues of the comic — and pointing the way forward to the future. I’m very thankful Kurt Busiek, Brent Anderson, and Alex Ross have been bringing this to us for so long, and hope the series continues for at least another 20 years.
Captain Britain and the Mighty Defenders #2
Yinsen City has been invaded by the psycho Law Enforcers of Mondo City after Captain Britain — Dr. Faiza Hussain her own dang self — appears and starts telling everyone Doom is not a real god. Now the Defenders are imprisoned, and Hussain is being tortured by Boss Cage. But her powers make her really difficult to keep imprisoned and more than a match for Cage. The rest of the Defenders make their own breakout. The White Tiger’s tiger god takes Boss Frost apart, while She-Hulk puts the hurt on the gigantic War Machine. But when it comes to the ruler of Mondo City, can Captain Britain’s Excalibur hold out against the hammer wielded by Big Boss Hill?
Verdict: Thumbs up. It’s a really fun story, and excellent use of all the characters here. Excellent writing by Al Ewing and excellent art by Alan Davis. If this was just a two-issue series, it was a great done-in-two tale. If they’re going to continue it for a few more issues, well, I’m fine with that, too.
Today’s Cool Links:
- Here’s a great remembrance of the late Yvonne Craig by Gail Simone.
- Well, the GOP debate finally made sense!
- How to learn if you’re living inside an Edward Gorey book.