Comics I Bought This Week: March 19, 2011

Mar19
on March 19, 2011 at 6:00 am
Posted In: Comics I Bought This Week

I’m back from the comic shop this week and I got one new comic plus a hard cover collection:

  • Ruse (Vol 2) – 1

  • “Reid Fleming: World’s Toughest Milkman” Volume 1

    • And now for a review of something I’ve read recently.

    “Astro City: The Dark Age 2 – Brothers in Arms” by Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson

    I remember that the first volume of this left me a little cold. Not that is was bad by any means but I just didn’t connect with it as I had with other volumes. I think it was just the basic premise. This volume and the first volume is the story of two brothers who saw their parents killed before their eyes when they were children. One brother grew up to be a cop and the other a criminal.

    The first volume was about the brothers’ time as a cop and a criminal. I found that concept a little hokey even if it was well executed. This volume brings us the two brothers at a different stage of their lives. The one is no longer a cop and the other no longer the same criminal he was. The two team up to try and track down and kill the man who murdered their parents.

    The story is a street level view of what it is to be in a big criminal organization. They cop brother picks up a job with a good guy organization while the other one goes under cover with a bad guy organization. They learn what it takes to survive among super powered heroes and villains and gain valuable knowledge on the tools and technology. Eventually the two go off on their own to pursue the killer who ends up a high ranking member of a bad guy organization. It’s an interesting story over all and is also a story about obsession.

    Brent Andersons’ artwork is its usual high quality. He is a very good story teller and does a nice job depicting a lot of super heroes who we only get glimpses of here and there. I’ve liked his work since way back in the 80’s when he was drawing Ka-Zar for Marvel.

    I ended up liking this volume more than the first one. It’s a personal story of obsession and revenge that takes place in the middle of a grand cosmic super hero story line. There are all sorts of important super hero events going on around the two brothers but they only notice if it interferes with their own quest. Good stuff.

    So if you’re in the mood for some Astro City this is a good volume to pick up.