Astro City #49

Astro City #49 comic reviewAstro City #49 takes a look at the unusual hero Registor as shown through the eyes of a reporter who catches the wiff (literally) of a story with ties to her childhood when she witnesses the hero appear to stop an attack by Earthpride white supremacists during a protest. With ties to old school civil disobedience, civil rights protests and rallies, I’d be curious to know the origins of this story which tie our protagonist’s current search back to her missing father.

There are several layers here. We have the reporter searching for the truth, a daughter looking for her father, a woman realizing how her father’s abandonment of her is mirrored in her relationship to her husband, and the (highly-speculative) origins of one of the more unusual heroes in Astro City who manifests through different hosts to protect and defend those in danger. While I think ultimately that might be a bit too much to tackle and fully develop in a single issue, writer Kurt Busiek and artist Brent Anderson definitely provide an intriguing story that leaves the reader something to think about. Worth a look.

[Vertigo, $3.99]