BB Review Group week 271 - Astro City: The Dark Age Book 4 #1 (Spoilers)

**Ray G.** · 01-27-2010, 12:15 PM

This week we are reading: Astro City: The Dark Age Book Four #1 (Wildstorm) written by Kurt Busiek and drawn by Brent Anderson.

Cover

Our reviewers this week are:

dEnny
The Kiai
Disney-Owned Corpse
Taxman

We are also reviewing Batman and Robin #7:

http://www.606studios.com/bendisboar...d.php?t=187973

New Rule: If you vote for the winning book in the review thread, you must review within a month of the book's release! Effective as of week 243, by public demand. If you did not vote for the winning book, just drop in and review, and I'll add your name to the list for this week.

This week the Alternative Review Group is reading:

The Squirrel Machine HC by Hans Rickheit (Fantagraphics Books, 09/10)

- http://www.606studios.com/bendisboar....php?p=6594296

The voting for next weeks book will begin Thursday

Our previous reviews:

**ATTN: There has been a change in how we are allowed to review older books. Please feel free to review any of the 24 most recent books at any time. If you would like to review a book older than that please PM me first, those threads are over 6 months old they are locked. If you'd like to review one of those books I'll create a new thread and link to the original.

Spoiler:

Our higest average grades so far were for Underground #1 with 9.7, Pride of Baghdad with 9.66, and Daredevil #82 with 9.64

Our lowest average grade so far Wildsiderz #0 with 2.9

Our Sponsor: Isotope Comics (SF Bay area)

What we do: This is a fanbased review group, open to everybody.

As people post the reviews, I will add your name and score to a list in the main post and at the end of the week average the scores for an overall grade on the book. We grade on a scale of 0-10, the meanings of which roughly translate to:

10 - Everything I want in a comic, an instant classic
9 - Excellent, a nearly perfect read
8 - Highly recommended but it has minor flaws
7 - Very good, it does have some problems
6 - Above average but has deep flaws
5 - An average comic
4 - Below average, the flaws outweigh the good
3 - A disappointing comic
2 - Forgettable, a waste of time
1 - Stay away!! One of the worst comics I've read

Anyone who participates is asked to please keep this scale in mind when giving a grade so that everyone is operating on the same system.

THERE IS NO OBLIGATION TO PARTICIPATE EVERY WEEK. Please join in as little or as much as you like week to week. If you are uncomfortable giving a grade then just join in the discussions and ask questions.

**Kingsumo** · 01-28-2010, 01:12 PM

I am honestly not sure what to make of this book. It is actually a continuation of the last mini they did, and apparently part 4 of an over-arching story, so I really am not sure what a lot of the names thrown out mean.

Despite that, and with just the impressions of going into a story cold, I think it was actually pretty well written. Whether or not they are new, you get the feeling that the two brothers have gone through a lot to get where they are, and I am curious to see where it will go as they track down the main villain.

The art was pretty decent, and I did love the Alex Ross cover of the green man.

As for the cons of the story, well here the history of the characters kind of acts as a double edged sword. I don't know if I should now more about them as it is late in the run, or if certain aspects should have more impact then they do.

General impressions wise though, I will give it a 7/10.

**Superior Kiai** · 02-01-2010, 05:20 AM

Let me start by saying I hope Book Four is the last chapter in the Dark Age saga for Astro City. Because even though I've enjoyed Charles and Royal's revenge trip through the 1970's and 80's Astro City, this whole story is due a conclusion very soon.

Now, as a continuation of the whole Dark Age storyline, this book delivers, even if only a little bit. The end game is starting to materialize and you can already see the price the brothers have had to pay for this whole ordeal. I'm sure further chapters will keep exploring this.

Now, I do agree that this book fails miserably as any sort of entry point into the Astro City universe and storyline, which is a criticism I heard from some people in my shop, but this being book four of an ongoing storyline, that was obviously never the intention.

It was slow, very introductory, and at this point in the story no issue should be, but overall enjoyable.

C

Spoiler:

**RebootedCorpse** · 02-11-2010, 05:24 PM

It seems like we've been reading about these two guys for years and I don't understand why this is a first issue.
That said, this continues to be one of my favorite booksand this issue holds up well with the rest of the series.
My score: 8.15.

**Taxman** · 03-04-2010, 03:10 PM

Astro City is a book which never disappoints. Few books seem to be able to draw on such a rich mythology and back story without being focused on the same characters over the life of the comic. By only brushing on and implying the details of this complex superhero universe, Busiek is been able to tell much more concise and fully realized stories about character who frequently achieve immense depth for a comic book story.

This issue was the first of the culmination of probably the most ambitious storyline in the book's history. While still telling a character centric story, Busiek uses Astro City as the back drop to tell a tale of America. The tumultuous and confusing days of the 70's are reflected in the the conflicts of the books costumed characters both old and new.

While action oriented, this issue continues to pierce new layers of the rich Astro City mythology. While exciting, well written and fast paced, the issue is heavily reliant on the 12 prior issues it took to get to this point. Entertaining, but it did not feel like a good jumping on point.

8

**Master Jack Rabbitt** · 03-12-2010, 12:37 PM

I feel like I'm losing a lot of interest in this overall story. It's been going on for too long - at least publication wise. Had this 16-part story come out on a more regular basis, this would probably be more satisfying. As for this issue, Brent Anderson continues to deliver solid work on Astro City, as always. Busiek actually put out a strong script for this issue and it was competently done, but I just don't know how much I care any more. I'm still trying to figure out how this story is going to end for our main characters and I'm not overly happy with some of the character development for them, either.

In short, pretty damn good issue, but I'm losing interest, anyways.

7.75/10