On the Dark Side

Astro City: The Dark Age, Book Two #4

Okay, the main problem with this series is that it doesn’t come out often enough, so it’s hard to keep remember what the heck was going on the last time I read it. Basically, we’re following two estranged brothers, Charles Williams, a cop, and Royal Williams, a crook. It’s 1977, and thanks to a battle between two supervillains, half of Astro City has been infected with negative emotions and are either trying to kill each other or themselves. The Silver Agent shows up to help out — but isn’t he dead? And Royal finds his brother Charles, shot in the back by crooked cops, and with all the chaos in the city, he has no way to summon help for his brother.

Verdict: Thumbs up. As always, you wish that Busiek had time to tell more of the stories of some of these minor characters, like Jitterjack, Black Velvet, and Street Angel. At any rate, it’s well worth getting, but if I were you, I’d wait for the trade paperback. You may have trouble finding the earlier issues of this series, and if you miss those, you miss too much.

Batman #669

It’s the final chapter of the “Club of Heroes” saga, with assassins trying to off Batman, Robin, and the rest of the “Batmen of All Nations.” The Squire has a bomb in his stomach, the sidekicks have been kidnapped, and several different people are masquerading as someone else. Can I say more without spoiling the surprises? No, I can’t. Sorry, but it’s too good to spoil. Go buy it, or wait for the trade paperback.

Verdict: Thumbs up, obviously.