Reviewer: Kevin S. Mahoney
Story Title: Thicker Than Water
Written by: Kurt Busiek
Art by: Brent E. Anderson
Color art by: Alex Sinclair
Lettered by: John Roshell of Comicraft
Editor: Ben Abernathy
Publisher: Wildstorm Signature/Juke Box Productions
This may well be the story Astro City fans have waited for since the genesis of the series. This tale promises to reveal the tragic fate of the Silver Agent, AKA Alan Craig, who had something bad enough happen to him that it eventually motivates the citizens of AC to erect a monument to him, which also embraces their shame. That is one hell of a dramatic plot hook. As a straight-up superhero tale, it seems can’t miss. Fortunately for all concerned, this book never does “just” a straight-up superhero story. This title concerns the people living amongst the heroes, and readers are reintroduced to the contradictory Williams brothers this issue. The internal and external interplay (their thoughts as well as their actions) of the two siblings promises to be the human face of sixteen of the next nineteen issues of this series.
Fans of great characterization and period fiction rejoice, as they should. While the gendarme/thief parallel is a shopworn staple of fiction, Busiek succeeds in making it look good. Both brothers exist as complex three-dimensional people, in a setting that exists as both an iconic representation of an America from a bygone decade and a haven for the hyper-realistic heroes that the series has made famous. In addition, for those readers who have already read the Arrowsmith/Astro City Flip-book, it’s a kick to see the brothers as grown-ups. Those same readers are also chagrinned about the single panel flashbacks alluding to the eminent disaster that closed the aforementioned previous issue. Busiek has a longstanding practice of teasing his readers with single details of stories to come, and this installment is no exception.
The art in this story keeps pace with the writing; that means it is meaty, well-researched, inordinately detailed, fun, and unique. Everything from the material fixtures of the time to the semi-Roddenberry look of the hero pajamas proves a love for getting the details right that no other book can match. While it is true that less than average on panel hero action happens this issue, that seems only fair considering this is the initial issue of a huge arc. Much heavy lifting will be required if two decades worth of hero-entrenched history will be covered in the next fifteen or so installments. The sooner that toil is completed, the smoother and sweeter the remaining chapters.
There are many small amenities that push AC from one of the better books on today’s market to one of the obvious best. This issue contains a letters page which not only outlines the format of over a year’s worth of upcoming issues, it answers questions from previous arcs and gives valuable reader reference information on past continuity. Combine that with the event-packed next issue blurb, and the series’ chronological tapestry feel, and this issue would be as easy to fathom for a new reader as for an old hand. The series also has its own website (with exclusive content) and fan-friendly message board (for quicker answers to those burning questions). This is one series that is easy to get into, then very hard to leave.
