Kurt Busiek’s Astro City (1996) 2

Kurt Busiek’s Astro City (1996) 2
Oct 1996

Everyday Life
By Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson

Astra is the youngest member of the First Family. She is about 10 years old and has superpowers. She is the third generation of the family. She doesn’t know what it is like to be a normal kid. She has been home-schooled and doesn’t have any friends her own age.

The First Family seems like it is supposed to be Astro City’s version of the Fantastic Four. It isn’t the same as Marvel’s FF but it resembles them in one superficial way: it is a team of heroes who are also family. The story isn’t about the team as a whole, just Astra, but there is some background information provided on the group, how it got started, etc.

Alias (2001) 27

Alias (2001) 27
Dec 2003

Purple (Part 4 of 5)
By Brian Michael Bendis, Michael Gaydos

Jessica meets with Killgrave. He is acts strange. He talks about them like they are characters in a comic book. It makes no sense to Jessica. She can’t tell if he has gone around the bend or is doing this to annoy her, to deny her what she wants.

Jessica leaves the Raft empty-handed. Her goal was to get him to admit to some of the murders and disappearances that have not been officially attributed to him.

New Teen Titans (1980) 30

New Teen Titans (1980) 30
Apr 1983

Nightmare!
By Marv Wolfman, George Perez, Romeo Tanghal

Kid Flash, Frances, and Speedy let their guard down. They think that the Brotherhood of Evil is down for the count but it isn’t. The super villains catch them off guard and knock out the three heroes. Their mission is to kidnap Raven. Warp uses his abilities to track Raven and the villains leave Titans Tower.

Terra shows Changeling where she’s been living, inside a run down apartment in the Brooklyn Bridge. She also shows him her new costume. Afterwards they head for Titans Tower.

Kurt Busiek’s Astro City (1996) 1

Kurt Busiek’s Astro City (1996) 1
Sep 1996

Welcome to Astro City
By Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson

Ben Pullam has just moved from Boston to Astro City with his daughters, Faith and Meg. He takes them around town. They see statues to Air Ace and Silver Agent and pass by Loony Leo’s restaurant on a bus. They witness a battle between a large group of superheroes and a god-like being named Thunderhead. Ben wonders if he made a mistake in moving them to Astro City but by the end of the issue he feels more confident about his decision.

Alias (2001) 26

Alias (2001) 26
Nov 2003

Purple (Part 3 of 5)
By Brian Michael Bendis, Michael Gaydos

Jessica continues to tell Luke her story. The Avengers caught up to her and beat her up. She was still under the control of the Purple Man at the time. She went into a coma. Jean Grey coaxed her out of the coma. Nick Fury offered her a job as the SHIELD liaison to the Avengers. She didn’t want the job.

After she recovers she goes to the Raft (a maximum security prison for super villains). Agent Quartermain goes with her. She is there to confront Killgrave, the Purple Man.

New Teen Titans (1980) 29

New Teen Titans (1980) 29
Mar 1983

First Blood!
By Marv Wolfman, George Perez, Romeo Tanghal

The Brotherhood of Evil returns. They were in the last issue but in this one their purpose becomes a little more clear. Under orders from their leader, the Brain, they fly to the United States. Their plan is to kidnap Raven. The plane they are in is piloted by one of Brother Blood’s men. I guess they thought they had him under their control but about halfway across the Atlantic the pilot (who turns out to be a robot) crashes the plane into the ocean.

Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit 2.3

Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit Vol 1
By Motoro Mase

Episode 2: The Last Song

Act 3

Torio goes through with the radio performance. The show is a half-hour long and begins 30 minutes before Torio is scheduled to die.

There is a lot of cutting back and forth between Torio and Hidekazu, who is unconscious, near death and in a hospital. Torio is extremely nervous about his choice. It isn’t until the last minute that he finds his confidence. Instead of playing the song the promoter wants him to play he goes with one that Hidekazu wrote for them.

Fantastic Four 493

Fantastic Four 493
Feb 2003

Sentient (Part 3 of 3)
By Mark Waid, Mike Wieringo, Karl Kesel

Stuff gets wrapped up fairly neatly once Mr. Fantastic returns with a solution. He has created a duplicate of himself to pair with Modulus, the living mathematical expression. Modulus tries to resist and wrecks Reed’s lab. It doesn’t phase Reed. He’s got Modulus’s number and pretty quickly talks him into doing the right thing.

I’m a bit underwhelmed by the final installment in this story. The art is stunning but the story itself lacks the depth I was hoping for. There are suggestions of depth but this isn’t the deep dive I was hoping for.

New Teen Titans (1980) 28

New Teen Titans (1980) 28
Feb 1983

Terra in the Night
By Marv Wolfman, George Perez, Romeo Tanghal

Changeling encounters Terra (last seen in New Teen Titans 26) once again. He tries to stop her as she is fleeing the scene after robbing a bank. She evades capture by the green Titan. He catches up to her at the zoo. He’s more successful this time around. He knocks her out and flies back to Titans Tower with her.

Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit 2.2

Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit Vol 1
By Motoro Mase

Episode 2: The Last Song

Act 2

Days go by. Torio gets a gig to play on the radio. He still thinks about Hidekazu who also thinks about Torio. Neither of them reach out or attempt to make contact.

One day Torio gets home and finds a door tag telling him that someone attempted to deliver an Ikigami. He’s freaked out. He eventually calls. Fujimoto comes by in the middle of the night to officially deliver the notice that Torio is about to die. It is a requirement of the job. The Ikigami is an official document. It comes with certain privileges.