By: Kurt Busiek (story), Brent Eric Anderson (art), Wendy Broome (colors)
The Story: Family is always there for each other—even if it’s one of robots.
The Review: Part of the beauty of Astro City is its revolving door of new characters and how it places less emphasis on playing with the same core cast. Sure, the Honor Guard shows up on a monthly basis, but mostly as tangential figures, costumed eye-candy if you will. You can thus treat every issue of Astro City as a debut issue, with minimal strings of continuity to untangle and Busiek reliably delivering every fact you need to appreciate the story.
Which is why it’s a little jarring to run into an issue where weak backstory actually has the effect of a bump in the road. It’s only a small bump—as far as our protagonist goes, we get plenty of information to keep us grounded—but because the deficiency concerns our antagonist, it’s enough to rattle you. Most of the time, Busiek makes understanding of the villains’ motivations unnecessary, as the true conflict of any given issue usually arises from within a character. But Vivian Vincentia Viktor is solely responsible for introducing conflict into the happy-go-lucky Ellie’s life; that requires a little more insight than what Busiek ultimately offers.
While Ellie hand-feeds you the basics of Vivi’s antipathy toward her, she only scratches the surface of its source. Vivi’s protectiveness over their research is fueled by family tragedy that’s barely defined. “The horrific murder of your parents and brother by the FBI alone,” Ellie laments, implying even more troubles besides. But we never see the effects of these events, only their product: an uptight, selfish woman prone to melodramatic overreaction (“You—you’ll pay for this! I’ll destroy you! I’LL DESTROY YOU!” In other words, Vivi’s your everyday supervillain, which is disappointing from the usually archetype-defying Busiek.
In his defense, it’s really Ellie’s development that’s integral to this two-parter. This is not a case where a vulnerable old bird suddenly discovers the hidden strength inside herself; within a few pages, Ellie reveals that she’s always been a strong woman, even after Vivi broke her, and no amount of idealism and oddness (“Excuse me, Mr. Judge, sir…but could we have some tea?“) can disguise how perceptive she really is. Within seconds, she sadly pinpoints Vivi’s fatal weakness (“Really, dear. Impulsiveness always was your worst trait.”) and cheerfully punctures all of Fred’s whiny defensiveness:
“But you’re weak, Fred. You’ve always been weak. Can’t make a business work, can’t make a marriage work. Ran through your inheritance like water. And it’s always someone else’s fault, isn’t it?”
Perhaps Busiek makes her too competent in the end. Although it takes the timely intervention of Arthur (one of her pet robots) to free her from prison, at no point does she ever seem really threatened by anything. Consequently, you can almost sense Busiek pursing his lips as he tries to find the right resolution for the arc. There are a lot of suitable moments: Vivi’s capture, Fred’s departure, the Honor Guard’s admiration, but none feel like a satisfying end for Ellie’s story.
Anderson always seems uncomfortable when Astro City shifts into its superhero gear, and he seems especially so in this issue. There’s a panel in which American Chibi and a brawny hero I don’t recognize look so out of proportion as to be almost grotesque, and even when the characters are shapely, the perspective is so flat and disjointed that no real energy comes into the scene. His strength lies in drawing recognizable, fully humanized characters; Ellie may be like no person you’ll ever meet, but she sure looks like someone you’d know very well.
Conclusion: Enjoyable, but without the usual depth of character and meaning you’ve come to expect from the series.
Grade: B-
– Minhquan Nguyen
Some Musings: – Why would a robot have to wear a bee suit to harvest honey? Unless it’s to keep the little buggers from flying in and clogging up its innards.
– I’m hoping Fred ends up a penniless alcoholic. That’d be the most appropriate fate for him.