Kurt Busiek always manages to tell unique stories with his Astro City series, and issue #49 is no different. Louisa Garneau is a reporter who is always chasing a story. While covering a protest that was attacked by a terrorist group and defended by the new hero Resistor, she caught a hint of her father, a brilliant scientist who was always leaving Louisa and her mom to join one protest or another. She decides to chase protests in the hopes of learning more about Resistor for a story, with the underlying mission of finding her long lost father. What she discovers is both hopeful and bittersweet.
I enjoy Astro City's hero-focused stories a lot. But Busiek excels at the smaller character moments that happen around the supers. Astro City #49 is a perfect example of this. Louisa is involved in a superhero story, but the true focus is on the broken relationship she has with her father. Busiek also has taken a moment to reflect on the current political climate, with our nation's focus on protests for various rights and the violence that surrounds some of these protests. As far as Resistor goes, he is a hero who fits the climate of the story, but there is very little time spent on what he is and how he does it. As I said, this is a father/daughter relationship story that just happens to take place in a superpowered world.
I enjoyed Astro City #49. It wasn't my favorite Kurt Busiek story, but it did show his skill at getting down to the personal level. This is a good one off story for fans looking to sample Busiek's Astro City. As an aside, it appears that Astro City #50 will be a sequel to probably the best Astro City story, "The Nearness of You". This is the perfect example of Busiek's skill at writing ordinary people caught up in extraordinary events and the consequences that often follow. Be on the lookout for it.
I received a preview copy of this book from DC Comics in exchange for an honest review.
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