brent anderson

Over its 25 years, Image Comics has carved out a reputation as the biggest non-superhero publisher in North American comics. Sure, it launched 25 years ago with books like Spawn, Youngblood, and so on, but it evolved into a company that embraces and celebrates genre diversity. Yet it was also at Image that a new superhero universe was created that gave us many of the best superhero stories of the past twenty years; Astro City, by Kurt Busiek, Alex Ross, and Brent Anderson.

This week we're turning to Astro City, the superhero meta-epic created by Kurt Busiek with artists Alex Ross and Brent Anderson. It originally launched at Image Comics way back in 1995, and now lives on at Vertigo. Astro City would work best as a big budget semi-anthology TV series. The superheroes would have recurring roles, but each episode would focus on a different character, whether it's one of them or one of the regular citizens. With that in mind, I've focused on a few of the earliest stories, with room to cast more down the road.

The 2013 queer coming of age movie Blue Is The Warmest Color, directed by Abdellatif Kechiche and starring Adèle Exarchopoulos and Léa Seydoux, has been acclaimed as one of the most emotionally complex and compelling movies of recent years. A beautiful story about two women's love for each other, and their eventual heartbreak, it's based on the graphic novel by Julie Maroh. The movie is available to watch on Hulu and Netflix, so if you've seen it once, there's a chance you've seen it two or three or four times. If you're thirsty for more sorrow, love, or troubled adolescent relationships, here are some creator-owned or independent comics that you can check out next.

Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice is in theaters worldwide right now, and whether you loved or hated it, it's certainly an interesting take on The Caped Crusader and The Man of Tomorrow. A great many independent comics have taken the core ideas of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and other iconic characters and given them a unique spin that could only be explored outside the confines of DC Comics mainstream continuity. If you're looking for superhero stories with a bit of an edge, we've got five of the best to recommend to you.

September 16th should become some kind of comic national holiday because it’s the birthday of both Mike Mignola and Kurt Busiek, and as far as making quality comics goes, that is one heck of a dynamic duo. Today is Busiek’s 55th birthday, and this month marks the 20th anniversary of Busiek’s ongoing masterpiece with Alex Ross and Brent Anderson; Astro City. In celebration, we’ve compiled a collection of some of Ross’ best covers to showcase how the world of Astro City has changed over the years.

Kurt Busiek, Brent Anderson and Alex Ross's Astro City turns 20 years old this month, marking two decades of --- and I say this without even a hint of my usual exaggeration --- one the most innovative and consistently great comics in the history of the superhero genre. To celebrate that pretty auspicious occasion, DC and Comixology have launched a massive sale on the series that runs until next Monday, the 21st. If you've never read the series, or even if you've just missed a few here and there and need to fill some holes in your run, then this is likely the best news you'll hear all week, but at the same time, it can be a little daunting. 20 years of comics can be a lot to get through, especially when it's all really good. So if you need some recommendations, I'm here to help.

In 1995, Kurt Busiek, Brent Anderson and Alex Ross launched Astro City, and in the years since, it's been one of the most consistently amazing superhero comics on the stands. Built around the idea of looking at the lives of superheroes from a perspective that didn't always follow the major cataclysms and battles of good against evil, Astro City gave us a person-on-the-street view of things like secret identities, flight, and even shifting continuity, in a way that no other comic ever had. With this week's Astro City #26, Busiek and Anderson celebrate the 20th year of their universe. To mark the occasion, I spoke to them about how their process has changed over the course of two decades, the way the stories are built, and their favorite moments from the book's long history.

Ever since its return in 2013, Kurt Busiek, Brent Anderson and Alex Ross's Astro City has been one of those comics that's so consistently great that it's almost pointless to talk about how great it is. That story about the superhero call center from #2 and #3 was one of the best superhero stories of all time, perfectly nailing the conceit of superheroes seen through the eyes of normal people and what that means for the world. And the series isn't showing any signs of slowing down. If anything, it's getting better, because we're finally getting around to a story about a gorilla who just wants to play drums in a rock 'n' roll band.

This week marks the premiere of Gotham, the new Fox television show focusing on Jim Gordon's first year as a cop in Batman's hometown, and the origins of young Bruce Wayne and the people who will one day become the greatest enemies of his war on crime. That the show exists at all is a testament to how strong Jim Gordon and the rest of the Gotham city Police Department are as heroes in their own rights. So if Gotham has you in the mood to read about Gordon, Harvey Bullock and the rest of the GCPD -- or if you just want to dive into some solid Batman comics where the spotlight isn't entirely on the Dark Knight -- then I've got some suggestions for great comics about Gotham's top cops!

Since it began nearly 20 years (!) ago, writer Kurt Busiek and artist Brent Anderson's Astro City has offered up superhero tales from the perspective of the regular humans who encounter them. Clearly, it's proven to be a concept with some serious longevity. The creative team is still coming up with fresh concepts. Take the newest issue for example. On sale now, issue #14 of the Vertigo series focuses on an elderly woman named Ellie who runs a roadside museum -- the kind one often finds on long drives out West -- full of what seem to be busted-up robot henchmen. To the superheroes who destroyed them on their way to taking down a supervillain, they were just another obstacle. To Ellie, they're showpieces, and, as the title indicates, friends.