Up first is a glimpse of Astro City's pride and joy: the Samaritan. But the real star of this story is his arch-enemy, an ageless sorcerer called the Infidel. This story was an interesting game of cat and mouse between the two adversaries as they search for weaknesses in each other's armor during a meal. Their uneasy truce reminds me of the strange relationship that the Wally West Flash had with the rogues. It was quite a good read. (Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.)
Next is the history of a heroine called Beauty. She's a life-sized version of the famous doll beloved by millions of girls worldwide. But where did she come from? And who built her? This was an intriguing mystery that I didn't want to end. Once I learned of her origin, I wanted to know what happened next. Plus, the art was an amazing rendering of another famous doll that name also starts with B... (Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.)
Our third tale stars Astra Furst of the First Family, an amalgam of the Fantastic Four and the Doom Patrol. Astra is the eldest granddaughter of the team's leader and she just graduated college. The sky is the literal limit for this budding young woman with superpowers as she's offered numerous positions on superhero squads, potential appointments to the throne of a mystic underwater kingdom, and much more on her first night of freedom. It was an enjoyable tale, but a little predictable and a tad too technical in some of its explanation of scientific phenomena. (Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.)
Lastly, we travel through time with the Silver Agent. Though this wasn't quite my favorite story in this collection, I really appreciated getting to learn about the hero's journey across the timeline. In the Dark Age storyline, the Silver Agent keeps jumping through time, warning of a terrible coming holocaust. But I didn't know what he was talking about or why he kept leaping back and forth in time- until now. Another story with some great art and a super awesome origin to boot. (Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.)
All four stories were released as either one-shots or two-parters. Since they were originally meant to be read as a group, I felt it was fair and unnecessary to rate each story individually. With an overall average rating of 8.75, this book mighty not seem to be such a good read. But don't let that score fool you. This collection was engaging, engrossing, and a read not only Worth Consuming but something I just couldn't put down.
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