For a couple of volumes now, the mysterious Broken Man has been floating in and out of continuity; warning readers of some terrible doom. In Astro City, Volume 16: Broken Melody, many (but not all) of the questions of the Broken Man's origin are explored. Also, we get an in-depth look at the importance of Astro City's music scene and it's long history of music genre themed superheroes.
Somewhere in the middle of this volume is the 100th issue ever published about one of my favorite comic book cities. It explores the controversial origin and history of the Astro-Naut. This Clark Kent/Tony Stark/Howard Hughes hybrid is whom the city gets it's moniker. It was a wild 1940s era ride.
This entire volume was absolutely fantastic. Every story was top notch stuff from Kurt Busiek, Brent Anderson and Alex Ross. I also pride myself at solving the mystery behind this entire story before the big reveal!
Astro City hasn't dropped in quality. But Broken Melody is one of the best volumes in this series. And it's the best story arc I have read since Volume 14: Reflections; the Tarnished Angel sequel.
If you read one non-main stream superhero this year- this volume is in a very close tie for the one I recommend. Jeff Lemire's Black Hammer, Volume 1 is the other honoree.
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.
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