Kurt Busiek's Astro City #3
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeKurt Busiek's Astro City Vol. 2 #3 (November 1996) delivers the first full-length spotlight on the First Family — Astro City's richly layered analog to Marvel's Fantastic Four — making it the definitive introduction to that team's complex mythology of science, interdimensional adventure, and inherited legacy. Narrated entirely through the perspective of ten-year-old Astra Furst, the issue inverts the classic superhero adventure story: the genuine dramatic tension is not a world-ending threat but a child's quiet longing for a normal life, a then-radical narrative inversion that showed what Busiek's anthology approach could accomplish that mainstream superhero books rarely attempted. The issue also marks the first appearances of Monstro City, the villain Skrek, and the first on-page reference to Madame Majestrix, expanding the series' worldbuilding significantly. Part of the overall 'Adventures in Other Worlds' two-parter, it was later collected in the award-nominated Astro City: Family Album trade paperback, cementing its place as one of the run's most revisited character studies.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
The issue was published under Homage Comics, an Image Comics imprint associated with WildStorm, as the third installment of Astro City's second ongoing volume, which launched in September 1996. Written by Kurt Busiek and pencilled by Brent Anderson — the series' core creative partnership since its 1995 debut — the issue was inked by Will Blyberg, colored by Alex Sinclair, and lettered by John Roshell of Comicraft, with a painted cover by Alex Ross. According to fan annotation records compiled in 1998, the in-story student artwork visible in a classroom scene quietly pays tribute to the creative team, labeling drawings with 'Kurt B.,' 'Alex S.,' and 'Brent A.' — a characteristic bit of self-referential warmth from Busiek. The series was riding the momentum of its Eisner and Harvey Awards for Best New Series at the time this issue appeared.
Trivia · 7 facts
- First full-length spotlight issue for the First Family, Astro City's Fantastic Four analog, consisting of Augustus Furst, Julius Furst, Nick Furst, Natalie Furst, Rex (Rex Majestros), and young Astra Furst (Astrid Ljinders).
- First appearance of Monstro City (the subterranean/undersea domain ruled by Madame Majestrix) and first appearance of the villain Skrek, per contemporary fan annotation records.
- First on-panel reference to Madame Majestrix (ruler of Monstro City and mother of Rex), as well as appearances by recurring antagonists Praetor, Lord Volcanus, and Kratorr.
- Story title is 'Adventures in Other Worlds, Part 1'; the issue is narrated in first person by Astra Furst, age 10, making her the focal point rather than the adult heroes.
- Written by Kurt Busiek, pencilled by Brent Anderson, inked by Will Blyberg, colored by Alex Sinclair, lettered by Comicraft's John Roshell, with a painted cover by Alex Ross.
- Reprinted in the trade paperback Astro City: Family Album, which collects Astro City Vol. 2 #1–3 and #10–13 and was itself a top vote-getter for the Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Award for Favorite Reprint Graphic Album of 1999.
- The Family Album collection, which preserves this issue, includes an introduction by author Harlan Ellison and has been reissued in multiple editions, most recently as part of Image's ongoing Astro City Metrobook reprint program (Vol. 1, 2022).
Cast · 13 characters
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Reprints
Reprinted in Kurt Busiek's Astro City Family Album #[nn] (1998), Kurt Busiek's Astro City: Family Album #[nn] (1999), Kurt Busiek's Astro City: Family Album #[nn] (1999), Astro City - Album de famille #[nn] (2000), Astro City: Family Album #[nn] (2015), Astro City Metrobook #1 (2022)
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