Summary

Astro City is an anthology series that focuses on a large cast of characters, from small cameo roles of a few panels to full center stage attention spanning several issues. Most of the characters live within Astro City, a center for super-powered beings and most stories take place there. Some issues are told from the viewpoint of heroes, some from the vantage point of average people, others from villains and shady criminals. Stories also vary greatly in length, from one issue to sixteen in the case of the story arc, Dark Age, whose main viewpoint was that of Charles and Royal Williams, two brothers in their early adult years living in Astro City. Stories often reflect particular tropes in superhero stories: that heroes have a unique "rogue's gallery" of villains they fight, that heroes from outside New York city have powers/names that reflect where they live, and even specific trends in superhero comics (the Dark Age story arc, for instance, revolved around the gritty style of superhero stories that appeared following the publication of Alan Moore's "Watchmen" series).