Astro City #23

   In the late '80s I interviewed iconic DC Editor Julius Schwartz, and he confirmed that DC did research on sales in the late '50s / early '60s  that confirmed that their comics sold more copies when they put a gorilla on the cover.

   Astro City has finally tackled the time-honored "talking gorilla" trope with a terrific story (or the first part of one) called "Sticks."

   It's about an intelligent gorilla who has a dream that brought him to the big city - he wants to play drums in a band. (I admit, I immediately thought of the animatronic band, The Rockafire Explosion - but that gorilla plays the keyboard. Is it just me?)

   Of course, this being Astro City, other events interfere,  and we wonder if fate has other plans for Sticks.

   The issue is a heck of a lot of fun, as we learn about a previously-unknown corner of the world, learn the origin for Sticks and his race, and throw in some terrific action sequences, too.

   As always, writer Kurt Busiek and artist Brent Eric Anderson turn in fantastic, top-notch work. Surely every comics fan in existence would love this comic.

   And you have to love the Alex Ross cover - certainly Julie never thought of having a gorilla shooting a selfie!

Grade: A

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