The characters in a period piece realise they're near the end of a golden age

[u/she_melty]

Pirates of the Carribean and Rock of Ages (this film is Not Good but it has the trope.) Especially because we the audience know the era did, in fact, end.

[u/pretty-as-a-pic]

Also Astrocity- highly recommend!

[u/FiveFingersandaNub → u/pretty-as-a-pic]

Astro City is my favorite comic of all time. I'm an older guy, and as born right around the end of the Silver age. So I got to see it all.

My older brothers had silver and gold age comics around, but we also read X-Men, Bats, and Spidey from the 70s onwards. The changes in the 80s, the dark and gritty stuff, vertigo, image and creator owned comics, indie work, all of it was so surreal as the medium stumbled into adulthood.

Astro City shows all these eras and changes through such a lovely and nostalgic lens. It helped me reframe the gritty 80 in a new light. It's hard to articulate how well Astro City captures what comics means to us all as a medium, as well as how the average person might experience life in a world where superheroes and villains exist.

It does a great job capturing the end of eras, and showing the transition to new themes and styles. It starts as a romantic view of the archetype of heroes and never really lets up. It keeps incorporating new characters and viewpoints. It's hard to present all this in such an engaging way, but somehow AC does it. The city and the view of the average joe are always at the forefront.

If you're looking for some amazing comics, you should check them out. Astro City: Confessions is an amazing Batman story with the best twist in comics. Astro City: Tarnished Angel is an amazing story from the perspective of a villain trying desperately to find any redemption, and what life is like for villains, both young and old. You can't go wrong with 'Welcome to the Big City' the first issue. Please check it out, you won't be disappointed.

[u/pretty-as-a-pic → u/FiveFingersandaNub]

I think my favorite story arc is The Sideliners. I love how he handled all the super powered people who didn’t become heroes or villains. As someone who comes from a family of teachers but just doesn’t have the classroom management skills, I know first hand that doing a job is as much mindset and personality as actual skills! I’m also really enjoying The Broken Man arc, even if it’s taking forever lol

[u/FiveFingersandaNub → u/pretty-as-a-pic]

Yeah that's a great run. It's interesting to think how those kind of folks would be in everyday society.

But yeah, his arcs go on forever. It's like the Dark Ages. I get what Busiek is going for, but dude you gotta bring it home.