Astro City returns to Image with a swingin' '60s flashback tale

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Astro City returns to Image Comics with a one-shot set way back in 1969

Astro City: That Was Then #1
(Image credit: Image Comics)

The shape of Astro City's return to Image Comics is beginning to show its form with Image's announcement of Astro City: That Was Then, a one-shot that delves into a mystery from Astro City's past from the core Astro City creative team of writer Kurt Busiek, artists Alex Ross, Brent Anderson, and Alex Sinclair, and letterers Comicraft.

(Image credit: Image Comics)

The one-shot focuses on the story of The Jayhawks, a mysterious group from Astro City's past who inspired a team of five aspiring sidekicks to take a crime-fighting road trip way back in the post-'summer of love' era of 1969. 

The mystery of the Jayhawks and the teen heroes they inspired will bring in "new and existing heroes" to uncover what the legacy of the Jayhawks means for Astro City's future.

Astro City: That Was Then marks a return to Image Comics for the Astro City franchise, which was launched through Image way back in 1995. Prior to its Image return, Astro City was published for several years through DC. 

To mark Astro City's return to Image, several high profile Image Comics artists including Erik Larsen, Marcelo Costa, Leandro Fernández, Jamie McKelvie, Chip Zdarsky, and Rob Guillory will throw their talents behind the That Was Then one-shot for a variety of variant covers that mash-up Astro City with the artists' own characters, including Radiant Black, Savage Dragon, The Wicked & The Divine, Chew, and more.

Here's a gallery of all the covers for Astro City: That Was Then #1, along with several interior pages:

Image 1 of 10
Astro City: That Was Then #1
(Image credit: Image Comics)

Astro City: That Was Then #1 is due for release on March 30, 2022.

There's no better place to pick up a copy of Astro City: That Was Then #1 than at your local comic shop.

George Marston
George Marston
Entertainment Writer

I've been Newsarama's resident Marvel Comics expert and general comic book historian since 2011, and now I'm the Entertainment Writer at GamesRadar+. I've also been the on-site reporter at most major comic conventions such as Comic-Con International: San Diego, New York Comic Con, and C2E2. Outside of comic journalism, I am the artist of many weird pictures, and the guitarist of many heavy riffs. (They/Them)