This trade paperback is better qualified to be called a "graphic novel" than many such publications I have seen. My interpretation of the proper meaning of the term "novel" is that, at the very least, one or more of the major characters should have undergone significant and long-lasting changes in some fashion by the time the story concludes. As you might guess, I don't always get that, especially in stories that are just one more installment in a long-running series about some "action hero" type, such as James Bond's books or Batman's comics. But Kurt Busiek appears to have some understanding of my point of view, judging by his work throughout the 90s. It helps that he has a flair for characterization and gives relatively little attention to the endless fight sequences that some people seem to feel are the most interesting part of any superhero story.

Confession was a six-issue storyline which originally ran in the comic book titled "Kurt Busiek's Astro City." Writer Kurt Busiek (obviously, considering the title!) created the series and owns all its characters himself, and since different stories focus on different inhabitants of "Astro City," Busiek is perfectly capable of killing or otherwise drastically changing any given character at any time, without ruining the one and only "indispensable" hero of the book, since there isn't one, and without any fear of having his decision reversed a year later by some other writer who has been brought in by the corporate owners to replace him, as has been known to happen with controversial storylines in books owned by Marvel or DC.

This particular story is narrated throughout by young Brian Kinney, a teenage orphan who arrives in Astro City (renowned worldwide as the home of a great many superheroes) with a burning ambition. He wants to make something of himself! He wants to be widely admired for his achievements! He wants to get a job as a superhero sidekick and get the training and experience he'll need to become a famous superhero in his own right after he's all grown up! It's always nice to see a youngster who has a good, solid career goal in mind, isn't it?

Remarkably enough, the sidekick part actually happens fairly quickly. He had a plan, you see: He'd get a job as a busboy at a bar & grill that's run by an old retired crimefighter, and wait for a chance to impress one of the still-active heroes who come in as regular customers. The owner quickly figures out his motives and refers him to a more high-class and exclusive private club that also caters to superhero types. How exclusive is it? It's so exclusive that if you approach the building and the on-duty telepath doesn't think you can be trusted to keep quiet about any secret identities that you might learn while working there, you will never even make it as far as the front door! He'll just nudge your brain a little and make you turn around and walk away, having lost interest in the whole thing! Or at least that's what we're told -- we never actually meet this telepath. The whole thing might even be an urban legend for all we know.

Soon enough, Brian comes to the attention of the enigmatic costumed crusader (flowing black clothes and a big white crucifix painted across the front that adds up to make this guy look rather priestly) known as the Confessor. The Confessor trains him in martial arts (though Brian already knew something about that), makes him study endless dossiers of known criminals, makes him study technical skills such as examining fingerprints, and lets him tag along to help fight street criminals and such. The whole thing is strongly reminiscent of the "Batman and Robin" concept, except that the Confessor is, if anything, even creepier than Batman in some ways. And much more mysterious: We all know Batman's origin story (in one variation or another) but nobody in Astro City seems to know much of anything about the Confessor, and he doesn't feel any need to share his autobiography with his new apprentice right away, either. Instead, when Brian starts asking personal questions, the Confessor tells him to practice being a detective and see how many of the Confessor's secrets he can deduce from external evidence first!

Brian is barely getting the chance to start enjoying being a novice celebrity (the Confessor's new partner, mentioned in the media upon occasion) when things go downhill in a hurry, as a mysterious (but probably supernaturally powered) serial killer starts running up a body count in one part of town, and the residents of Astro City start wondering why those high-and-mighty superheroes can't seem to locate and stop the fellow, and some even start wondering if the serial killer could be hiding right out in plain sight by pretending to be a superhero himself so that the police will automatically consider him one of the "good" weirdoes instead of putting him high on a list of suspects. Meanwhile, a race of shapechanging aliens have been preparing to launch their invasion of earth, although no one else is really aware of this (the problem had first been established in a previous issue of the Astro City comic book, so I knew what was going on when further hints were dropped in the earlier chapters of this story).

The story is considerably more complicated than this before everything is wrapped up, but this ought to be enough to show you the general idea. As I said, this qualifies as a novel since there are drastic changes (and not just for Brian) which occur in the course of events, and a strong resolution that makes it all worthwhile. Remember, I had to wait at least a month after each installment before I found out what happened next, since I first read this as the comic book was coming out. You'll have it a lot easier than I did! After the trade paperback came out (yes, I know the Epinions listing says it's only available in hardback, but don't believe it!) I gave it to one of my sisters for Christmas. She's not a regular buyer of superhero comics, but she is a reader and I figured she'd be able to appreciate a complete storyline that actually shows real character development instead of just one slugfest after another.

Oh yes, the art was fine as well. I particularly liked the detail in the Confessor's clothes, but I still would have given it to my sister even if I had thought the art was only mediocre, as long as the writing was so well-crafted.

Recommended: Yes