Longtime ASTRO CITY readers will likely remember Michael Tenicek, who was memorably introduced in the Eisner-nominated “The Nearness of You,” which many people consider to be the best Astro City story ever written. (If you haven’t read it, you can read it for free digitally right now in ASTRO CITY #1/2.) This week, just shy of five years later, we look in once again on Michael to see what he’s been up to in the quietly affecting ASTRO CITY #50.

Now older, Michael runs a support group for people whose lives have been damaged in some way by the constant clash of heroes and villains that are the norm in Astro City. While Kurt Busiek and Brent E. Anderson’s long running Vertigo series has always taken a more thoughtful approach to the superhero genre, this issue shows the human toll that superheroics can take on a society, even when they’re done in the very best of intentions. After most battles, the triumphant heroes simply pick up and move on to their next challenge. But as we see in this exclusive sneak peek at the issue, it’s not always as easy for the everyday people impacted by the battle to do the same.

ASTRO CITY #50 by Kurt Busiek, Brent E. Anderson, Alex Ross and Peter Pantazis is in stores this Wednesday.