Marta Dobrescu

MARTA DOBRESCU

Real Name: Marta Dobrescu

Class: Human magic-user

Occupation: Lawyer

Group Affiliation: None

Known Relatives: Nicu (father, deceased), unnamed grandmother (deceased), unnamed mother (deceased)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Shadow Hill, Astro City, Earth-Astro City

First Appearance: Kurt Busiek’s Astro City I (Image) #4 (November, 1995)

Powers: Marta Dobrescu was a skilled lawyer specializing in estates, and knew some magic spells, including those of warding and summoning the spirits of the dead.

History: (Kurt Busiek’s Astro City I (Image) #4) - Marta Dobrescu lived in the Shadow Hill section of Astro City, where the presence of the supernatural was everywhere. She gained a knowledge of the occult at a young age from her grandmother who was from the old country, and as an adult kept herself safe with charms, ward and minor spells. She made a daily commute to Astro City proper, where she worked at the prestigious law firm Grant, Miller, Conroy, McConnell & Ingersol. She arrived at work one day while her boss Darcy Conroy was giving a news interview about her engagement to Nick Furst of the First Family. She said she wasn’t worried about the first Family’s numerous enemies because she had a First Family brooch that could send out an emergency signal as needed. Marta’s co-worker was looking for a new roommate, and Marta pondered the idea of leaving Shadow Hill. That night she talked to the spirits of her parents, who were dead-set against her leaving Shadow Hill, saying they’d never see her again. Before she left for work the next day the Hanged Man, shadow Hill’s guardian, stared in her direction, and she knew something momentous, good or bad, was going to happen to her. The Unholy Alliance, frequent foes of the First Family, assaulted Binderbeck Plaza, where Marta’s lawfirm was located. The damage done to the plaza caused it to start collapsing, and Marta, Darcy and their co-workers were lucky to escape with their lives. Outside Marta was corned by Unholy Alliance member Slamburger, who threatened to assault her. Fortunately Darcy had already activated her emergency signal, and the First Family saved Marta and defeated the villains. Marta realized Shadow Hill and Astro City were not that different, both had good and evil and wards and rules to keep the evil at bay. She embraced the fact that Shadow Hill was her home and where she felt most at ease, quitting the lawfirm and taking a job managing the books of Shadow Hill butcher Gheorgi Vasiliu.

Comments: Created by Kurt Busiek & Brent E. Anderson.

Marta Dobrescu was originally published by Image Comics.

Marta Dobrescu’s appearance in Kurt Busiek’s Astro City I (Image) #4 was reprinted in Kurt Busiek’s Astro City: Life in the Big City #4.