Recent observations of AGB stars in nearby galaxies and future perspectives

Thermally-pulsing Asymptotic Giant Branch (TP-AGB) stars play a variety of important roles in the Universe, from light-element enrichment of globular clusters to potential domination of a galaxy's dust production and total infrared luminosity. Advances in both ground- and space-based observatories during the previous decade have for the first time facilitated detailed studies of both individual TP-AGB stars and complete AGB populations outside of the Milky Way and the Magellanic Clouds. I will review recent multi-wavelength and multi-epoch observations of AGB stars in nearby galaxies out to approximately 4 Mpc, ranging from low-mass dwarf galaxies to the massive grand spiral M31. These recent observations have dramatically improved our understanding of the TP-AGB phase, but key gaps remain especially at low and high metallicities. I will discuss some potential future observations with planned telescopes that will fill in many of these gaps.