Rough Trade Friday: Superheroes
Every now and then, we like to shake things up around here and do something just a little bit different. So, for today's Rough Trade Friday, the recommended reading will not be a graphic novel. Instead, I submit -for your approval, of course- the science-fiction anthology Superheroes, edited by none other than sci-fi legend John Varley.
Superheroes is not a book containing stories about established characters like Batman, Captain America, or the Savage Dragon. Instead, it is a collection of completely original stories about completely original characters. One of my favorites was Laurell K. Hamilton's "A Clean Sweep", which features the formerly-glorious Captain Housework finally snapping after he's loaned out one-too-many times to clean up for a house party (the ending is pure Hamilton, as well as simultaneously hysterical and disturbing). Michael A. Stackpole's "Peer Review", which features a Batman-like character going up against the equivalent of the Justice League, is also brilliant and funny, with a healthy dose of comic book action added in for extra kicks. Not all the stories are funny, though, some of them are rather serious, or sad, or disturbing... or sometimes a combination of all three. Some of them are just weird. But, that's what you get when you put together an anthology: not everything is always brilliant, but you hope that the majority of its content is worth reading.
For me, this book is an old favorite. I've had it since it was first published in 1995, and it's near-400 pages are still perused about once a year. Granted, some stories are more-read than others, but I've always had rather particular tastes when it comes to my writing style preferences. The main problem with this anthology, though, is that it's been out of print for a while... however, it's easy to find on both Amazon and eBay for next to nothing. If you can find a copy of the book, I highly recommend picking it up, as it's something that will appeal to just about every comic fan in existence and will most likely sit on their shelves for years to come.
Boy of Tomorrow
Posted to Comics on 14 September 2007
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