Customer Reviews

Masked

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As usual I'll review each story individually and then give a wrap up. From the offset I should say however that at least five of the authors here are comic book writers that I idolize ::cough Gail Simone cough:: so this may be slightly more skewed then usual. I take my comics very seriously (which is why you rarely if ever will see me review them, I get too passionate).

"Cleansed and Set in Gold" by Matthew Sturges
A reservist member of the League of Heroes, named Wildcard because his powers are "variable", finds himself at the center of an ongoing conflict that killed the supposedly immortal hero Veraine. I couldn't quite guess the trick to Wildcard's powers. The trick is disturbing, though in all honesty I see the merit in it. While the basic premise of the story is one that floods comics on a monthly basis (uber-powerful enemy kills one of the greats and everyone else has to figure out how to stop it), the delivery is more than worth it. Wildcard felt realistic, like an ordinary guy who just stumbled into this hero gig. I did not guess how he resolved the reporter thing, or how he came to terms with his powers.

"Where Their Worm Dieth Not" by James Maxey
Death is as commonplace to heroes as rebirth is. But sometimes the knowledge that you are one of the few who can--and has--returned from death multiple times can be more torturous than anything else. Oh this story made me tear up. It hit home a lot of pertinent facts about superheroes and villains--the whole game can be very like the myth of Sisyphus. While death for most people is the final act, how often has Superman or Cyclops or any hero been brought back to life through some weird invented excuse. I guess that's part of the charm, good will always rise again. Sadly often it also means evil will rise again. Maxey does a good job sketching out the consequences of that hope and how it can break a man.

"Secret Identity" by Paul Cornell
The Manchester Guardian takes his secret identity very very seriously. At first I was really confused by this story. It was all over the place and didn't seem to connect very well. Cornell writes for the new Doctor Who, which when I read that made sense for how the story developed. The Guardian is a figure of power and protection for Manchester's gay community, which is fine except--why is the Guardian making time with the woman thief?! By the end of the story I understood better where Cornell was going, so I re-read this immediately. The disjointed nature of the segements makes more sense once the Guardian's alter-ego is fully out. Its a little campy, and since I don't read a lot of GLBT fiction (outside of yaoi) I was taken aback by the story. Not that I'm judging, but is it normal for GLBT to treat being gay as the societal norm and being straight as the 'sin'?

"The Non-Event" by Mike Carey
Gallo lived a pathetic life, but his death? His death was really something. This is told as a 'confession' by one of Gallo's cohorts and 'friends', Lockjaw. A fairly routine heist goes wrong, horribly horribly wrong. I really enjoyed this story. I liked that it looked at the opposite end of the spectrum, how people with slightly off-kilter powers don't always want to be mass murdering thugs or moralizing prigs. How the smallest change in plans could be the factor that changes a relatively harmless heist into a massacre. I would have liked to know more about Gallo (aka 'Non-Event', he neutralizes the cause-and-effect principle as well as superpowers) and Lockjaw's relationship before the heist.

"Avatar" by Mike Baron
The line between the reality of being a vigilante and the surreal life vigilantes live in comics becomes glaringly obvious to one ambitious boy. On the surface I wasn't very hopeful for this story--its premise is the argument you often hear from parents objecting to the violence of video games and comic books--but Baron handled this in a careful thoughtful manner. This wasn't a kid given over to impulsive acts or violence; he was careful to wait until he felt ready for the challenge he was planning to undertake. And I think if he had stopped after the first thug or two, things would have turned out differently. However as it turned out he got a little drunk on his 'power', his ability to take down guys bigger than himself, the 'revenge' he was seeking for years of abuse and bullying. Well he learns the hard way consequences of actions.

"Message from the Bubblegum Factory" by Daryl Gregory
The former sidekick to the World's Greatest Hero has a secret and a new view of life. This story kind of made me laugh in that dark way when you understand what's happening. I've wondered about what the world did before Super-Heroes. Oh comics ret-con in super-powered villains or super-heroes as far back as you please, but "Message from the Bubblegum Factor" questions whether its a chicken or egg sort of deal. And why the world suddenly went to hell once Soliton appeared. Or is it a coincidence that the lawful Good don't die, that before Soliton if someone got dropped in a vat of acid they didn't get super-powers--they died. Its all really interesting, and sure the narrator, Eddie, admits he's insane, but he's the sort of insane I can get behind.

"Thug" by Gail Simone
Which is worse--the guy who looks like a monster, but tries never to hurt anyone or the guy who looks like an angel and purposely sets out to hurt those weaker? Oh Gail made me cry, which isn't surprising since I've cried over her comics before. It took me a page or two to get used to the fact the writing/spelling is very immature (its on purpose), but I felt so bad. I guessed what was going to happen fairly quickly, but it broke my heart to see Alvin go through all that loss. He wasn't a bad guy, though he did bad things. He fell into it, because he lost his way and that one moment in his life made everything worse. The story is short, but Simone packs a lot of emotional punch into it.

"Vacuum Lad" by Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Lad thought he was for bigger things than just an Insurance publicity gimmick, but is he really ready for all his genetics entail? I may have spent some time chuckling during this story because Vacuum Lad acted just like any other teenager given powers. Also this story has a lot more 'science' involved than any of the proceeding ones, which makes sense since even I know Baxter is big on science fiction. This was a sad moment for me because I couldn't understand even a quarter of what Dr. Stix was saying, I'm really not scientifically inclined (which is why I avoid hard science fiction). I thought this was an interesting look at how people can view 'gifts' differently. Vacuum Lad saw it as his duty to the people to help keep them safe (even if it was a puff job half the time). The Damocletians saw it as a duty to keep people safe as well, but in a less hands-on manner. I wish there was more about the 'bad guys', the Earth First League. Their motivations were rather murky to me.

"A Knight of Ghosts and Shadows" by Chris Roberson
I could not, for the life of me, read this story for more than a couple pages before becoming completely bored. I thought I would at least want to read this since Roberson has written two comics I enjoy (Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love and I, Zombie.) But I suppose since this is an anthology, its bound to happen at least once.

"Head Cases" by Peter David and Kathleen David
Who said people with powers can't have regular angst-problems like the rest of us? Peter David will forever be my hero because he worked on my favorite comic book of all time--Young Justice. Plus he helped create the too short tv series Space Cases. That said this was a fun and quirky story, written with his wife Kathleen. Ari just wants to strum on his guitar (badly), Xander likes to mess with Simon's head, Simon is trying to look out for his friend Vikki who is a dissatisfied housewife. The fact they all have powers of some sort is incidental. The sideline about Ari's once girlfriend Zola was definitely interesting. I've always liked how Peter David handles banter and wit, which was in plenty of abundance. I'd like to see more short stories about these folks in fact!

"Downfall" by Joseph Mallozzi
A formerly unkillable hero dies and its up to a reformed villain to find the man behind it--even as it takes him down memory lane. Why yes this is Joseph Mallozzi who I can thank for Stargate SG-1, Atlantis and Universe as well as Big Wolf on Campus! None of that should be interpreted as sarcastic--that was all sincere. This was however a surprising hit with me. Mallozzi gave a developmental depth to the story that left me feeling satisfied, as if I had just read a novel instead of a short story. There was a couple of surprises, like the ending pages, but overall I just found myself enjoying the story and hoping for the best for Marshall.

"By My Works You Shall Know Me" by Mark Chadbourn
Matt was given a new lease on life by his best friend, but is it possible that a betrayal runs deep? Mind-screw. This story is an utter mind-screw, in a really good way. And to be fair, after the first page I had a crack theory about Styx, that apparently turned out to be the truth so yeah. Told in flashbacks and recordings that Matt keeps as a sort of journal, we read as Matt reviews the previous year and his fight against Styx. This was a surprising read and the end is quite thought-provoking.

"Call Her Savage" by Marjorie M. Liu
Namid only wished to remain in peace in the mountains to forget the bloody past. Unfortunately sometimes facing your past is the only option. I was mightily confused at first by this story. I know nothing about the 'crystal skulls' myth/legend (except that it was part of a very bad Indiana Jones movie) so the mentions of the skulls and what was almost, but not quite world history threw me for a loop. This one felt more abrupt than the other stories, it began mid-action and kept refocusing about different things. A lot of details were contained in this story, but I wanted to know more about how the crystal skulls effected Namid and others.

"Tonight We Fly" by Ian McDonald
A shout out from an old enemy is all Mr. Miracle really needs. This was a sweet story about a hero (and villain) who both grew old and dissatisfied with the way the world evolved. It had that 'In my day!' ring to it. Despite this being one of the least 'superheroic' stories in the anthology (as far as actions go), I think this presented itself really well; superheroes grow older, just as villains do and everybody wants one more moment to relive their glory days don't they?

"A to Z in the Ultimate Big Company Superhero Universe (and Villains Too)" by Bill Willingham
There isn't a synopsis that would give this justice, the title pretty much says it all. For anyone who reads DC or Marvel titles <s>religiously</s>regularly, many of the heroes and villains presented in here will sound familiar in many ways. Which is on purpose. This read like a Big Publisher crossover event--that is, it was all over the place in terms of story, focus and such. I liked how Willingham (who writes Fables for Vertigo, a comic everyone should read) organized the story--ABC order according to the character's name--and tied it together.

My three favorite stories were "Thug", "Head Cases" and "Downfall", though noticed a trend amongst the majority of the stories--that is a great many of them dealt with heroes who were gigantic jerks. Either as the main character, a catalyst for the action or holding some plot relevance. This was a little disconcerting for me since seeing heroes as 'bullies' or 'glory-hounds' kind of makes me despite them.

Surprisingly this anthology is probably one of the best put together I've read in a long time. Other than Roberson's story I enjoyed all the stories to some degree. They covered the vastness that is 'superheroes' and certainly proved that you can take a similar premise and make it entirely different but interesting in more than a dozen ways.

I ordered this after seeing several of the authors listed. It has been a thoroughly enjoyable experience. The book provides a wide range of hero/villain stories that are atypical. While the book does include the typical tights and cape story, the best stories are the ones that are a little different. My personal favorite short story in the collection is Downfall.

Ever since Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' complex and literate, Watchmen, came out there have been more intelligent examinations of the world of superheroes. Deeper explorations of the personal angst and separation experienced by these heroes, moral confusion, unavoidable inconsistencies, and the overpowering weight of responsibility have provided great fodder for smarter tales. Joseph Mallozzi's contribution in this collection called Downfall captures this succinctly with the line, "Always playing to the media, their public acts of altruism little more than a patina glossing over the ugly truths - alcoholism, malignant narcissism, anger management issues."

It seems we have created a sub-cottage industry to the original super hero comic book trade. This has meant more original efforts that move the genre forward. Take into consideration the movies Hancock, Unbreakable and The Incredibles, Michael Chabon's Pulitzer-winning The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Klay, Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman, and one will see that characters in bright tights and capes have evolved.

And to my surprise, while reading this collection, I read a story in the February 26, 2011 edition of The Wall Street Journal called, Bam! Pow! Superhero Groups Clash In an Epic Battle of Good vs. Good. It covers the true story of individuals dressing up as superheroes in the Seattle area (among them Phoenix Jones - Guardian of Seattle, Zetaman, Knight Owl, Dark Guardian, and Mr. Raven Blade). And like the stories in Masked these real-life characters are revealed to have conflicts amongst themselves. Life imitating art indeed.

This collection has a dark and deep tone that appeals. The stories are all highly original and cover a range of subjects that add reality to the unreal. It begins with Cleansed and Set in Gold by Matthew Sturges which introduces a mash-up of epic proportions including "plausible" superheroes as conflicted individuals. It is a great kick-off story with fun lines given the genre like "I don't have a fascinating origin story" and "His conclusion was that the Ghouls are a gift from the seventy-second century, sent back in time by some enterprising villain to plague the twenty-first".

"Atomahawk", "Retaliator", "She-Devil" are members of "The Law Legion" waging a never-ending battle against "Prime Mover". How awesome are those names? This tale, Where Worms Dieth Not, explores the challenges of crime fighting and the dark abysses it can send even the most noble. Another story in the collection called, Secret Identity, explores homophobia (yes homophobia). I will not be a spoiler here as the story is ingenious.

And how about a story from the villain's perspective? The Non-Event by Mike Carey covers two-bit hoods who benefit from an occurrence which gave one in ten people various super powers. This line explains it, "I don't mean supervillains, you understand: I mean good, old fashioned burglars, bank robbers, and stick-up merchants who just happen to have picked up powers during the endoclasm. We're not interested in ruling the world, or destroying it, or having a big pointless punch-up with a bunch of twats in tights. We just ply our trade, when we're allowed it, do the job, and then clock off."

The collection is wildly entertaining exploring emotions, situations, and relationships in the super hero universe with humor and intelligence.

Unless I misremember, I really, really enjoyed all but two or three stories in this anthology. The thing really is surprisingly good. The story "Call Her Savage" really doesn't fit at all and wasn't really to my taste, but I just couldn't believe how many stories in here I really liked. And the writing's good! I mean, not just passable, but--by the standards of fun, non-serious fiction--it's really good. Much, much better than the average just-for-fun read. I'm a huge fan of Austin Grossman's _Soon I Will Be Invincible_, and, until now, I've always told everyone that that's head and shoulders above other books in the genre. I still rank it at the top, but, honestly, I think this anthology isn't all that far behind.

Another in the continuing trend (Bitter Seed, Soon I will be Invincible) of original superhero story in done well in book form. The Heroes may not be as primary color as heroes in DC/Marvel, but it is good storytelling.

This fifteen short story collection pays homage to superheroes and supervillains, as each needs the other (like Ali and Frazier) to anchor their super status. None of the entries are horrific though a couple are only okay. Most are entertainingly super as the authors captured the essence of the comic book sub-genre. The creators of the great Jack of Fables, Matthew Sturges and Bill Willingham respectively open and close the anthology with fascinating solo entries: "Cleansed and Set In Gold" by Sturges focuses on heroes struggling with the death of a seemingly invincible member while "A to Z in the Ultimate Big Company Superhero Universe (Villains Too)" by Willingham is an odd but interesting encyclopedic look at flawed super-humans. In "Message from the Bubble Gum Factory" by Daryl Gregory, an envious sidekick finally understands what sacrifices a superhero must endure. Marjorie M. Liu's "Call Her Savage" stars a classic heroine whose legend for destruction forces her to live up to the myth as her fan following would expect nothing less. Also excellent is Stephen Baxter's science fiction "Vacuum Lad." as the first star child grows up in a seemingly vacuum, but was born over two decades ago in 1557 in Saudi Arabia (2136 by the Christian calendar user). Strange but superb is "Tonight We Fly" by Ian McDonald as Chester gets no peace from the next door kids while Belfast has no heroes or villains yet Captain Miracle flies far away from his adversary Dr. Nightingshade. Masked is a strong collection that catches the essence of the modern golden age of superheroes and their super opponents.

Harriet Klausner

Superheroes - and supervillains - have always been problematic. They are usually all but impossible to kill, but have a single vulnerability that everyone seems to know about, and to aim for, a tradition that goes all the way back to Achilles (who was invulnerable because he was dipped in the River Styx as a baby - except for the ankle by which his mother held him when doing the dipping). Even after death, they always seem to come back in some form or another; Superman, for instance, has been resurrected quite a few times (though losing him led nearly 20 years ago to one of the best graphic novels ever written, World Without a Superman). Because they are so superhumanly strong, they sometimes appear ludicrous, fighting off impossible task after incredible burden after outrageous situation. No wonder authors have sometimes taken their creations in odd directions, as Alan Moore did in Watchmen - another one of the best graphic novels out there.

In Masked, superheroes and supervillains move off the illustrated page and into the realm of pure prose. Sometimes this works beautifully, and sometimes it doesn't work at all, making this anthology uneven. The best stories are those in which the notion of super beings is taken with the utmost seriousness; the weakest are those that seem to mock the tradition.

One of the best stories in this anthology is "Where Their Worm Dieth Not" by James Maxey. Despite a beginning that makes various oddly-powered superheroes look rather silly, the story takes a deeply serious turn. The existential ending will make you shudder, and maybe even bring forth a tear or two. It somehow brings to mind Grant Morrison's take on Animal Man, when that character realizes that he is fictional and confronts his maker. It's amazing what a skilled writer can do with costumed men and women when he or she brings philosophy into the picture.

Another exceptional story is "Vacuum Lad," by Stephen Baxter. This story takes a strict science fictional approach to the whole idea of superheroes, suggesting that perhaps the powers enjoyed by the titular character where deliberately developed in a laboratory, and not for that character alone. This picture of a world dealing with climate change through various scientific endeavors is nicely drawn. The particulars of Vacuum Lad's abilities make sense in the context carefully developed by Baxter, who fully lives up to his reputation as a writer of hard science fiction.

Ian McDonald contributes "Tonight We Fly," the story of a superhero grown old. What do you do with your powers when you're retired and aging? When the public health nurse comes around and insists on giving you a flu shot despite the fact that you never get the flu - and that no needle can pierce your skin? When those kids next door just won't be quiet, but insist on kicking a ball against your garage door over and over and over until your head is ringing - how do you get them to stop without hurting someone? It's a beautiful picture of the impotence of old age, and the struggle to remain vital even as the years pile up.

"Head Cases," by Peter and Kathleen David, is an example of one of the less successful stories. It attempts to be humorous by making fun of superheroes, but fails. The authors try to make their costumed characters appear to be mental and emotional teenagers playing dress-up in a way reminiscent of an Adam Sandler movie, full of attempts at cheap laughs and without any real point. This sort of knowing tone just doesn't work. Nor does Daryl Gregory's story, "Message from the Bubblegum Factory," manage to entertain with a similar tone. Superheroes and supervillains are ludicrous on their face; pointing that out in prose is superfluous.

Still, the ratio of good stories to bad stories is high. Even so, the stories started to seem repetitive to me after I'd read 200 pages, and I was still only halfway through the book. There are only so many things you can say about these fictional beings, and most of them have already been said in comic form. It's hard to see that this book of prose really adds anything to what one can find in illustrated form from DC or Marvel.

Masked, edited by Lou Anders, is a collection of 15 short stories about superheroes written by comic book and science fiction authors. I'll review each story individually and then provide a summary below.

Cleansed and Set in Gold by Matthew Sturges (writer of JACK OF FABLES) 9/10 - A B-rated superhero named "Wildcard" (for his ability to take on the powers of other heroes, seemingly at random) must fight alongside his peers against The Ghoul King, an ostensibly indestructible villain who is mowing down everyone in his path. The real story here is not the battle, but the back story behind Wildcard's powers. There is plenty of death and violence in this one. This was a well thought out concise story and Sturges took an unusual twist that I was pleasantly surprised with. I wouldn't mind reading more by him. I was still thinking about the ethical considerations the story leaves you with well after finishing it. I have no idea what the title has to do with the story.

Where Their Worm Dieth Not by James Maxey (Author of the fantasy series Bitterwood (Dragon Age)) 6/10 - The villain Prime Mover is in prison and things go horribly wrong at his trial when he manages to get out of custody. It is up to Retaliator and Atomahawk to stop him. This story had some potential, but was way too confusing and the resolution didn't make much sense to me. I could actually figure out what happened at the very end, despite reading it twice. Additionally, there is a bunch of backstory thrown in that is just way too extraneous. Maxey describes a relationship between Retaliator and Nubile that serves no purpose to assist the story. In this case less would have been more for most of the story, with more exposition needed at the end. Again, I have no idea what the title has to do with the story

Secret Identity by Paul Cornell (author of a lot of Doctor Who fiction and writer on several Marvel titles) 2/10 - This is the gayest story in the entire anthology. Literally. I also had to read it twice to try to figure out what it was all about, but from what I can gather, a homosexual superhero who wears a rainbow-colored costume has to deal with his own self-questioning of his sexuality, in addition to people finding out his secret identity (which isn't as interesting as you would think a superhero reveal would be). The writing is terrible and jumps all over the place. Cornell also appears to be trying to cram in as many homosexual references and ideas as he can into one very short story. There is a villain who is described as "a thief who stole art, mostly from gay men's houses." What does that have to do with anything? Why does it matter if the men are gay? There is also a side story where a bouncer won't let in some kids into a gay bar because he can tell they're straight. I'm not opposed to a superhero story revolving around homosexuality if you want that to be the theme, but there are much better angles than this one.

The Non-Event by Mike Carey (writer on Lucifer:Hellblazer, The Sandman Presents, and Ultimate X-Men) 7/10 - A worldwide event has granted 1/10 of the population with superpowers, not all of them as useful as others. As expected, one segment of those gifted use their powers to commit crimes. The Non-Event is a short story about a group of super villains and their attempt to rob a bank. This is a decent story with another unusual ending.

Avatar by Mike Baron (creator of the comic books Badger and Nexus) 6/10 - A normal 15-year old with no super abilities decides to don a mask and become a crime fighter. Extremely similar to Mark Millar's KICK ASS.

Message from the Bubblegum Factory by Daryl Gregory (author of PANDEMONIUM) 8/10 - I don't want to spoil too much on this story, except to say that it deals with an individual who breaks into a Super-Max prison that houses villains with the intent on a breakout. It also has a fairly unusual twist to it and I thought the story was well-written and unique.

Thug by Gail Simone (writer on DC's Birds of Prey and Wonder Woman) 7/10 - "hello. my name is alvin becker but i guess you no that alredy becuz i am the only one that will reed this." This entire story is written in that format, from the first-person perspective of a boy who makes up in physical stature what he lacks for in size, ultimately leading to his life as a villain's henchman. At first I was going to skip this entire story because I didn't want to deal with the ridiculous format of how it was written, but after a couple pages I got used to it and it didn't bother me or detract from the story at all.

Vacuum Lad by Stephen Baxter (author of the Destiny's Children and Time's Tapestry series) 5/10 - It's the 22nd century and Vacuum Lad is a Saudi Arabian who's power is that he can survive long periods within a vacuum without dying. This leads to financially-lucrative jobs as an escort on shuttle rides, since his unique gift allows him the ability to go outside the shuttle for repairs in the event of an emergency. Although the story is well-written, it's not particularly exciting and the "reveal" at the end was fairly ho-hum. Vacuum Lad's powers seem fairly lame and not very useful. There wasn't much in this story for me to get excited about.

A Knight of Ghosts and Shadows by Chris Roberson (science fiction author of fourteen novels, including Here, There & Everywhere, The Dragon's Nine Sons, and X-Men: The Return) -/10 - I can't rate this story because I didn't finish it. I tried reading it twice, and each time got through about 15 pages and still couldn't get into it. From what I can gather, it's about a fiction writer who also fights demons.

Head Cases by Peter David and his wife Kathleen (had a 12-year run on the Incredible Hulk, creator of Star Trek: New Frontier series) 4/10 - I don't know how much of this story was Peter and how much was Kathleen, but it is completely forgettable and boring. There were too many characters, too much character development (for such a short story), and a buried plot that I'm still not sure of after finishing it. I don't even know if the story was satire or not.

Downfall by Joseph Mallozzi (writer and executive producer on almost all of the Stargate series). 9/10 - Straight superhero stuff. Much longer than the other stories, but well-contained and a very good conclusion.

By My Works You Shall Know Me by Mark Chadbourn (author of the Age of Misrule series of World's End, Darkest Hour, and Always Forever. Author of the novel Hellboy: The Ice Wolves) - 7/10 Another pretentious title. This was a pretty decent story, but for the life of me, I had a little trouble figuring out the conclusion, due to Chadbroun's changing use of POV. Fairly interesting though with a final twist more equivalent to the actual comic book formula. I wish someone could explain this one to me to make sure I understood it.

Call Her Savage by Marjorie M. Liu (author of the Dirk & Steele series (novels of paranormal romance) and the Hunter Kiss urban fantasy series. Has worked on some X-books for Marvel.) - I tried getting through this three different times and couldn't. I don't remember what it was about or what was going on. I almost gave up on the book because of it.

Tonight We Fly by Ian McDonald (science fiction author of several novels including "The Dervish house" and "River of Gods.") - 8/10 - A short story about an elderly superhero and what his life has become. This story didn't have much action and was fairly simple, but I really liked it and thought it was well done. It explores a side of superheroes not normally seen - what happens to them when they get old (as in "old" old, not a little over middle-aged like Bruce Wayne in "The Dark Knight Returns").

A to Z in the Ultimate Big Company Superhero Universe (Villains Too) - 10/10 by Bill Willingham (author of DC's "Fables") - It's a shame Willingham's story is the last in the book, because after "Call Her Savage," I came extremely close to not finishing the book and missing it. 26 "mini stories," each representing a different letter of the alphabet. Some of the stories are a single paragraph long, some several pages. They are all inter-related, and after the first half dozen, you see that they are intertwined to form a single story from several different viewpoints. There is a lot of action, a lot of interesting characters, and a lot of death. It is too bad the entire book isn't written by Willingham because it definitely got me interested in his work.

I've been reading comics for 30+ years and novels for 25 but still feel like a lot of the stories in the anthology are over my head, or try too hard. For the most part, comics are supposed to be simple and fun. I know there are much deeper comics and story lines that writers play around with, like Watchmen, but the problem with trying to do that here, is that 20 pages is not enough to throw a bunch of complex ideas at the reader and expect them to enjoy it. None of the stories in this anthology, with the exception of "A to Z," really stood out for me. They're not terrible, but I can't see myself ever recommending this collection to anyone else.

This is an incredible collection of stories. If only the writers of this anthology would have been the writers of the show Heros.

Great prose whether you like Superheroes or not.

Kudos to Lou Anders for putting this together.

I can't go into detail about each story since I don't have time! But there is something for everyone here and no love of superhero stories is required. I would have given it five stars but it's an anthology; like any anthology there were 1-2 stories that didn't hit the right spots for me, which is TOTALLY subjective. The rest were fantastic and Lou Anders knows how to pick his authors. Emphatic thumbs up.