Superheroes

Rating:
Summary: This book is SUPER, Man!
Review: An original and entertaining take on the popular "superhero" fantasy -- and what a cast of characters! Captain Housework! And how about that pediatrician who cares for superheroes' children? And the one with the child with the abusive stepfather and a real father who's a superhero is the COOLEST beans! And I loved that Soviet "Superman" spoof -- Kyril Kentarovsky instead of Clark Kent! I laughed so hard I nearly burst a vein!
One little quibble. I wasn't so crazy about the fact that, in the aforementioned Russian Superman spoof, Kyril Kentarovsky referred to a prison rape victim as the inmates' "unwilling sweetheart." The author should have said "sex partner" or "boy-toy" instead of "sweetheart." "Sweetheart" means something, and it isn't this. The word sweetheart, to me, is associated with love, (which could be either heterosexual or same-sex),not violence or force. If someone is your "sweetheart," you don't abuse him or her.
Still in all, this book is all that and a bag of chips -- or, in reference to pop culture's #1 fantasy superhero -- this book is all that and a king-sized CLARK Bar!!!...

Rating:
Summary: This Book Is Out of Print For A Reason
Review: This anthology of superhero stories tries to explore unique variation of the superhero theme but few of the stories are remotely satisfying. The biggest problem with them is that they are often one-trick ponies that ask a single "what-if" question and then go about answering it with varying degrees of success. Also, the choice of superheroes leaves something to be desired. With Superman, Spiderman and Batman taken, the writers focus on second and third-string crime fighters that can only be used as punchlines.

The best story of the group is "Reflected Glory" about a public relations executive that helps guide the world's first superhero, Ultima, through the maze of endorsements, merchandizing contracts and image management decisions. This story is the most realistic exploration of how a superhero might be treated if he actually appeared. Although a humorous story, the problems of spin control and public perception are treated seriously throughout.

Surprisingly, the most moving stories in the anthology are those that aren't even about superheroes. Both "The Long Crawl of Hugh Glass" and "Basic Training" are about Native Americans and the former is even a true story.

Most of the other stories simply ask a single "what-if" question and then run it into the ground. "Peer Review" explores the ramifications of a superhero review board that examines the questionable acts of fellow superheroes. In "Empowered", a superhero is sued after preventing a robbery and decides to give up his crime fighting career entirely. "Super Acorns" asks what would life be like for a doctor that had to tend to superheroes, their children and the constant injuries that accompany a life of crime fighting. "Contract Hit" asks what if superheroes and villains were like sports teams that could be traded between cities. "Origin Stories" explores the reactions to regular citizens offered the chance to become a superhero but they are forced to fight crime as Captain Swastika. "Captain Asimov" asks what if a robot rejected Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics.

"Handing On The Goggles" and "She Who Might Be Obeyed" are dated feminist stories. The latter is apparently a response to the belief that women sacrifice too much of themselves for others. The hero of the story has the power to get people to do what she wants but only when her requests are for the benefit of someone else. After teaming up with other women with the same power, she learns that her power actually works more effectively when her requests are selfish.

The others center their story around some of the most absurd superheroes imaginable. "A Clean Sweep" is about Captain Housework, a down and out superhero that resorts to being and on-call maid. "Defender of Central Park" involves a tree spirit from Russia and "Theme Music Man" just hangs out at crime scenes and provides the theme music for other, more respected superheroes.

These may seem like cool little stories by reading the summaries but they end up being one-joke ponies that get run into the ground after a few pages. The editor of the book wrote one of the stories and it appears that he just got his buddies together to get enough stories for an "anthology".

Rating:
Summary: Great Book with some exceptional stories
Review: When I first read this book, i had checked it out of the library. I liked it so much i decided that I had to buy it. It has some great stories. Some aren't exactly what you might expect but that makes they even better. A must read for all comic readers and sci-fi fans.