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Loading... Masked (edition 2010)by Lou Anders (Editor) lexilewords | Dec 28, 2023 |   "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 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. (  ) lexilewords | Dec 28, 2023 |  ) plumtingz | Dec 14, 2017 |  ) Mrs_McGreevy | Nov 17, 2016 |  ) kevbayer | Jun 20, 2014 | ) Krumbs | Mar 31, 2013 | Unfortunately, this anthology feels terribly uneven in quality. Several of the stories feel overwhelming, as though I were dropped into completely established worlds and expected to already know who everyone is. The sheer numbers of characters became overwhelming, as though the authors felt they needed to explore every possible facet of superpowers while they had the chance. There were several stand-out stories, however. The first and last tales in the book--"Cleansed and Set in Gold" by Matthew Sturges, and "A to Z in the Ultimate Big Company Superhero Universe (Villains Too) by Bill Willingham--were especially good, and the latter was especially engaging considering the cast of characters involved and the experimental ABC plot structure of the piece. Others, like "The Non-Event" by Mike Carey and "Vacuum Lad" by Stephen Baxter were thoroughly enjoyable. I really wanted to like "Call Her Savage" by Marjorie M. Liu, but too many details of the fascinating world--steampunk alternate universe, where China settled the western United States--came in too late and I felt frustrated and lost. This won't be a book I keep on my shelf, but it was worth reading for a few excellent stories. (  ) ladycato | Oct 17, 2012 | These include one of the best stories in the book, Matthew Sturges's "Cleansed and Set in Gold," about a man with an unusual superpower. The story really works through the implications of this and delivers a chilling tale. Chris Roberson's "A Knight of Ghost and Shadows" was a fun take on the 1930s pulp hero, though one feels like he was beat to the idea by Sandman Mystery Theatre. Many were varying degrees of fun; I especially liked stories that posited really inventive "superpowers," like Mike Carey's "The Non-Event" and Daryl Gregory's "The Bubblegum Factory," though clearly the best story in this regard was Bill Willingham's sprawling "A to Z in the Ultimate Big Company Superhero Universe (Villains Too)." Other stories, though, do the same thing but with no panache, like James Maxey's "Where Their Worm Dieth Not," telling stories that want to be DC/Marvel, but would have been generic and dull even if they had been. Peter and Kathleen David's "Head Cases" did nothing for me as well. (Also, Anders's intro blurb for Kathleen fails to mention anything that indicates she has an independent existence from Peter.) Some do the "deconstruction" thing a bit. Sometimes it works, sometimes it's not as clever as the author thinks. More often it's mixed, like Paul Cornell's "Secret Identity," which has a great concept but a poor story. Then there's stories like Mike Baron's "Avatar," which might be clever in a world without Watchmen and the 25 years of subsequent comics. Stephen Baxter's "Vacuum Lad" tries to create a hard sf superhero, but forgets to have an actual story to go with it. Ian McDonald's "Tonight We Fly" is a fun tale of an ex-superhero in a nursing home-- what do you do after saving the world? There are two overall things that annoyed me about Masked. The first is the fact that the stories are constantly reaching for generic terms for superhero tropes such as the Justice League; there were a lot of things like the "Law Legion" and the "League of Heroes" and so on. The second is the cheesy comic book lettering used for headings and such. (As in Grant Morrison's Supergods, the type chosen would look like crappy lettering in a comic book; it certainly doesn't look good outside of one.) But though the book had its weakenesses, its strength is that it treats the superhero story like a legitimate literary genre, not one that has to be ghettoized to comics or films. Anders gets very defensive about the genre in his introduction to the book, but the book's existence is defense enough. Stevil2001 | Aug 28, 2011 | I’ll provide a few thoughts on each story (with minor plot spoilers, but I won’t ruin any endings or big twists, I promise). "Cleansed and Set in Gold" by Matthew Sturges: This is one of the strongest openings to an anthology I’ve read. It takes place in a world beset by seemingly unstoppable monsters who have already killed that world’s most powerful superheroes. A second-string super with a mysterious power must save the day. (And that quick summary doesn’t capture any of this story’s magic. You are just going to have to read it because I wouldn’t dare spoiler it.) "Where Their Worm Dieth Not" by James Maxey: A dark, dark tale dealing with the themes of sin and punishment that riffs off the comic trope that superheroes and villains never really die, they always end up coming back somehow. These first two stories are so good that they make this perhaps the best anthology opening I’ve ever had the pleasure to come across. "Secret Identity" by Paul Cornell: This one really looks at the issues of secret identities and sexual identities. The Manchester Guardian is one of those heroes – like Shazam, Marvel’s Thor, or The Hulk – who is a normal man part of the time who can transform into a larger-than-life superhero. But what happens when these two forms have different sexual identities? Frankly, it’s confusingly told, with unclear prose and a few too many Britishisms. I didn’t like this one much. "The Non-Event" by Mike Carey: Second-string supervillains getting involved in a bank heist. Very interesting powers (and effects of those powers on the world around them). I liked this one a lot. "Avatar" by Mike Baron: An ordinary person decides to become a vigilante. Brutally realistic and a very powerful story. "Message from the Bubblegum Factory" by Daryl Gregory: I really don’t want to give much away regarding the plot of this one so as to not spoil it for other readers. I’ll just say that it’s a very good story, well-told, and set mostly inside one of those super-prisons they incarcerate super-powered folks in. "Thug" by Gail Simone: Written in a kind of “Flowers for Algernon” prose format, this story is another of my favorites in the collection about a minor supervillain and why he ended up the way he did. Poignant stuff. "Vacuum Lad" by Stephen Baxter: This one wasn’t exactly a superhero kind of story, in my view, being set in a near-future world where the worst nightmares of global warming believers have come true but is otherwise our world. There are no costumed heroes or villains, just a young man who seems to be able to survive exposure to vacuum. The reason why he has this ability is kind of interesting, but overall I was disappointed in this story, which just seemed out-of-place in this anthology. "A Knight of Ghosts and Shadows" by Chris Roberson: Really spooky and evocative pulp vigilante story involving Mexican magic and some other cool abilities. I’d love to see more stories about the protagonist. "Head Cases" by Peter David and Kathleen David: The worst story in the book. Boring, boring, boring. Set in a bar. I have no real idea what happens in it, and couldn’t care less. "Downfall" by Joseph Mallozzi: This story was way too long. Mediocre and not much of it stuck with me. Eminently forgettable. "By My Works You Shall Know Me" by Mark Chadbourn: A hero and his archenemy locked into mortal combat as they each strive to take the other down in a long-term campaign. Nice twists and turns. Good stuff. "Call Her Savage" by Marjorie M. Liu: A weird alternate history story, with the Americans allied with the Chinese against the British empire. The backstory is important, but it’s poorly presented in dribs and drabs, and never really sucked me in. Also, not much on superpowers. "Tonight We Fly" by Ian McDonald: Cute little story about what happens when heroes and villains grow old. "A to Z in the Ultimate Big Company Superhero Universe (and Villains Too)" by Bill Willingham: A nice long novella told in A-Z sub-sections, each named after a different character, that describes a massive battle royale by assorted heroes and villains. Nothing too unusual happens here, but it’s nice to see a titanic comic book brawl and its lead-up described in prose format. As I’ve noted, I didn’t care for a few of the stories, but I have to give this one 4.5 stars out of 5 because of the strength of the remaining tales. I really, really enjoyed this one, and would love to see a follow-up volume, also edited by Lou Anders and featuring many of these authors. Review copyright 2011 J. Andrew Byers (  )1  bibliorex | Feb 8, 2011 | A fresh and new take on tales of superheroes, this anthology is filled with stories that will capture your interest and pull you along for the ride. As with all collections, some were stars and a couple were not to my taste, but NONE of them were boring. I may be biased, however, as I am a true lover of all things sci-fi/fantasy/horror, especially in an anthology form. I like reading different voices telling different stories with the same root theme. When reading imaginative stories such as these, I find myself wondering, "Wow ... WHERE do these ideas come from? How do these talented writers even THINK of some of these situations?". In attempting to choose a favorite among these stories, I'm torn between "Cleansed and Set in Gold" by Matthew Sturges and "Thug" by Gail Simone. If forced to choose, however, I think I would choose "Thug" because of the unique fashion that this story unfolds. In "Cleansed and Set in Gold", we have a hero who has a number of different powers that he acquires in a method that repels even himself. It is a tribute to him that he works to use these powers for good, because, given his circumstances, he could easily have gone to the dark side. He risks exposure to fight the good fight, and in the end, we love him in spite of how his powers are acquired. In "Thug", we meet a mentally-challenged boy who is bullied and picked on, but stands up for one of the only girls who has ever been nice to him, causing his life to go into a downward spiral. He and a friend team up later in life, doing various odd 'jobs' for various villains, until he finally meets up with the villain that could set them up for life. The twists in this story, short as it is, make this a thoroughly enticing read. Although these two are my personal favorites, every story in this book will appeal to a particular reader, certainly some more than others, but altogether, a wonderful collection of stories of just the right length to read in short gaps of time. QUOTES: From "Thug": stormy said we were WEED and SPEED and i was weed and he was speed and we sold those and some other things too and pretty soon i liked to have money and respect and i had lots. pretty soon i liked snapping fingers too. From "Downfall": ..."Every time I moved to a new neighborhood, he's track me down and make damn sure that everyone in town knew who I was; who I'd been. Every time I tried to start over, he'd show up and destroy everything I'd built. Town after town after f---ing town. You can't even begin to imagine what it was like." From "Cleansed and Set in Gold": At the door to my apartment, I kiss her on the cheek. "I'm sorry about this," I say. "I really am. But I've reached a point where one more immoral act barely weighs in the balance. And I don't think you'll suffer for it." (  ) jewelknits | Aug 5, 2010 | These were not the "run of the mill" type stories, but had some interesting ways of obtaining powers, and some that really surprised me as the hero isn't always very heroic. The stories are more on the adult level, containing adult themes and language. They are very entertaining, but nothing really grabbed me as exceptional. For anyone that loves stories about superheroes, this book is a must read! ( )1 tweezle | Jul 22, 2010 | |
LibraryThing AuthorLou Anders is a LibraryThing Author, an author who lists their personal library on LibraryThing. Current DiscussionsNonePopular covers
 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.0876608Literature English (North America) American fiction By type Genre fiction Adventure fiction Speculative fiction Fantasy CollectionsLC ClassificationRatingAverage: (3.68)
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"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 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. (