The Superhero Literature thread

[C.T. Phipps]

One of the pleasant things which has emerged with the rise of independent books is the prevelance of smaller, often overlooked genres. There's a lot of subgenres which really wouldn't have received much traction with the public before they began.

It's even got the snazzy new title of Capepunk (TV troped here).

I'm biased to liking superhero genres for obvious reasons (I did a book on the subject) but I'm not here to talk about that but actually some of the books I read and enjoyed before I decided to do my own. Here's some of the ones I'd recommend.

Titles I enjoyed

* Soon I Will Be Invincible: Probably the original novel for the discussion of it. It's the story of a Doctor Doom meets Lex Luthor sort of loser who wants to take over the world but can't because, as a comic book villain, he's insane. It's actually kind of depressing since the book repeatedly lampshades Doctor Impossible is incapable of growing due to being insane.

* Wearing the Cape: One of my favorite examples of the series as it is bright and optimistic versus dark and depressing. Hope Corrigan a.k.a Astra has the "Flying Brick" set of superpowers chich allows her to become the most powerful one in the world overnight. She's actually interested in making the world a better place but gets the responsibility shoved on her a little TOO quickly.

* Ex-Heroes: This is a great high concept series. You have the Walking Dead and George Romero-esque zombie apocalypse but there's a TINY group of superheroes in the world who immediately decide to gather as many survivors as they can into a walled compound to protect them. I like Peter Clines, also, personally as an author because he was criticized for some racial and gender issues in the first book then immediately set about correcting them in the second and subsequent volumes.

* Confessions of a D-List Supervillainy: This series is a progressively-better series about Cal Stringel a.k.a Mechani-Cal. After saving the world in a fashion which amounts to dumb-luck, the titular D-List supervillain switches sides to the heroes only to find himself surrounded by jerks and asshats. Pursued by ex-friends on the supervillain side and a superhero who wants his blood, good guy or not, Cal has to decide if the big time is right for him. Some very very funny stuff but the first book isn't as polished as 2# or 3#.

I enjoyed the audio book versions more (even though I enjoyed the books) because of the excellent narration and voice acting.

* Sad Wings of Destiny: A EXPY for Batman and Tony Stark decides that superheroes and villains just have to go. He proceeds to replicate his suit for the government and develop a means of removing superpowers from every hero in the world. It's an attempt at a Watchmen-like story which never quite jells because the hero is such an enormous prick--but it has some good moments.

* Don't Tell My Parents I'm a Supervillain: A trio of junior highschoolers who are the children of superheroes (well, two are) accidentally get themselves branded as supervillains due to a science-fair misunderstanding. Choosing to embrace their inner evil, they play it off as a big game even as they keep stumbling into success. The first one is a lot more fun than the sequel, which is kind of weird with its steam-punk space opera setting. Aside from being a bit twee, it's still quite enjoyable.

And if you're interested:

* The Rules of Supervillainy: Gary Karkofsky finds himself in the possession of a magic cloak which allows him to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a supervillain. However, Gary isn't quite evil enough to get by in his new profession and his loving wife isn't exactly happy about his career choice. Picking up his ex-girlfriend and a washed-up master criminal as his henchmen, he sets about a series of heists which land him in progressively hotter water.

So, any of you have favorite novels in the genre?

[felice]

GRRM's Wild Cards shared universe series is an obvious one. I've only read the two stories in Dreamsongs, but I'd like to read more.

And Worm is epic, of course. Some unusual abilities used in interesting ways (the protagonist has the power to control insects) and a strong story arc.

[RedEyedGhost]

I can only recall reading two. The first I really loved - Devil's Cape by Rob Rogers. The second soured me on the genre because it was 100% clichés - Seven Wonders by Adam Christopher.

[C.T. Phipps]

GRRM's Wild Cards shared universe series is an obvious one. I've only read the two stories in Dreamsongs, but I'd like to read more.

And Worm is epic, of course. Some unusual abilities used in interesting ways (the protagonist has the power to control insects) and a strong story arc.

I like Wildcards but I've always considered it more of a mutant series as opposed to a superhero series.

Also, some of them are real jerks.

I liked the new ones more than any other book than the first one.

No one can match the Great and Powerful Turtle!

[MinDonner]

Soon I Will Be Invincible! is wonderful. Aside from Devil's Cape (also good), the only other I can think of right now is called Superpowers, which had the standard group-of-teens-get-powers premise but with an interesting current-events twist - not brilliant but still worth a look if you like the genre.

[polishgenius]

It's even got the snazzy new title of Capepunk (TV troped here).

The naming of any new subgenre by affixing 'punk' to its core thing is almost as annoying as the naming of any new scandal by adding the suffix 'gate'. The 'punk' in 'cyberpunk' is there for a reason!I

Aaanyway.

Of the ones mentioned, I've read Soon I Will Be Invincible, which is very good, and the first Ex-Heroes, which is alright.

The Milkweed Tryptich by Ian Tregillis: A story of British Magicians vs German supervillains in WW2 and the Cold War. Not quite superhero stuff, but closely related. Features one really great, creepy-as-hell villain type.

The Violent Century by Lavi Tidhar: basically the same concept as above, but the British guys are superheroes too. It's also a lot shorter, being one book - this made Milkweed the stronger work for me, because it had time to develop things more completely, but the quality otherwise is pretty close.

My favourite, though, is Turbulence (and its sequel, Resistance) by Samit Basu. It's basically the story of the start of a superhero age when people start getting powers, beginning in India. All the characters pop off the page, the action is fun, the dialogue is witty- basically it takes all that's best about superheroes in comics and wordifies it, with a nice line in what the social and political implications might actually be like. Also shows a knack for mixing the obvious classic superpowers with some rarer ones he uses inventively.

[Muwhahaha]

My favorite of this genre is A Once Crowded Sky - basically a book about life after all the superheroes lose their powers. Also, I enjoyed Soon I Will Be Invincible and, once you get in to it, the Ex- series is a lot of fun; nothing fancy just popcorn goodness. Loved the Milkweed Tryptich. Not really sure what I classify it as, maybe Alternate History/Fantasy/Sci-Fi? Whatever it is it's good.

[Deedles]

I quite liked Justice, by Jennifer Harlow, the first of the Galilee Falls trilogy. Disillusioned cop has issues with the supers.

[C.T. Phipps]

To be fair, the failure of "Noun+Punk" started as early as Steampunk. Which is actually not at all punk according to the guy who coined the term.

Despite the Victorian Era being perfect for a Punk perspective given it is all about rich jerkasses stepping on the little guy globally.

And I'm totally not saying this purely because I actually coined the term.

:shifty:

Move along, move along.

[polishgenius]

To be fair, the failure of "Noun+Punk" started as early as Steampunk.

Oh absolutely. Out of all the 'punks', steampunk is my least favourite, in terms of just the term. In many ways, its somewhat grandiose aesthetic makes it the very opposite of 'punk'.

[Manhole Eunuchsbane]

The Milkweed Tryptich by Ian Tregillis: A story of British Magicians vs German supervillains in WW2 and the Cold War. Not quite superhero stuff, but closely related. Features one really great, creepy-as-hell villain type.

Seconded as a recommendation. I would say it's very superheroish, although it is a bit of a mashup. Kind of a Nazi X-Men vs James Bond vs Cultish Demon Summoners set over the backdrop of WWII and the Cold War. Good stuff.

Masked-A collection of superhero short stories edited by Lou Anders. The Non-Event by Mike Carey might be my favorite Supervillian story outside of a comic book. Kind of reminiscent of the "Almost Got 'Em" episode of Batman:TAS where various members of Bats rogues gallery recount stories of how they almost killed Batman.

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson. Set in a dystopian future where a cosmic event has granted a certain percentage of the population super powers which slowly drive them insane. The greater the power the more corrupting it is. The story centers on a young protagonist whose father is killed by one of these superbeings.

[C.T. Phipps]

Oh absolutely. Out of all the 'punks', steampunk is my least favourite, in terms of just the term. In many ways, its somewhat grandiose aesthetic makes it the very opposite of 'punk'.

I consider it one of the great literary "Stuff Yous" that Gibson did The Difference Engine and said, "THIS is how you do Steampunk."

As an academic, I like to say, "If you're going to add Punk to the last name of something, it better be about oppressing the masses with X."

Of the ones mentioned, I've read Soon I Will Be Invincible, which is very good, and the first Ex-Heroes, which is alright.

Ex-Heroes is a good example of the genre simply because it doesn't try to be more than it is. Too many superhero literature novels attempt to be darker and edgier versus actually keeping the "hero" part of the name. The heroes of the Mount aren't perfect but flawed individuals, yet you can tell they're doing their best.

I do admit, and I'm guilty of this too, a lot of books seem to star villains and antiheroes over heroes.

[polishgenius]

Ex-Heroes is a good example of the genre simply because it doesn't try to be more than it is. Too many superhero literature novels attempt to be darker and edgier versus actually keeping the "hero" part of the name. The heroes of the Mount aren't perfect but flawed individuals, yet you can tell they're doing their best.

If that's what you enjoyed there, then I doubly recommend Turbulence to you.

[C.T. Phipps]

Because my life is nothing if not bored, here's some reviews I did of the aforementioned novels.

Confessions of a D-List Supervillain

Confessions of a D-List Supervillain

Origins of a D-List Supervillain *highly recommended*

Secrets of a D-List Supervillain

Independent

Sad Wings of Destiny

Soon I will be Invincible

Wearing the Cape

Wearing the Cape *highly recommended*

Villains Inc.

Young Sentinels

Small Town Heroes

Ex-Heroes

Ex-Heroes *highly recommended*

Ex-Patriots

Ex-Communication

Ex-Purgatory

Soledad O'Roarke (awful, awful books)

Those Who Walk In Darkness *not recommended*

What Fire Cannot Burn *not recommended*

Don't Tell My Parents

Don't tell my parents I'm a supervillain

Don't tell my parents I blew up the moon

I think part of why I like the genre enough that I decided to write in it was because, in addition to loving comic books, I have a big fondness for extreme personalities. If nothing else, superheroes tend toward the over-the-top and justifying that was an interesting challenge. Superman gets a lot of criticism, ironically, because he's one of the guys who doesn't really seem so crazy in a world gone topsy turvy.

If that's what you enjoyed there, then I doubly recommend Turbulence to you.

I'll definitely check it out then.

[emberling]

I really enjoyed Carrie Vaughn's Golden Age books, and Black and White by Kittredge and Kessler. Seanan McGuire has an ongoing series she posts on livejournal, Velveteen, that's really fun.

I literally fell asleep trying to read Ex-Heroes in multiple attempts. Invincible is really good, and Superpowers is pretty good.

Let's see ... there's Mur Lafferty's Playing for Keeps, which didn't do much for me. Kelly Meding had a series that was ... really inconsistent in quality. Vicki Pettersson's Zodiac series is really different, it has such a weird feel to it that I wasn't able to emotionally connect it with the idea of superheroes. It's okay, I guess. Great start, drags in the middle. Jennifer Estep's Karma Girl is a guilty pleasure but exactly as good as you'd expect a superhero-themed romance novel to be.

You can probably also include Jacqueline Carey's Santa Olivia, which has a superpowered caped vigilante but keeps it a lot more down-to-earth - felt more to me like an urban-fantasy-like take on Robin Hood or Scarlet Pimpernel or something than a comics-type superhero story. (Technically not 'fantasy'. Whatever.) The first book is really great. The second book is basically The Journal Of Two Nauseatingly Cute Lesbians In Love and has no particular coherent plot to speak of. TNCLIL is like my favorite thing, but probably not all of y'alls.

I think my favorite uses of the superhero tropeset are either the ones that take it way over the top to its ridiculous extremes (like McGuire's Velveteen, or Unbeatable Squirrel Girl*) or the ones that focus really closely on the human effects of a world with superheroes - not cynical Watchmen kind of deconstruction about world-shaking ethical questions but deeply personal, about the self and the past, about the effects on family and friends. After the Golden Age is about the non-super daughter of basically-Superman and basically-Wonder-Woman, decades after those legends have retired. That kind of thing. The comics Alias and Runaways have a lot on this theme too, though it's a bit harder for them to avoid the ridiculous over-the-top stuff while actually in the actual Marvel Universe.

*Seanan McGuire and Erica Henderson, who draws Squirrel Girl, are collaborating on an online comic too, called The Best Thing. It looks cool but it's ... kind of taking its sweet time to get into the story.

In amateur work I really like Strong Female Protagonist (webcomic) and just discovered Trash Romance (online serial fic, radical queer romance, avoid if you aren't down with people of various and unusual genders getting it on on the page). Both of these have retired ex-female-Supermans in central roles.

[peterbound]

Really, really like the Ex-Heroes series.

Everyone should read that.

[C.T. Phipps]

Ex-Heroes was really good but had lot of problematic sexual and racial elements. Minor ones but prevelant ones.

They fixed that in Ex-Patriots. Which was really good.

Ex-Communication was kind of....good but in that "Last Crusade is a fun movie but not Raiders" sort of way.

Ex-Purgatory is kind of terrible.

[peterbound]

Ex-Heroes was really good but had lot of problematic sexual and racial elements. Minor ones but prevelant ones.

What?

Not really sure you're on the ball with that. Can a bad guy not be a person of color? Does that somehow make for problematic racial elements? Or that there is a female version of batman? If anything I think that shit was empowering.

You might just be trying to find fault when none exists.

[C.T. Phipps]

What?

Not really sure you're on the ball with that. Can a bad guy not be a person of color? Does that somehow make for problematic racial elements? Or that there is a female version of batman? If anything I think that shit was empowering.

You might just be trying to find fault when none exists.

Peter Clines used to be internet buddies on the old Permuted Press boards before he switched companies for a better deal.

:cool4:

Seriously, though, Peter said that it was a problem he didn't include any superheroes of color which weren't horrifically murdered as well as make the only prominent Latino characters in LOS ANGELES be gang members.

Hence, why he made Captain Freedom and revealed a certain character had been black all along.

It's also why he retconned what happened with Jessica Alba.

It's why I really TRULY respect him as an author.

(Plus, I love Stealth)

If I didn't like the series, I'd hardly be reading all four volumes with the 5th pre-ordered.

[drawkcabi]

Inner Voice - About a comet that could have been sent by aliens that caused overweight people to turn into Captain America-type athletic ability super people.