I'm excited about Kick-Ass 2 coming out today! Since I've caught the superhero fever, I put up a display of superhero books to go with the whole vigilante theme.
Here are the titles currently up on display (descriptions taken from NoveList unless otherwise noted):
Teen Fiction
Hero by Perry Moore - Teenager Thom Creed's father is an ex-superhero who was disgraced in a terrible tragedy, so when Thom begins to develop superhuman powers, he doesn't tell his dad. Thom has something else he's afraid to tell his father: he's gay. When the prestigious League of superheroes invites Thom to join, he secretly begins training with a group of oddball recruits. But after a series of hero-murders threaten not only the League but world security, Thom and his team realize it's up to them to save the day.
Nobody Gets the Girl by James Maxey - Richard Rogers awakes one morning to find himself transformed into an invisible man. Suddenly thrust into a new life as a superhero called Nobody, he fights alongside two stunningly sexy superheroines -- Rail Blade and the Thrill -- in an effort to save the world. A one-hundred-foot baby doll with a gun for a head is just one of the obstacles in his path. The real drama lies in his quest to regain his identity. But the door to that plane of his existence may be closed forever... (taken from back cover)
Rise of Renegade X by Chelsea Campbell - Expecting to become a supervillain on his sixteenth birthday, Damien Locke, son of one of Golden City's most notorious supervillains, is horrified to discover that he may instead be destined to become a superhero.
Adult Science Fiction
After the Golden Age by Carrie Vaughn - Forensic accountant Celia West is the powerless and estranged daughter of two of Commerce City's great heroes, Captain Olympus and Spark. When the city prosecutes the evil Destructor for tax evasion, Celia gets pulled in to track down evidence. As a new crime spree creates tension between the city's heroes and the police force, Celia's investigation uncovers long-buried secrets about her family and the city.
Emperor Mollusk Versus the Sinister Brain by A. Lee Martinez - Emperor Mollusk, ex-warlord of Earth, comes out of retirement to save the planet from the sinister brain's control.
Santa Olivia by Jacqueline Carey - Loup Garron, the daughter of a man with superhuman strength and a human female, risks her freedom and the exposure of her ancestry when she fights for justice in her village as Santa Olivia, a patron saint.
Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman - When Doctor Impossible, an evil genius and ambitious wannabe world dominator, launches a new plot to seize control of the world, Fatale, a woman built by the NSA to be the next generation of weaponry, joins a group of misfit superheroes in their quest to destroy Doctor Impossible.
Short Stories
Masked, edited by Lou Anders - Anders (Fast Forward) delivers an ambitious collection of superhero tales that provide top-notch plots and characterizations while honoring their four-color roots. In Daryl Gregory's superbly metafictional "Message from the Bubble Gum Factory," a former sidekick finally realizes the broader implications of superheroes. Stephen Baxter nicely applies hard science to the futuristic "Vacuum Lad." Gail Simone's "Thug" and Mike Carey's "The Non-Event" bolster predictable plots with solid characters and prose. Joseph Mallozzi's "Downfall" and Marjorie M. Liu's "Call Her Savage" embrace comics clicheÌüs and make them both more complex and more entertaining. Only Mike Baron's dull, heavy-handed, and predictable "Avatar" stands out as noticeably weak, though Peter and Kathleen David's witty "Head Cases" feels more like the opening of a novel than a complete story. Overall, Anders has assembled a solid anthology that provides first-rate entertainment. (Publishers Weekly)
Who Can Save Us Now? edited by Owen King - With mutations stranger than the X-Men and with even more baggage than the Hulk, this next generation of superheroes is a far cry from your run-of-the-mill caped crusader.
Unique Graphic Novels
The Helm by Jim Hardison - Matt Blurdy is an overweight loser who works at a video store, henpecked by dissatisfied customers, and still lives at home, henpecked by his eternally dissatisfied mother. But when picking through an antique shop, he is informed by an ancient and magical helm that he has a heroic destiny and all he has to do is claim it. Despite the helm’s growing doubts, Matt undergoes a crash course in heroism, as both the police and certain dark forces start sniffing him out. From this irresistible premise, Hardison crafts a tale that does not let up, either on humor or suspense, delivering a pitch-perfect take on both the power-fantasies of pathetic losers and the sneering contempt that people have for them. And he still manages to tug the heartstrings as the relationship between the pudgy slacker and his stern mentor develops, while Sears beautifully balances the tactile art between satire and heroism. With its jabs at comic-book culture and its deft fantasy elements, this has appeal to any reader interested in a laugh or an adventure. Grades 9-12. (Booklist)
Omega the Unknown: a New Interpretation by Jonathan Lethem - The story of a mute, reluctant super hero from another planet, and the earthly teenager with whom he shares a strange destiny - and the legion of robots and nanoviruses that have been sent from afar to hunt the two of them down! Created in 1975 by Steve Gerber and Mary Skrenes, the original Omega the Unknown lasted only ten issues, but was a legend to those who recall it - an ahead-of-its-time tale of an anti-hero, inflected with brilliant ambiguity. One of Omega's teenage fans was award-winning novelist Jonathan Lethem, who has used the original as a springboard for a superbly strange, funny, and moving graphic novel in ten chapters. (Publisher)
The Nobody (#1) by Jeff Lemire - The Nobody takes H.G. Wells's timeless character of "The Invisible Man" and brings him into a modern small town, using him as a cipher to explore themes of identity, fear and paranoia, and how they can turn a small community in on itself and destroy even the most pure of friendships.
