Superhero Literature

So, speaking as a writer of superhero literature (The Supervillainy Saga) and a fan of it (DON'T TELL MY PARENTS, WEARING THE CAPE, SOON I WILL BE INVINCIBLE, CONFESSIONS OF A D-LIST SUPERVILLAIN), I was curious if anyone had any recommendations on what their favorite superhero books are.

Also, why.

I personally love discussing the subject.

edited 13th Dec '16 5:28:06 AM by CharlesPhipps

A few years back I picked up a copy of Black and White by Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittredge.

It's an alright series. Not fantastic by any means, but it's still a reasonably entertaining read. It has two protagonists. One a hero with darkness based powers, and a villain with light based powers. It also has a sequel. I don't remember too much of the finer details.

I'll second a recommendation for Don't Tell My Parents. It's a very fun book in my opinion.

Also this wouldn't be a Superhero Literature thread if someone didn't mention Worm by Wildbow.

edited 11th Dec '16 7:52:31 PM by 32ndfreeze

Why I recommend certain series I'd like to throw this in:

• Confessions of a D-List Supervillain is really a story about the kind of working-class B-listers which Spiderman fights (Not quite as bad as the protagonist thinks he is). It's a very down to Earth kind of story and the Origins book really gives you an idea how blue collar villains would work. The kind of guys who, absent ray guns and superpowers, would deal meth and rob pawn shops. It's still damn funny, though. Full confession, though, Jim Bernheimer is the guy who discovered me so I'm horribly biased. I loved the books beforehand, though.

• Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm a Supervillain is just FUN and silly. It doesn't try and take itself too seriously, which I think is the death of good superhero literature. This a more Silver Age meets Sky High world than a dark and gritty excess, which I think works better for the printed word. Plus, Penny Akk is just fiendishly likable. I do prefer the latest one, I Did Not Give That Spider Superhuman Intelligence, though. That's a bit more mature and yet even more fun.

• Wearing the Cape is basically the Supergirl series I wanted before it became a TV show. It's basically a combination of Wild Cards with DC comics, only the heroes aren't complete jokes but genuinely sincere about being all they could be. My only complaint about them is they're kind of episodic when I'd like a bit more plot.

edited 13th Dec '16 5:28:54 AM by CharlesPhipps

Wild Cards, probably the Trope Creator for superhero lit and still, IMHGO, going strong.

I really liked the Reality TV show Wild Cards characters and was disappointed we didn't stick with them.

You might like It's Superman by Tom De Haven.

The Reckoners Trilogy, made of three books: Steelheart, Firefight, and Calamity. It has a very different tone from the other series on this thread, instead being about a world where there are supervillains, but no superheroes to stop them. The series follows The Reckoners, a group of ordinary people who make it their job to kill Epics. So basically Beware the Superman meets Cape Busters, with a healthy dose of a strange sort of Malaproper ("The sun rose like the head of a giant, radioactive manatee" comes to mind).

THE SCIENCE OF SUPERVILLAINY just came out this week. So far, people seem to be liking it a great deal.

:)

Yeah, I would like to read novels starring DC or Marvel superheroes that are not merely prose adaptations of comic book stories or films. I know Elliot S. Maggin published two Superman novels and Peter David did a Hulk book that included ideas he couldn't use during his comic book run.

edited 27th Apr '17 8:14:18 AM by DS9guy

I know Jim Butcher wrote at Spidey novel and even further back Diane Duane wrote a trilogy focusing on Spiderman and Venom. I also own a couple of novels focusing on the various members of the Justice League that were part of a series.

As a whole though apart from occasional instances like the above mentioned, its something that neither Marvel nor DC seem to focus on very much.

I haven't read too much superhero literature, but Samit Basu's Turbulence is a cracking novel. Passengers on a flight from London to Mumbai for some reason gain powers that match their deepest wish. Pretty much all the people we see with powers are Indian which is an unusual perspective in the superhero genre which is usually pretty fixed on America.

I recommend DOCTOR ANARCHY RULES FOR WORLD DOMINATION by Nelson Chereta. The editing is very "indie" but it's an awesome book.

I say that as the guy who writes Supervillainy Saga.

I recently read So Not A Hero and its sequel Some Kind of Hero by S.J. Delos, about a reformed supervillainess who tries to go legit as a member of the local superhero team, several of whom she had previously tangled with. I liked it quite a lot and really hope the author makes a third since #2 ended on a cliffhanger.

I'd also suggest the Renegade X series by Chelsea M. Campbell, starring a half-hero/half-villain kid who aspires to be a hero while also struggling with the realities of a world where the heroes aren't always quite as heroic as they should be.

edited 4th Nov '17 12:02:14 PM by Eagal

I recently read So Not A Hero and its sequel Some Kind of Hero by S.J. Delos, about a reformed supervillainess who tries to go legit as a member of the local superhero team, several of whom she had previously tangled with. I liked it quite a lot and really hope the author makes a third since #2 ended on a cliffhanger.

I picked this up because of your recommendation and seeing it advertised on Amazon. I'm really like I did—Crushette is awesome.

I also recommend people check out The Omega Superhero by Darius Brasher. It's a four book series with a four book spin off about a kid who develops the world's most powerful set of telekinesis in a superhero filled world—only to find out the heroes aren't as idealistic as he expects them to be while the villains are often that way for a good reason.

edited 15th Mar '18 11:26:52 PM by CharlesPhipps

The novels seem to be coming in a bit late on the moral ambiguity bit. Super-hero comics have done that, got bored with it, and moved on for the most part.

edited 18th Mar '18 4:13:33 PM by Robbery

Eh. it would be to the genre as a whole.

However, it's an internal revelation. Theodore Conley a.k.a Kinetic a.k.a Omega starts the first book believing heroes are perfect and we see the best of them. It's only in the second and third book we see the more corrupt influences. Which leaves Theo with the dilemma of whether he should:

1. Become a dark antihero like the rest of them.

2. Try to rise above them to be the Paragon they claim to be (but brush the worst of the worst under the rug)

Ironically, in my books I did the opposite as I had the Villain Protagonist discover, no, actually heroes really ARE that good and your assumption about them was completely wrong. It caused some interesting shifts in the narrative even I didn't expect.

edited 18th Mar '18 4:16:51 PM by CharlesPhipps

Reading:

• Dreadnought about a Shazam like character who is a Transgender one. It's actually really good.

• Just finished Wearing the Cape Recursion

• and enjoyed Please Don't Tell My Parents you believe her.

Dreadnought's been on my to read list for a while. Probably once I get though Gray Sister and The Please Don't Tell My Parents finale.

So it gets a rec from you then?

Very much so.

I'm enjoying it a great deal.

I read both Dreadnought and Sovereign.

What did you think?

Dreadnought is a really great read.

I grabbed the sample at 12:30 for a quick read before I went to bed.

Three hours and 7 dollars later I'm 65% of the way though and it's been a blast to read.

I'd finish it now but it's getting far too late.

Good thing it's a Saturday...

Really love Dreadnought. Sovereign is less enjoyable to me because Dany and Valkyrie come off less sympathetic, but it introduces Kinetiq and I like Codex in the second book.

https://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2019/02/20-recommended-superhero-fiction-novels.html

Superhero novels are one of the areas of genre fiction that don't get much attention. A few great authors like George R.R. Martin and Brandon Sanderson have dipped their toes in the genre but prose fiction is something that is traditionally considered a somewhat off-beat medium for stories about them. The vast-vast majority of superhero fiction is in comic book form and following up are movies, cartoons, video games, and even live action storytelling.

This is because superheroes are a primarily visual medium and you get a large amount of storytelling from watching the heroes at work. I have a certain fondness for superhero prose, though, because it's a genre that hasn't been utterly glutted by immitaors. My first book, The Rules of Supervillainy, was released in it as a sort of pure fun collection of pop culture and oddball antics. It also remains my most successful book series by far.

Superhero prose fiction tends to deal with either deconstructing the genre conventions of the superhero world or parodying them. They can be very serious or very-very silly. Neither of these styles is any better than the other and the best part of the superhero genre is that you can do both without going too far from your inspirations. Superheroes are, after all, stories that can be horrifically tragic one day to relentlessly goofy the next.

I should aslo note that superheroes are a major inspiration for other successful genres that are much larger in prose fiction. Where would Urban Fantasy be without its leather jacket wearing Buffy-eque heroes? What about Harry Dresden? Is he not just Spiderman with a magic staff? Well these are beyond the scope of my discussion and here's 20 of my favorite superhero novels. I've tried to mix better known works with indie favorites.

This is a thread for discussing your favorite superhero prose ranging from Martin to Hayes. I've read a lot but nowhere near the entirety of it and would love to hear opinions on other people's recommendations or "keep aways."

20. Sensation by Kevin Hardman

I very much enjoyed Kid Sensation as a novel series because it's very different from the majority of books on my list. In simple terms, it takes its plot very straight. It's about a kid who discovers he hit the jackpot in terms of superpowers but decides to play things cool before his tryout to be a superhero with the big-leaguers. That, unfortunately, goes horribly wrong.

19. Villains Don't Date Heroes by Mia Archer

This is a novel that was on and off this list multiple times. Basically, I couldn't decide if I didn't like it or really-really liked it. Finally, I decided on the latter but it's an acquired taste. It's a lesbian superhero romance about the local Lex Luthor equivalent Night Terror falling for the Super Girl-esque new hero in town. It has a very Megamind-esque feel and I haven't checked out any of the sequels but I had a lot of fun with this

18. The Case of the Claw by Keith R.A. Candido

A bit of an oddball case, The Case of the Claw has multiple sequels but they're not listed as part of the same series. For them, you'll have to look under (the SCPD series). The premise is basically Gotham Central but in a nicer community. It follows regular cops working cases that often bump up against superheroes and supervillains. I love anything KRAC does and am a huge fan of his work in the Star Trek universe so this was always a guaranteed sale.

17. Nuklear Age by Brian Clevinger

I used to read 8-bit Theater, a webcomic about Final Fantasy I, in the far off time of 2004 (which is 14 years ago—Jesus Christ). Brian wrote a 777 page novel called Nuklear Age that is about a radioactive Superman-esque figure's sidekick. It follows a story that moves from the Silver Age to the Iron Age to the Modern Age of comics. It gets dark in many places and ends on a surprisingly heartrending but powerful note. The writing is a bit rough and the author admits it in the 2012 preface but I forgive it for that. The fact it's stuck with me for 14 years should also say how good it is.

16. Velveteen vs. The Junior Super Patriots by Seanan Maguire

This is a book I debated putting on here because it's not easily available in ebook format. You can read it online for free or listen to the audiobook but some issues mean you can't just pick it up. However, the books are damned hilarious so I think you should read them anyway (or listen). The premise of Velveteen is a woman named Velma Martinez who possesses the power to animate toys. Velma's archenemy? The corporation that owns the copyright on all superheroes and treats them worse than Disney does its stars.

15. Superheroes Anonymous by Lexie Dunne

Imagine Lois Lane getting superpowers and keeping them. Essentially, this is the premise of Superheroes Anonymous when after a career of being kidnapped and menaced by people trying to fight the superhero Blaze, he moves to Florida before his last remaining villain experiments on her. Gail Godwin is a great leading protagonist and while most of the first book is a training montage, it works out surprisingly well just for the smoothness of the dialogue.

14. Blackjack: Villain by Ben Bequer

Blackjack is a gazetteer, archer, and super-strong. They're abilities that benefit one another as he robs from the rich and gives to himself. Unfortunately, he kills a superhero and is permanently branded as a monster not long after he decides to go straight. The books are a bit iffy on the editing at times but I enjoyed all three of them a great deal.

13. Dreadnought: Nemesis by April Daniels

Dreadnought is the story of a transgender girl named Danny Tozer. One day, she finds herself inheriting the power of Earth's greatest hero, giving her a body as well as powers similar to Supergirl. I very much enjoyed this heartbreaking tale of coming to your own and learning to rely on yourself because no one else can be trusted.

12. So Not A Hero by S.J. Delos

Another supervillain story, though this one is about one who reformed. Crushette is a woman with the powers of She-Hulk who was briefly involved with the world's worst supervillain. Now she's devoted herself, quite by accident, to the cause of good in the name of her newborn daughter. I'm really looking forward to the third novel when it comes out.

11. Broken Nights by Matthew Davenport

Broken Nights is a fun little story based around the premise of, "What if Batman were middle class and got his gear from Amazon.com?" It's an entertaining little story and while fairly straight to traditional superheroics, was one I definitely enjoyed. I also liked the sequel and hope they make a third book to cap off the series.

10. Caped by Darius Brasher

Darius Brasher is a great writer of superhero fiction and has made two great series before starting on a third one, all set in the same world. Caped is the story of a classic superhero "coming of age" story that follows a kid as he tries to figure out whether he wants to be a hero and then how it makes him a darker person than he wants to be. I really enjoyed the entire series. I also recommend his Superhero Detective series.

9. Villains Rule by M.K. Gibson

There's a lot of books about supervillains in this work and that's because getting into their minds is sometimes (only sometimes) more interesting than getting into the heroes'. Villains Rule is about a demigod wizard who serves as a villainous consultant to fantasy and comic book superhero baddies. It's a ridiculous and fun premise that I enjoyed tremendously.

8. Confessions of a D-List Supervillain by Jim Bernheimer

I actually belonged to the same writing group as Jim Bernheimer at Permuted Press' old website. The two of us wrote our supervillain novels simultaneously and he helped give me a leg up to release The Rules of Supervillainy. Confessions of a D-List Supervillainy is the story of Cal Stringel a.k.a Mechani-Cal. He's basically the kind of guy Spiderman beats up in the opening of a comic before going to fight his real enemies. Cal ends up unwittingly saving the world in the first book but has a flashback in the second (and superior) Origins of a D-List Supervillain. So far, I've enjoyed all four of the novels, though.

7. Forging Hephaestus by Drew Hayes

There's a truce between the superheroes and the supervillains of the world. A set of rules ala The Ventrue Brothers to keep things from exploding into pure chaos as well as eliminating each other's families. This doesn't sit well with extremists on both sides and results in one of the oldest and most terrible of supervillains coming out of retirement. I, sadly, haven't checked out his other superhero series Super Powereds.

6. Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm a Supervillain by Richard Roberts

Please Don't Tell My Parents is a nice antidote to a lot of the grimdark which has been afflicting plenty of superhero stories. It's the story of an adorable set of junior high school students who have superpowers and their decision to become supervillains after their attempt to be superheroes goes disastrously wrong. It helps that Penny Akk looks almost identical to Tegan Croft's Raven on their audiobook covers. Sadly, there's currently a kerfluffle and it's not available in Kindle form. Hopefully, that will change soon.

5. Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines

Superheroes versus zombies is an inherently wonderful concept. It's like pirates versus ninjas. In this case, the superheroes of the world are a lower-level than normal so they're unable to stop the zombie apocalypse. They are, however, able to save a small group of people in Los Angeles. The series was abruptly cancelled but got a number of really good books out. Notably, I was really impressed with how the author addressed a lot of criticisms of the original book in-universe.

4. Wearing the Cape by Marion G. Harmon

Before Supergirl had her own series, she was a fairly obscure character mostly loved by hardcore comic book fans. Wearing the Cape is a tribute to Kara Zor-El by creating the character of Hope Corrigan, who is one of the best stand-ins you could make. In a world where thousands of people gained superpowers spontaneously, she gained the typical flying brick ones. I admit, I like the first book better than the sequels but it remains one of my all-time favorites of superhero fiction. There's now an RPG setting based on the works.

3. Wild Cards by George R.R. Martin

Before A Game of Thrones, there was Fever Dream, and before Fever Dream there was Wild Cards. Wild Cards is an experiment in fiction writing where George invited a bunch of his friends to write in a world ravaged by a super-power granting plague. For the most part, the superpowers are just horrifying deformities that are used to comment on the then-current AIDS crisis and social justice. It's also got some pretty awesome characters both good, bad, and grimdark. Newcomers may want to try Inside Straight, which updates the setting to the 21st century.

2. Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

The Reckoners Trilogy would be the no. 1 on this list if it's take on superheroes wasn't a fairly dark one that isn't quite what I was looking for. Superheroes have taken over the world and made it an awful, bad, and post-apocalyptic sort of place. The Reckoners are a unit of humans with special weapons devoted to taking them down.

1. Soon I will be Invincible by Austin Grossman

Soon I will Be Invincible is the inspiration for a lot of what would eventually become the superhero genre. Doctor Impossible is the world's greatest criminal mastermind but he's also mentally ill (sort of). He has hypercognition disorder, which means he's an evil genius. The book is both loving and condemnatory to the superhero genre and probably the best out of all of this group for someone to read. Better still, the more you know about comics, the more a lot of the in-jokes will make sense.

Also Recommended:Crimson Son by Ross Linton, The Rise of Renegade X by Chelsea M. Campbell, Zephyr by Warren Hately, Sad Wings of Destiny by Thom Brannan, and Prepare to Die by Paul Tobin

I've read six of the books on that list.

19. Villains Don't Date Heroes by Mia Archer

I thought this one was not a good novel, but still was fun to read. Have not read the sequels.

13. Dreadnought: Nemesis by April Daniels

This was was great. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one.

6. Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm a Supervillain by Richard Roberts

This one might be my favorite on the list, I've read it three times. Although I still haven't read the last book.

4. Wearing the Cape by Marion G. Harmon

I got it for a dollar or so, and it didn't grab me for some reason. Got maybe 15% in and just dropped it.

2. Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

Very good series, although not exactly what you'd expect when you hear superhero series

1. Soon I will be Invincible by Austin Grossman

Also a very good book, I very much enjoyed it.

Some of the other books on the list are things I've been meaning to read, so this article was very helpful in reminding me of them.

Namely Superheroes Anonymous and the sequel to Dreadnought.

Edited by 32ndfreeze on Feb 26th 2019 at 10:43:31 PM