I was really excited when I found this book. I am such a superhero junkie and I was really looking forward to an entire anthology of superhero short stories. What a letdown. Most anthologies are a mixed bag but this one contained more stories that I didn't really enjoy than most. Honestly, I can probably only remember a few of the stories - and the one I remember most vividly I hated. I should have checked this out of the library instead of buying. ( )

This book is a collection of short stories all connected in some way to the theme of superheroes. It is not published by DC or Marvel, so characters from the "big two" aren't found in these pages. Instead, these are original creations with a variety of supernatural powers ranging from flight to communing with ghosts to being able to gush copious amounts of Slushee out of one's hands and feet.

Being a compilation, the writing styles vary as much as the supers' abilities. There were some stories that were humorous ("The Quick Stop 5"), some that were beautifully poignant ("Bad Karma Girl Wins at Bingo"), some that were frankly bizarre ("In Cretaceous Seas"), and some that were just dull and meandering with nothing resolved or even fully explained ("The Meerkat"). Even with those I liked, the endings off left me sort of "eh." However, that is a common feeling for me with short stories -- they always seem to end just as I am getting into them.

Each story is preceded with a title page including an illustration done in black-and-white. These are a nice add-on, although not strictly necessary to understand the story.

To be completely honest, even after mulling on the contents of this book, I'm not sure that I would recommend it to others. ( )

This is a fun little collection. All of the stories within somehow relate to superheroes and extraordinary powers, be it by satire, parody, send-up, or homage. Some are fun and funny romps, while others touch upon the super only tangentially, focusing on people who are somehow different from the rest of the world. Perhaps my favorite use the superhero only as a metaphor for the struggles of everyday life. If you happen to come across this book in the remainder bin -- as I did -- please pick it up and give it a chance. You'll like it. ( )

This is a more-enjoyable-than-not collection of mostly superhero stories. It tends to showcase the tried and true tropes (no alliteration intended) of contemporary comic books. We have a lot of mistrust of government, quite a bit of angst caused by superpeople seeing themselves as different than non-superpeople, musings about the nature of heroism, and a few stories told from the perspectives of supporting characters. You've read this before. But if you like comic books, you're probably used to stories that you've read before.

It's been a while since there was any new ideas in comic books, and this collection does not present much in the way of innovation. It's an enjoyable read if you like the genre and have a few half-hours to kill here and there. I highly recommend "Bad Karma Girl Wins and Bingo" for anyone and "The League of Justice (Philadelphia Division)" for anyone living in Philadelphia who loves to point out proof that the author hasn't spent a whole lot of time in the City-of-Brotherly-Love-So-You-Don't-Have-To. ( )

A really original collection of short stories about "super-heroes" loosley defined. Some are really pretty great, a couple are really pretty boring, but an enjoyable book overall. ( )