Superheroes

by John Varley (Editor), Ricia Mainhardt (Editor)

* 1 • Introduction (Superheroes) • essay by John Varley
* 13 • A Clean Sweep • shortstory by Laurell K. Hamilton
* 19 • Time for a Hero • shortfiction by Brian M. Thomsen
* 29 • Peer Review • novelette by Michael A. Stackpole
* 59 • Shadow Storm • shortfiction by Mickey Zucker Reichert
* 71 • Empowered • shortstory by Alan Dean Foster
* 81 • Handing on the Goggles • shortstory by B. W. Clough
* 85 • She Who Might Be Obeyed • shortstory by Roland J. Green and Frieda A. Murray
* 105 • And the Sea Shall Cast Him Out • shortfiction by William Marden
* 111 • The Defender of Central Park • shortfiction by Josepha Sherman
* 119 • Reflected Glory • shortfiction by Paul Kupperberg
* 153 • Super Acorns • shortstory by Mike Resnick and Lawrence Schimel
* 161 • Vets • shortfiction by Richard Lee Byers
* 165 • Four Tales of Many Names • shortfiction by Geral Hausman
* 177 • The Long Crawl of Hugh Glass • novelette by Roger Zelazny
* 209 • God Save the King • shortfiction by P. J. Beese and Todd Cameron Hamilton
* 219 • Contract Hit • shortstory by Richard A. Knaak
* 233 • Origin Story • shortfiction by Dwight R. Decker
* 243 • Tu Quoque • shortstory by John DeChancie
* 253 • Theme Music Man • shortfiction by Jody Lynn Nye
* 263 • Bicycle Superhero • shortfiction by Dennis O'Neil
* 275 • Captain Asimov • shortfiction by Steve Antczak
* 293 • Press Conference • shortfiction by Brad Linaweaver
* 301 • Basic Training • shortfiction by Jerry Bingham
* 319 • One of the Boys • novelette by Lawrence Watt-Evans
* 341 • Truth, Justice and the Politically Correct Socialist Path • novelette by John Varley

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Short Stories, Anthologies, Superheroes, Comics

Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Full name: John Herbert Varley.

John Varley was born in Austin, Texas. He grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, moved to Port Arthur in 1957, and graduated from Nederland High School. He went to Michigan State University.

He has written several novels and numerous short stories.He has received both the Hugo and Nebula awards.

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stories of superheroes with various super powers by various authors. The best is by book editor Varley about a Soviet Superman. Mike Resnick contributed "Acorns"- about a doctor doing his best to take care of the babies of superheroes. Another good one is "Press Conference" by Brad Linaweaver, about the President caught in the middle of a battle of superheroes. So there are several good stories, but most are so so at best. And one of the most interesting stories is by Roger Zelazny, but it's not about a science fictional superhero at all but a real historical superhero-"The Long Crawl of Hugh Glass." The film "The Revenant" was based on the true story of Hugh Glass.

[Stephen Antczak · Rating 3 out of 5]

My story "Captain Asimov" was published in this book.

[Jeff Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

(excerpted from my blog)

Enough with the picture books, what about prose? Comic books had their resurgence and then flamed out so badly that it was difficult to find a comic book store, let alone a prose novel, but in 1995 John Varley put out an anthology of short stories called SUPERHEROES. The fact that the title was available illustrates how unsaturated the market was.

I borrowed the book from a friend. We had grown up pondering ‘what would you do if you had superpowers?’ or ‘what is the worst superpower?’ This book played with these topics and lead me to consider more.

I can’t list specific stories, but certain scenes are still vivid in my memory. One superhero confronting another who has turned his powers on his unfaithful wife. A villainess breaking a hero's heart on a tropical beach. The most provocative was the story of a hero from another world with a determined fan who learns too late that his human appearance is only skin deep.

The anthology was edited by John Varley (who wrote the excellent sci-fi epic DEMON) and Ricia Mainhardt with stories from genre veterans including Roger Zelazny, Alan Dean Foster, Laurell K. Hamilton,  Mike Resnick, Richard Lee Byers and Michael A. Stackpole.

How dark? Contents include: skeletonized victims, arson, secret alien supermen, child murder and publicists.

[Alyssa White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stars for this read because there were more stories that I enjoyed that didn't enjoy. Several of three authors I could really get into and enjoy their small stories about their heroes and villains, quite enjoyable, one I would love to even create as a cosplay. There were unfortunately a few that I had to force myself to read and then one I just flipped through to read the dialect between the characters. Too each their own though. Overall, I'm glad I read it. It was my first anthology.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very cute, very short story by Laurell K. Hamilton. It's not a part of either the Merry or Anita series. It's also very different to anything in those series. I loved it and highly recommend it. I can't say too much about it because it'll give way to many spoilers.

[Heather Warner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boy, I do sure love me the superhero genre in novels! This is a hugely fun collection of short stories about various superheroes. Pure entertainment….that will make you do some thinking which is always the best kind of story! Excellent anthology and one that I recommend.

“Some come from distant planets. Others come from Mother Earth. Some gain their powers from radiation, cosmic rays, or toxic waste. Others are supreme athletes driven by superhuman dedication. They take colorful names. Don colorful capes. And they save us from ourselves...” (From the book blurb)

[Jimmy Slattery · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pretty disappointing stuff when you think of what people like Alan Moore, Warren Ellis, Mark Millar and even Kurt Busiek have done with the idea of considering super-powered humans in the real world. Alongside things like Marvels, Ruins, The Authority, Stormwatch, Astro City et al, this is generally unremarkable stuff. A better bet is Soon I Shall Become Invincible.
larry Niven's Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex is worth a look as well.

http://www.rawbw.com/~svw/superman.html

[Idea Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

An unusual take on superhero lore and a must-read for science fiction lovers as well as superhero fans. It's a compilation of short stories by various authors and delves into the psyche of what really makes a superhero great and how duty-bound is he/she to stick to that. My personal favorite was 'And the Sea Shall Cast Him Out' with 'Time for a Hero' running a close second.

[Chip · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good fun anthology dealing mostly with Superheros. Most of the stories deal less with the character's superpowers but rather the issues they have within society. A few that I liked were "Reflected Glory", "Time for a Hero" and "Super Acorns". A great book for people who like short stories since most are well written and satisfactorily written in 20 pages or so.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Varley admits in the introduction that he never read comic books as a kid. He collected stamps instead. He did, however, have a cute idea for a story about Superman in Russia. Might as well edit a book of superhero fiction and get the thing published. Why not?

[colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

read 05.07.06

[Emily]

"Super Acorns", about a young doctor working in a pediatric unit for metahumans, is definitely my favorite short story in this collection.

[Eric Gardner · Rating 3 out of 5]

a couple fun shorts about super heroes, there's some Native American ones that don't really seem to fit the theme for me at least...

[Richard Gombert · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good anthology of Superhero stories.

One, I'm sure was the inspiration for "Red Son."

Some of the stories are a little dated now (This came out int he 80's), but a good collection.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most stories are only OK. The best is the one by Varley. One of the rare stories which caused me to tear up with laughter.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of deconstructionist tales of superheroes, by people who don't much like them.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Clean Sweep by Laurell K. Hamilton 5/29/1006
Time for a Hero by Brian M. Thomsen 5/31/2006
Peer Review by Michael A. Stackpole 6/1/2006
Shadow Storm by Mickey Zucker Reichert 6/11/2006
Empowered by Alan Dean Foster 6/12/2006
Handing on the Goggles by B. W. Clough 6/14/2006
She Who Might Be Obeyed by Roland J. Green and Frieda A. Murray 6/15/2006
And the Sea Shall Cast Him Out by William Marden 6/18/2006
The Defender of Central Park by Josepha Sherman 6/19/2006
Reflected Glory by Paul Kupperberg 6/20/2006
Super Acorns by Mike Resnick and Lawrence Schimel
Vets by Richard Lee Byers
Four Tales of Many Names by Gerald Hausman
The Long Crawl of Hugh Glass by Roger Zelazny
God Save the King by P. J. Beese and Todd Cameron Hamilton
Contract Hit by Richard A. Knaak
Origin Story by Dwight R. Decker
Tu Quoque by John DeChancie
Theme Music Man by Jody Lynn Nye
Bicycle Superhero by Dennis O'Neil
Captain Asimov by Stephen L. Antczak [as by Steve Antczak ]
Press Conference by Brad Linaweaver
Basic Training by Jerry Bingham
One of the Boys by Lawrence Watt-Evans
Truth, Justice and the Politically Correct Socialist Path by John Varley