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Superheroes
CONTENTSIntroduction · Michel Parry · inStuporman · Robert BlochThe Evil Super-Man [“The Test-Tube Monster”] · George E. Clark · The Golden Amazon Returns [as by Thornton Ayre] · John Russell FearnOrigin of a Superhero · Donald F. Glut ·Captain Amazing · Stephen Hitchcock ·The Awesome Menace of the Polarizer · George Alec EffingerSatyr-Man · John A. Keel Transmuto, the Metamorphic Myrmidon · Adrian ColeEasy Way Out · Marion PitmanIt’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! · Norman SpinradUp, Up and Away · Allan C. Kimball Alternative Ending · Frank AdeyMan of Steel—Woman of Kleenex · Larry Niven
Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 8, 2016
An excellent argument that superhero stories work best in comic form
October 23, 2011
Collection of short stories. A couple of good ones, but mostly not.
April 27, 2024
Another Michel Parry anthology from the 1970s, and this time a less successful venture. The subject matter is superheroes, which doesn't translate well to the written form, and a lot of the short stories collected here try to be funny in a way which really isn't all that funny at all.
Robert Bloch offers a typically strong start in STUPORMAN, a Lefty Freep effort full of the usual amusing wordplay and rhymes. George Clark's THE EVIL SUPER-MAN is a classic slice of Frankenstein-inspired pulp in which a creature runs amok with some novel twists. It's great fun. THE GOLDEN AMAZON RETURNS is by John Russell Fearn and presumably the third in a cliffhanger series; it's pure pulp action and entirely superficial.
Don Glut's ORIGIN OF A SUPERHERO continues his obsession with Frankenstein, including a twist you'll see coming a mile off. Stephen Hitchcock's CAPTAIN AMAZING is essentially a riff on Superman with a few twists to keep it interesting, while George Effinger's THE AWESOME MENACE OF THE POLARIZER is a cheap schoolboy crime fighter story which I didn't care much for at all.
John Keel's SATYR-MAN at least offers a more adult spin on the usual staples, but the usually reliable Adrian Cole's TRANSMUTO, THE METAMORPHIC MYRMIDON, is a wishy-washy effort about a plague of rats. Marion Pitman's EASY WAY OUT is a short-short with an obvious twist and fun Marvel cameos. IT'S A BIRD, IT'S A PLANE! sees Norman Spinrad on excruciating form with a deeply unfunny psychiatric spin on Superman.
Allan Kimball's UP, UP AND AWAY at least offers a novel psychological exploration of how a superhero might fare in the real world, while Frank Adey's ALTERNATIVE ENDING is a retelling of the Superman origin story, with a twist that might have been borrowed from H.G. Wells. The anthology concludes with Larry Niven's amusing musings on Superman's sex life in MAN OF STEEL, WOMAN OF KLEENEX.
Robert Bloch offers a typically strong start in STUPORMAN, a Lefty Freep effort full of the usual amusing wordplay and rhymes. George Clark's THE EVIL SUPER-MAN is a classic slice of Frankenstein-inspired pulp in which a creature runs amok with some novel twists. It's great fun. THE GOLDEN AMAZON RETURNS is by John Russell Fearn and presumably the third in a cliffhanger series; it's pure pulp action and entirely superficial.
Don Glut's ORIGIN OF A SUPERHERO continues his obsession with Frankenstein, including a twist you'll see coming a mile off. Stephen Hitchcock's CAPTAIN AMAZING is essentially a riff on Superman with a few twists to keep it interesting, while George Effinger's THE AWESOME MENACE OF THE POLARIZER is a cheap schoolboy crime fighter story which I didn't care much for at all.
John Keel's SATYR-MAN at least offers a more adult spin on the usual staples, but the usually reliable Adrian Cole's TRANSMUTO, THE METAMORPHIC MYRMIDON, is a wishy-washy effort about a plague of rats. Marion Pitman's EASY WAY OUT is a short-short with an obvious twist and fun Marvel cameos. IT'S A BIRD, IT'S A PLANE! sees Norman Spinrad on excruciating form with a deeply unfunny psychiatric spin on Superman.
Allan Kimball's UP, UP AND AWAY at least offers a novel psychological exploration of how a superhero might fare in the real world, while Frank Adey's ALTERNATIVE ENDING is a retelling of the Superman origin story, with a twist that might have been borrowed from H.G. Wells. The anthology concludes with Larry Niven's amusing musings on Superman's sex life in MAN OF STEEL, WOMAN OF KLEENEX.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews