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Caped: An Anthology of Superhero Tales
A multi-author collection of eighteen original superhero tales ranging from the dark to the hysterical to the downright bizarre.
“And Introducing the Scarlet Scrapper” by Leonard Apa: A Golden Age tale of an actor who hates playing a superhero on the radio but discovers a new role awaiting him.
“Sovereign’s Last Hurrah” David Court: In a retirement home, elderly supervillains scheme to return an item of power to their greatest enemy.
“RIGHTMAN! Loses the Faith” Gary Cuba: Being a superhero is what you make of it, and what you can make from it.
“Dax and the Red Eyes” Adrienne Dellwo: Dax's disability prevents him from telling anyone about his brother using powers to hurt people.
“Dum Dum” Leod D. Fitz: Some supervillains are geniuses, and others are simply well-trained.
“Light Therapy” Che Gilson: Being a sidekick is a thankless job.
“Pinning Portugal” Elliotte Rusty Harold: A group of supervillains hatches a new scheme that naturally goes awry.
“When Fukayna Danced Her Libraries” Jake Johnson: Eventually even superheroes need to step away from the job.
“Super Frenemies” Stephen Kotowych: A group of super-powered children take on the neighborhood bully with surprising results.
“The Faces of the Wind” Laura Lamoreaux: After World War II, the country no longer needed superheroes, leaving the heroes with difficult decisions.
“Capacity Crowds” Paul McMahon: He wants to be a real superhero, but can't seem to find a villain to match him.
“Heart of the Matter” Robert J. Mendenhall: Cameron's powers are preventing the medical treatment that may save his life.
“Ebony Boneshaft, Secret Superhero” Wendy Qualls: She didn't mean to discover Ebony Boneshaft's secret identity, and when she did, it caused no end of trouble for her.
“Eye of the Beholder” Dave Ring: Being seen as the object of everyone's desire is a poor way to live life.
“I Am Hathor” Aaron Michael Ritchey & Jason Henry Evans: Balancing superheroics and motherhood is a difficult dance for Hathor.
“The Romulus Proposition” Tim Rohr: When the mighty have fallen, it's probably because they were pushed.
“Saul, Again” Eric Rosenfield: A time traveler takes a circuitous, long-term approach to facing a dangerous villain.
“Damn the Dark, Damn the Light” K. H. Vaughan: There's a fine line between heroism and nihilism and sooner or later everyone crosses it.
“And Introducing the Scarlet Scrapper” by Leonard Apa: A Golden Age tale of an actor who hates playing a superhero on the radio but discovers a new role awaiting him.
“Sovereign’s Last Hurrah” David Court: In a retirement home, elderly supervillains scheme to return an item of power to their greatest enemy.
“RIGHTMAN! Loses the Faith” Gary Cuba: Being a superhero is what you make of it, and what you can make from it.
“Dax and the Red Eyes” Adrienne Dellwo: Dax's disability prevents him from telling anyone about his brother using powers to hurt people.
“Dum Dum” Leod D. Fitz: Some supervillains are geniuses, and others are simply well-trained.
“Light Therapy” Che Gilson: Being a sidekick is a thankless job.
“Pinning Portugal” Elliotte Rusty Harold: A group of supervillains hatches a new scheme that naturally goes awry.
“When Fukayna Danced Her Libraries” Jake Johnson: Eventually even superheroes need to step away from the job.
“Super Frenemies” Stephen Kotowych: A group of super-powered children take on the neighborhood bully with surprising results.
“The Faces of the Wind” Laura Lamoreaux: After World War II, the country no longer needed superheroes, leaving the heroes with difficult decisions.
“Capacity Crowds” Paul McMahon: He wants to be a real superhero, but can't seem to find a villain to match him.
“Heart of the Matter” Robert J. Mendenhall: Cameron's powers are preventing the medical treatment that may save his life.
“Ebony Boneshaft, Secret Superhero” Wendy Qualls: She didn't mean to discover Ebony Boneshaft's secret identity, and when she did, it caused no end of trouble for her.
“Eye of the Beholder” Dave Ring: Being seen as the object of everyone's desire is a poor way to live life.
“I Am Hathor” Aaron Michael Ritchey & Jason Henry Evans: Balancing superheroics and motherhood is a difficult dance for Hathor.
“The Romulus Proposition” Tim Rohr: When the mighty have fallen, it's probably because they were pushed.
“Saul, Again” Eric Rosenfield: A time traveler takes a circuitous, long-term approach to facing a dangerous villain.
“Damn the Dark, Damn the Light” K. H. Vaughan: There's a fine line between heroism and nihilism and sooner or later everyone crosses it.
257 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 31, 2015
4 people are currently reading
19 people want to read
About the author
Ian Thomas Healy
125 books100 followersIan Thomas Healy is a prolific writer who dabbles in many different speculative genres. His superhero novel Deep Six: A Just Cause Novel was a Top 100 Semi-finalist in the 2008 Amazon.com Breakthrough Novel Award. He’s a seven-time participant and winner of National Novel Writing Month where he’s tackled such diverse subjects as sentient alien farts, competitive forklift racing, a religion-powered rabbit-themed superhero, cyberpunk mercenaries, cowboy elves, and an unlikely combination of vampires with minor league hockey. He is also the creator of the Writing Better Action Through Cinematic Techniques workshop, which helps writers to improve their action scenes.
His goal is to become as integral to the genre of superhero fiction as William Gibson was to cyberpunk and Anne Rice was to urban fantasy.
Ian lives in Colorado with his wife, three children, and a plethora of housepets. When not writing, which is rare, he likes to take road trip, enjoys watching football and hockey, and listening to or playing music. His ebooks can be found on Smashwords, Kindle, Nook, iBook Store, and other online retailers.
His goal is to become as integral to the genre of superhero fiction as William Gibson was to cyberpunk and Anne Rice was to urban fantasy.
Ian lives in Colorado with his wife, three children, and a plethora of housepets. When not writing, which is rare, he likes to take road trip, enjoys watching football and hockey, and listening to or playing music. His ebooks can be found on Smashwords, Kindle, Nook, iBook Store, and other online retailers.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 18, 2016
Caped is an anthology of superhero stories. They range in tone from serious to humorous. I found every story had something to offer, and as a whole the anthology works very well. There are 18 stories. I won't go through every one (Amazon page has synopses for every story, if you're wondering.) I'll highlight some of my favorites from the bunch.
"Pinning Portugal" by Elliotte Rusty Harold
Sueprvillains learn that you can develop superweapons for fun and profit.
"Damn the Dark, Damn the Light" by K. H. Vaughan
Good story about a league of superheroes who start fraying at the edges. Some interesting supervillains in this one, too.
"Dax and the Red Eyes" by Adrienne Dellwo
This is the darkest tale of the set. A disabled child is the only one who can see the evil of his sibling.
"And Introducing the Scarlet Scrapper" by Leonard Apa
A radio actor must step up and play the real hero off-stage. Nice tribute to Golden Age radio shows.
"Dum Dum" by Leod D. Fitz
This was a delight. A bit of a block-headed, superstrong villain sits down for a prison interview. Wonderful ending.
"Heart of the Matter" by Robert J. Mendenhall
A Superman-like hero has an inoperable heart condition. Is it time to retire or go out fighting?
"Capacity Crowds" by Paul McMahon
What happens when everyone is so enamored of your heroics that no one wants to be your supervillain? Nice twist here that I don't want to give away.
"The Faces of the Wind" by Laura Lamoreaux
After World War II, superheroes are repressed by the government and searching for purpose. Think of it as The Incredibles with a serious twist for the Golden Age heroes.
"Sovereign's Last Hurrah" by David Court
The superheroes and supervillains of the past find a common goal - making their life in the nursing home bearable. Not as humorous as it sounds, it's actually a poignant tale.
Caped is a fun anthology. I enjoyed it.
"Pinning Portugal" by Elliotte Rusty Harold
Sueprvillains learn that you can develop superweapons for fun and profit.
"Damn the Dark, Damn the Light" by K. H. Vaughan
Good story about a league of superheroes who start fraying at the edges. Some interesting supervillains in this one, too.
"Dax and the Red Eyes" by Adrienne Dellwo
This is the darkest tale of the set. A disabled child is the only one who can see the evil of his sibling.
"And Introducing the Scarlet Scrapper" by Leonard Apa
A radio actor must step up and play the real hero off-stage. Nice tribute to Golden Age radio shows.
"Dum Dum" by Leod D. Fitz
This was a delight. A bit of a block-headed, superstrong villain sits down for a prison interview. Wonderful ending.
"Heart of the Matter" by Robert J. Mendenhall
A Superman-like hero has an inoperable heart condition. Is it time to retire or go out fighting?
"Capacity Crowds" by Paul McMahon
What happens when everyone is so enamored of your heroics that no one wants to be your supervillain? Nice twist here that I don't want to give away.
"The Faces of the Wind" by Laura Lamoreaux
After World War II, superheroes are repressed by the government and searching for purpose. Think of it as The Incredibles with a serious twist for the Golden Age heroes.
"Sovereign's Last Hurrah" by David Court
The superheroes and supervillains of the past find a common goal - making their life in the nursing home bearable. Not as humorous as it sounds, it's actually a poignant tale.
Caped is a fun anthology. I enjoyed it.
Displaying 1 of 1 review