IF Anthology: Super Powers

IF Anthology #2

by Peter Simeti, Jeremy Massie, Chris Callahan

"IF" - the word itself has helped make the impossible become possible. Celebrating a new theme with every annual release, 2016's "IF" boasts over 40 creators coming together to answer the question: "what would the world REALLY be like, if people had super powers?" In "Homemade Heroes" children dress up as their favorite heroes unbeknownst to them that those very heroes are also their parents; in "The Maddening Sound" a superhero is driven insane from cries of help when he loses the ability to control his super human hearing. These tales and many more, deal with themes that run the gamut of the (super) human condition.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Comics

384 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2016

Reviews

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised by this indie anthology. It suffers from the same grab-bag drawbacks that most anthologies struggle with, but it even its worst stories are probably worthwhile to someone. This issue's theme is "super powers," so there's a fair amount of generic superhero gravitas thrown in--a lot of which isn't my thing--but it still managed to feel polished.

Anyways, instead of focusing on the negatives and stories that weren't my faves, I'm going to do some shout-outs to the ones that I thought were the best in here.

Terrific [pg. 8; Jason Inman, Ashley Victoria Robinson, Nick Robles, Taylor Esposito] -- Managed to break the fourth wall and still create a character whose tragic end you truly feel for.
The Empty Lot [pg. 15; Pat Sand, Manuel Preitano, Jim Campbell] -- A cute story about a "boring old man" who passes along his secret to a new generation of kids. Nothing super new, here, but it was a sweet story.
Loser, Nobody [pg. 88; Andrez Bergen, Chris Wahl] -- Really powerful story about overcoming depression. This was one of my favorites in the whole thing, despite being only three pages.
Powered By Ethanol [pg. 124; Paul Axel, Chris Brown, Nikki Sherman] -- A quirky, unique premise for a superhero told well, with an ambiguous ending that manages to still feel rewarding.
Heritage [pg. 154; Tito W. James, Djibril Morisette-Phan, Adam Wollet] -- I thought the concept for this one was truly unique and interesting, one of the few here that I would love to see expanded into a full story.
The Thankless Indebted [pg. 166; Mastajwood, JWNT] -- The themes were a bit overwrought, but I liked the portrayal of the superhero as someone mortal who sustained great injuries. Don't see that much.
Reflex [pg. 184; Jayson Kretzer, Jason Godwin, Mark Boss] -- One of the few ones here intended to be funny that actually made me smile. It was cute.
Sidekick [pg. 200; Chas! Pangburn, Agus Calcagno, Mariano Laclaustra] -- Super sad but it worked.
Gravity [pg. 211; Kerrie Smith, Hannah Deacon] -- A sweet little story that's subtle in the way it utilizes the super power element.
Proud [pg. 258; Jayson Stroll, Brian McCranie, Weston Design Studio] -- Debilitatingly sad, but I appreciated what it was able to do.
The Hellfire Hornet [pg. 274; Chris Callahan] -- Another unique concept utilized well. Another sad one. This anthology does tend toward the grim.
Martyr [pg. 283; Edwin Lopez, Robert Matuluko] -- I would love to see this as a full story, or even a movie!
Sideshow [pg. 320 Lea J. Zimmt, Anna Wieszcyk, Jamie Me] -- I got really attached to these characters, actually, probably the most out of all of the stories here.

There were actually much more that I wanted to give shout-outs to than I expected, so I really must congratulate the editors. Also I have to pause and commend the artists who worked on these comics. Though I found some faults with the writing, the art was perfect for each story.

A few more words of constructive criticism: Since the art was so good, the unfinished quality of the cover art is a bit jarring. Something a bit more polished would make it look more professional and appealing, I think. (This is not to say that the art is bad, it's clearly a stylistic choice, I just think that a different choice could be made). I was also actively annoyed by the story Hamster Man and its obvious plug. Saying, "Hey, see more of this in its full volume" would have been fine, but cutting out the entire action scene and saying, "Well, you can see what happened in this ONE PART even though there are still MORE PAGES after this" felt kinda like a slap in the face.

Lastly, it'd be nice if this included author/artist bios and blurbs. I would love to know more about the creators!

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

“IF Anthology: Super Powers” is a unique collection of all sorts of comics from different authors and illustrators with the theme of super powers. It varies wildly in terms of style, content, and interpretation of the theme, which means there are some that will speak to you and some that will not. There are a lot of talented contributors overall and it’s an interesting collection. Each comic is relatively short, so it’s easy to pick up and put down and a very fast read overall. The artists are all really talented and I was impressed with the incredibly high quality of the art contained within the book.

It’s tough to describe a book which has so much content contained within, but my favorites were Hamster Man, Sidekick, and Homemade Heroes. Some of the comics went over my head, but others were really fantastic- I imagine this is a pretty personal experience, so some people will like ones I did not and not like the ones I did. Hamster Man had me laughing out loud and Sidekick was emotionally brilliant (especially for something so short), and Homemade Heroes was really sweet! This book really has something for everyone, and I think comic lovers will be happy to add this to their collection.

Please note that I received a copy through a goodreads giveaway. All opinions are my own.

[Alyssa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, as always with a collection of stories, the results are quite unequal... even more so when they're all from different authors. So, obviously, there's good and... less good.

As compared to the previous one IF Anthology: Science Fiction though, the overall quality is a notch up (or a couple even). Moreover, with many more stories, it gives the occasion to explore quite a number of different perspectives on the superhero deal (which is coming back to light more than even between DC and Marvel's movies and TV adaptations). What I think is really important in this book is that not all superheroes are about superpowers and abilities as we're used to. Sometimes, it's only about doing what you can for the world.

[Cristian Docolomansky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gathers a unbelievable amount of creators from around the world with their own view on making comics and superheroes. Great reading, and you'll never get disappointed!

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

At 384 pages this is a bit long, especially because most of the stories average about 8 pages. There are a couple of vanilla superhero stories but most try to put a spin on it like the superhero loses or the hero is really a kid or a man playing a video game. Probably my favorite was called "Sidekick" and involves a little girl playing superhero when she realizes her faithful sidekick--her dog--is sick. That was a heart-wrenching twist. A few weren't really superhero stories like one that was sort of like Frosty the Snowman and one about Hercules and one that was some kind of jungle story I got bored of and skipped through.

One thing I noticed is most of the heroes were male. It would have been nice to have a little more female representation. There were a few non-white heroes, but a little more diversity would have been good. I'm just saying.

That is all.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was ok. It was pitched as all ages but I would say more like 15 and up. More about the human condition then superheroes