Black Jesus and Other Superheroes

by Venita Blackburn

Black Jesus and Other Superheroes chronicles ordinary people achieving vivid extrasensory perception while under extreme pain. The stories tumble into a universe of the jaded and the hopeful, in which men and women burdened with unwieldy and undesirable superhuman abilities are nonetheless resilient in subtle and startling ways.

Venita Blackburn's characters hurl themselves toward the inevitable fates they might rather wish away. Their stories play with magic without the sparkle, glaring at the internal machinations of the human spirit. Fragile symbols for things such as race, sexuality, and love are lifted, decorated, and exposed to scrutiny and awe like so many ruins of our imagination. Through it all Blackburn’s characters stumble along currents of language both thoughtful and hilarious. 

 

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Philosophy

155 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2017

Reviews

[Reggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brilliant short story collection that defies ordinary reviews. One thing is for sure, Venita Blackburn is a major talent that should've already put the entire literary landscape on notice.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BtIjtrjHQMJ/

[el · Rating 3 out of 5]

when black jesus and other superheroes flies, it soars. when it doesn’t, there’s quite a bit of drag. strangely, the beginning and the end of this collection were the most impactful and gave the impression of a bookend-like format: strong support for a weaker middle. weird, whimsical, with wildly distinct character voices and gauzy prose, this is certainly an arresting text in both content and subject matter. “black jesus” was the digitally published short story i found this collection through and remains my favorite (and, i maintain, the strongest piece in the book). if you’re interested in strange short fiction, i recommend reading that to get a taste, then continuing if you enjoy the style.

[chantel nouseforaname · Rating 5 out of 5]

So damn clever! Every line was better than the last. Every story had something special about it.

I have to commend the way that Venita Blackburn’s mind works, she’s basically a rapper because all of these stories have bars! Bar after bar!

Highly recommend.

[Jared Duran · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a stunning debut collection. Character-driven short fiction, expertly paced, told in prose that sings. I found myself often reminded of Raymond Carver in a very complimentary way.

[Halley Sutton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful.

[Rebecca Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are a whole bunch of stories packed into these 155 pages, and not one is filler. It’s been too long since I’ve read a voice this confident, fresh, and realistic. I felt a little whiplashed, to be honest; I had to take my time going through these. So worth it though - moving, hilarious, compassionate, sad. I will be recommending this book to everyone over the coming months. I hope Blackburn writes a novel soon!

[Rosalyn Leigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Smart, fearless. This is a fascinating debut deserving of another read before long. Give it a go!

[James O'Bannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Doing some rereads of things I’m teaching next semester and just had to drop in to say Venita Blackburn is one of the greatest writers alive.

[Rebecca W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weird and fascinating. Love the author’s writing style and characters. I hope more people read this so we can get some discussions going, because I didn’t quite understand half the stories.

[Krystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story collection was truly a literary feast for all my senses! Vernita Blackburn manages to delve into both the maudlin and the mesmerising with such unbridled imagination!

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

These short stories were written in 2017, with a much-needed prophetic voice in the undergirding racism that continues to plague America. For the record, the stories are vast and could happen anywhere in the world. Each story contains a hero. Some heroes are more jaded than others, and yet the more they’ve been mired in the muck of life the easier it is to identify with their struggle. Blackburn has some hidden, one-liner gems and if you read too fast you’ll easily miss it.
Here are a few of the one-liners in the book:
“Big uncle's obsession with the apocalypse wasn't about how the world stops, but how it starts again.”

“Pastor Short had a degree in dark spirits. Pastor Short was the dark spirit whisperer.”

“The two passed by the pair of bouncers like ladybugs over elephants.”

“Most whores had honor, but the average crack-whore will rob you blind and blow your Rottweiler for a five dollar fix.”

There are more. I promise.
**This was a review copy provided by NetGalley given for an honest review**

[Luke Dylan Ramsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Largely more solid than spectacular, I enjoyed this book more and more the deeper into it I got… the final story is probably my favorite and the most memorable out of the collection, although there are other contenders for sure. I did find the slightly longer stories to be more enjoyable than the shorter ones… some of the flash fiction just kinda slid by me without making a massive impression on me. That being said, I would definitely recommend this book to pretty much anyone who likes reading fiction.

The author’s authorial voice is probably my favorite aspect of these stories. The narrators of the stories engage in super interesting wordplay… the language skills were constantly surprising and subversive.

[Matt Starr · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started this, and then Russia invaded Ukraine. The empathy fatigue was real. But this book. This book shined its light and kept me away from the doomscrolling for a little while. This. Now this is a collection of stories. Blackburn's storytelling ability is magical, the best kind of weird. Her words practically shine on the page. They disorient you and firmly root you in the familiar at the same time. Some are bite-sized, others a little longer. All of them pack a hell of a punch.

[Robel Kassa · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are not your average short stories. They are exceptional. Stunning. And even in brevity, they are dense, sprawling with character and lyricism. And pack a mammoth of a punch with every carefully crafted sentence. Nary a word is wasted. These stories are poetry, meant to be read several times over, slowly, deliberately. Quite simply, a brilliant debut from Venita Blackburn.

[Ebon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I’m not a big fan of poetry mainly because I feel most of it goes over my head.

Many of the stories in this compilation, while all very well-written, were just a bit too ethereal and poetry-like for me to really get. Those that I did get, I loved, especially the vet last story.

[Vonetta · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was delightfully weird. There’s only so many collections about Black people out there, and even fewer weird ones, so this is just incredible for existing in addition to being great writing. Those descriptions! The similes! The metaphors! I’ll never look at a seahorse the same way.

[Venneh · Rating 4 out of 5]

More great short stories from Ms. Blackburn, and continues the thread of the fmaily with the pastor sleeping with the mother and the daughter. There's also some really neat things done with form and format here (two story examples: crossword puzzles and quizzes).

[amma.keep.reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

So glad I savored this unique collection. Had to reread some and skim others. This deserves another read in the future.

[Star · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will recommend this book til the day I die. Devastating hilarious queer girlhood. I love this book so much.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not all of these stood out to me, but the ones that did managed to do so much for such short stories.

[Sawyer Tennant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very lively, inventive prose.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The language crackles with life and energy.

[Maddy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can tell this writing is super high quality, but it was hard for me to get through. I had to focus very hard to not space out while reading parts of this (though, admittedly, I have a short attention span, and this is likely more of a me problem than anything else). The stories I did get through were great. They all blend into each other a little, and I found it hard to separate them when I was done. I can tell Blackburn knows what she's doing, but it wasn't for me.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quote
"Everyone alive doesn't know something about the people they know best." (19)

[Marin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very dense, full of images. Quotable