Behind the Mask

Entertaining and wellwritten - although those expecting lots of BAM! and POW! may be disappointed as much of this material is about the personalities behind the mask. I enjoyed it.

In a nutshell: very well-crafted anthology with lots and lots of amazing, thought-provoking stories, both by established authors (Kelly Link and Seanan McGuire for example) as well as authors who are less well-known. I enjoyed this mix of different voices a whole lot.

I have been thinking about this review all morning and still do not know how to write it. I always find anthologies difficult to assess and to review - there are so many things happening and obviously some stories resonate more with me than others. Also, for me the stories tend to blend into each other and I cannot always remember every one enough to even have an opinion about it after finishing the whole collection. That said: this was a pretty brilliant anthology. Tricia Reeks and Kyle Richardson obviously put a lot of thought and love and work into collecting these stories and to fit them into a more or less coherent order.

As you can tell from the title, this is a collection of superhero stories focussing on the maybe less often talked about aspects of being a superhero. Interestingly, most stories focus on female superheroes (and some supervillains) and the specific problems they might face (work/life balance, sexism in the workplace, losing your identity etc) and I obviously loved that to pieces. I don't know if this was on purpose or if those just were the stories the authors wanted to tell, but I appreciate it nontheless.

Every author put their own spin on the superhero genre and mostly they greatly succeeded. I did appreciate the newer voices more than the stories by the more established authors. Some standouts for me were Nathan Crowder's "Madjack" - a wonderful homage to David Bowie; Kate Marshall's beautifully imagined and original "Destroy the City with Me Tonight" (with the absolute best ending of all the stories); Aimee Ogden's "As I Fall Asleep" - sad and poignant and very very great; Carrie Vaughn's playful spin on a romantic comedy "Origin Story" (even villains have meet cutes!); and my absolute favourite of the book: Chris Large's "Salt City Blue" - I loved loved loved this one and its beautifully flawed main character and I do not want to spoil it but you should read it.

_____
I received an arc of this book curtesy of NetGalley and Meerkat Press in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for that!

Superheroes. Superpowers. I'm a huge fan. Wasn't quite sure how to rate it, but in the end decide to be generous. Not every story in this anthology was a standout, but the quality was notably consistent and some were surprisingly good. Surprisingly, because with exception of 2 or 3 names, most of the authors were unknown to me and I've only read Vaughn previously. Majority of the stories have a female angle, female protagonists, etc. Don't think I should have read them all in a row in two sittings, this is the sort of thing to sample now and again, when the mood strikes. Also, first couple of stories don't really draw you in as much as the subsequent ones, but there are at least a few tales so original and clever, it makes the book well worth the price of admission. With superheroes' boombastic adventures all over tv and cinema, this anthology offers the obverse of the glitz and glamour, dealing with the actual social and emotional ramifications of donning the tights and, of course, the mask. Thanks Netgalley.

<i> *I received this book from the publisher and NetGalley in return for a fair review.*</i>

Holy Angst Batman! This sure is an angsty bunch of stories. Super depressing. Anyone who decides to become a hero is stupid (judging by these stories). These are stories of the lives behind the mask. The mask of superheroes. Turns out superheroes have crappy lives, who knew, eh (maybe anyone who has watched most superhero movies and seen how angsty and depressing superheroes are)?

<b>Cat Rambo: Ms. Liberty Gets a Haircut</b>
FF; All Female Super Team

A group of all female superheroes boredly do stuff. Like bicker amongst themselves, interview potential new team members, fight others (and have the fight be basically described in the story in the super exciting way of one liners like 'fought parallel versions of ourselves').

One is a cyborg, another is an alien, another is a shape-shifting blob, another is 'the brain', etc. Two of them flirt with the idea of dating each other and then do. Hence my 'FF' tag.

Rating: 3.21

April 13 2017

<B>Kate Marshall: Destroy the City with Me Tonight</b>
Amnesia; Mental Illness; Forgetfulness

Apparently superheroes and super villains are a disease. A virus. One that can be sexually transmitted. And, as seems to be a common theme in this book based on the few stories I've read so far, being a superhero or villain is a super depressing angsty life to have. A curse, not a benefit.

Rating: 3.12

April 13 2017

<B>Keith Frady: Fool</b>
Super villain; mad scientist; secret lair; Tropical Island; volcano; robots

Just in case you didn't know - superheroes aren't the only ones with crappy, depressing, angsty lives - super villains also are super depressing people. The one here. Dr. Entropy who lives in a volcano on a tropical island building 'death machines' and stuff like that (also robots). He's inches away from pushing a giant red button that may or may not actually be connected to anything, though he believes that if he pushes it he will end all life on earth (well, at least human life). He is weirdly reluctant to push the button, though, and keeps monologuing. And doing even more monologuing. While starring up to see if anyone will stop him. Then more monologuing.

Rating: 3.03

April 13 2017

<B>Seanan McGuire: Pedestal</b>
Paparazzi

Paparazzi really are scum of the earth.

A young superhero attempts to go out in civilian clothing to get some stuff, like ice cream. You know normal human level stuff. She's afraid to go out, though, because, like how I started this mini-review, paparazzi are scum - as in, there are people who will thrust cameras in her face and take her picture.

Well, a blogger stops inches from her in the ice cream aisle and taunts her, then takes her photo. Posts it. Then, because the blogger left 'location' on - a giant squid appears and starts destroying the supermarket and the superhero has to fight the giant squid. Meanwhile the blogger continues to taunt her. Because, well - scum of the earth and stuff. I can seriously see an advantage of being a super-villain in this universe. I wanted to rip the blogger's balls off.

Of note: I believe this story falls within the same universe as McGuire's superhero series (Velveteen vs.).

Rating: 3.45

April 13 2017

<B>Aimee Ogden: As I Fall Asleep</b>
Mental Illness; Background LGBT Character*

A woman destroys a secret lab. Smashing computers and stuff. Beating up her former side-kick who, it appears, has turned traitor.

Story reminded me of one I'd read by Jude McLaughlin, the one where a reporter interviews an old retired superhero. Well no reporters here. Just an old ex-superhero with diminished mental abilities due to aging.

* The other woman in the story mentions how she had been on a date with a cute woman when she had to get involved in the action in this story

Rating: 3.7

April 13 2017

<B>Jennifer Pullen: Meeting Someone in the 22nd Century or Until the Gears Quit Turning</b>
Cyborg

A man meets a woman. Flirts. Dates. Marries. Time passes. Babies attempted to be born - fail. More time passes. Kind of both boring and annoying.

My greatest problem with this story is the part where it is set in the future and there kept being little comments here and there like 'what do you expect, hover-chairs, just because we live in the future?' Um, you don't live in the future; you live in your own present. But, meh, whatever. Close behind that 'greatest problem' would be the blunt style of the story. (Then there's the part where no superheroes are actually characters in the story).

Rating: 3.0

April 13 2017

<B>Michael Milne: Inheritance</b>
PoC, Family

A boy of a failed marriage grows older. His mother is an accountant. His father is . . . a superhero (and mostly absent father). The boy himself has 'inherited' super powers himself and attempts to fit in as best as he can. The mother, divorced from the father, dates others, marries others, many others. The end.

Rating: 3.39

April 13 2017

<B>Lavie Tidhar: Heroes</b>
Berlin, Spies, Cold War

Two superhero powered spies sit around in a room watching one of the gates into/out of East Berlin while waiting for the arrival of 'Medicus' - an ex-NAZI 'superhero' who was still in East Berlin when the Soviets took over back during WWII and then worked for them. The two spies, one from the USA, one from the UK, fight Jewish superheroes to 'help' the ex-NAZI go into US control.

Rating: 3.42

April 14 2017

<B>Nathan Crowder: Madjack</b>
Music; Aliens

A female musician plays on stage, suddenly she just 'knows' her father is dead, and everyone within, if I recall correctly, 30 rows begins crying (for this musician has emo power - sense others emotions/project emotions onto others).

Quite interesting and good story - I want more. So far it is/was the best story in the collection.

Rating: 4.30

April 14 2017

<B>Patrick Flanagan: Quintessential Justice</b>
Sidekick/support

This story is set from the point of view of a sidekick/support person – not a Robin type but more of a Alfred type. The kind of person who help get coffee, not the kind who will help fight bad guys.

Well there’s this superhero dude who is named QED. He goes about his day and the support person follows along behind. Constantly suppressing, and occasionally letting her eyeballs roll hard. For, you see, QED is a pompous type who needs constant reassurance and constant praise – so much so that there are paid ‘plants’ in the crowds who will cheer for QED. Oh, and once, the superhero actually does get into a fight with a villain.

Not a super exciting story but . . . there. And read.

Rating: 3.10

April 17 2017
<B>Stephanie Lai: The Fall of the Jade Sword</b>
Melbourne, Australia, Steampunk

A young Chinese woman grows up in some steampunk like Melbourne in some unknown date. She reads of a hero bouncing around named Jade Sword. She, the young woman, is not Jade Sword. She reads 'Art of War'. She sits on someone else's steam-bicycle and gets chased for her troubles. She falls off a roof. A few confuse her with Jade Sword. The real Jade Sword interacts with her, but it is unclear if the young woman realizes, in both encounters (one 'in costume', one 'in civilian guise'), that she has encountered Jade Sword. Refuses to be trained by Jade Sword. Or doesn't. Bloody confusing story.

Rating: 2.7

April 17 2017

<B>Carrie Vaughn: Origin Story</b>

A woman gets stuck in a bank robbery/hostage situation and expectedly recognizes the supervillain.

Nice enough story. Certain issues with it that I can't recall now beyond feeling that I had certain issues with it.

Rating: 3.73

April 17 2017

<B>Ziggy Schutz: Eggshells</b>
Young Adult

A young woman slip and falls, knocks her head against the ice. Has trouble remembering things. This symptoms go on long after they should have 'stopped' but she doesn't tell anyone and just continues on.

Quite a nice story really.

Rating: 4.55

April 17 2017

<B>Chris Large: Salt City Blue</b>

A rich powerful woman likes hanging out at bars. As a consequence, she begins glowing.

Interesting story.

Rating: 3.89

April 17 2017

<B>Stuart Suffel: Birthright</b>

A young woman in something like 2021 A.D. wanders around on motorcycle. Swims. Does stuff. She's elaborately described in the beginning - the thing that makes her a mutant - I couldn't make heads or tails of the description. So . . . she's different. And is the daughter of a 'birdwoman' - both mutated by the 'Darwin bombs' that had been dropped.

And . . . um . . not really sure what all else to say.

Rating: 3.50

April 17 2017

<B>Sarah Pinsker: The Smoke Means It's Working</b>
Sidekicks

A woman you wants to, someday, become a sidekick has gone to a special school so that she can operate a robot. Specifically a robot that helps wander wreckage, find people, and attempt to say to save them (as in, here's someone under debris, lift debris, lift person, carry person to an EMT person).

Neat story.

Rating: 4.15

April 17 2017

<B>Keith Rosson: Torch Songs</b>
Supervillains; carnivals

At a carnival several 'oddities' sit in a tent. People wander and stare at them. One used to be a supervillain, but is now just a shrivaled up thing. The point of view is with this 'thing', this 'Madam' of many names.

Interesting enough story. Deeper than my rating my suggest. But ultimately fails as being just a snippet. A snippet that ends with a cliff-hanger.

Rating: 3.30

April 18 2017

<B>Matt Mikalatos: The Beard of Truth</b>
Superheroes; Slice of life

A man, while driving around one day, suddenly realizes he has a superpower - the ability to, just by existing, get people to tell him the truth. Out-pourings of truth (though it seems more like - 'gets people to tell him super depressing things, while truthful, they are also the darkest things the person thinks is 'the truth').

Apparently people can just suddenly get superpowers. And, as part of that, they have to call a specific number. So he does. And stuff unfolds.

Just a small slice of life type story. Oddly satisfying for all of its shortness.

Rating: 4.15

April 18 2017

<B>Adam R. Shannon: Over an Embattled City</b>
Alternate Timelines/earths

A young woman of about 16 heads into the city, the city of New York, to . . . do many things. It is hard to say without being all spoiler-y.

She remembers another city, another time. She's like a character I read in something else, someone who had reached into their pocket and pulled out a coin. Had that years date on it. But some other guy was the head on the dime, the 10 cent piece. And that was how he knew he had slipped from one reality to another. Just like him, the lead character in this story 'slipped' from one reality to another - unlike him, the reality she came from is slowly disappearing - it's less of an alternate time/world/universe, and more of a reworking/unmaking/remaking of a specific time-line.

Neat story.

Rating: 4.22

April 18 2017

<B>Kelly Link: Origin Story</b>
Waitress

A waitress rolls around some ruins with the guy who she grew up with. Whose name is, apparently, Bisquit. Oh, and he's a superhero. He's in town for a parade. She's there because she lives there with her mom.

Weird and strange story.

Rating: 3.00

April 18 2017

<b>OVERALL</b>
<b>Cat Rambo: Ms. Liberty Gets a Haircut</b>: 3.21
<B>Kate Marshall: Destroy the City with Me Tonight</b>: 3.12
<B>Keith Frady: Fool</b>: 3.03
<B>Seanan McGuire: Pedestal</b>: 3.45
<B>Aimee Ogden: As I Fall Asleep</b>: 3.70
<B>Jennifer Pullen: Meeting Someone in the 22nd Century or Until the Gears Quit Turning</b>: 3.0
<B>Michael Milne: Inheritance</b>: 3.39
<B>Lavie Tidhar: Heroes</b>: 3.42
<B>Nathan Crowder: Madjack</b>: 4.3
<B>Patrick Flanagan: Quintessential Justice</b>: 3.10
<B>Stephanie Lai: The Fall of the Jade Sword</b>: 2.7
<B>Carrie Vaughn: Origin Story</b>: 3.73
<B>Ziggy Schutz: Eggshells</b>: 4.55
<B>Chris Large: Salt City Blue</b>: 3.89
<B>Stuart Suffel: Birthright</b>: 3.50
<B>Sarah Pinsker: The Smoke Means It's Working</b>: 4.15
<B>Keith Rosson: Torch Songs</b>: 3.30
<B>Matt Mikalatos: The Beard of Truth</b>: 4.15
<B>Adam R. Shannon: Over an Embattled City</b>: 4.22
<B>Kelly Link: Origin Story</b>: 3.00
Overall ----------------------: 3.5455

April 18 2017

An anthology of short stories that show how depressing it is to be a superhero. This book is full of angst and the dark side of doing good.

I was pleasantly surprised by this anthology. It managed to surprise me more than once, and I loved the diversity of all the stories.

Since they are all so different, here’s a little something for each and every one of them. Even if I have more things to say for some and less for others, I didn’t disliked any of them. (And a wider conclusion on my overall feelings at the end)


Ms. Liberty Gets a Haircut, by Cat Rambo
I read, reviewed and deeply enjoyed an anthology by Cat Rambo in the past so I was super happy to encounter her again in another anthology.
Here, I was reinforced in my initial thought that I needed to read more from Cat Rambo.
We follow a team of super heroines, some left their previous team because of harassment, and others just want to join a team. It focuses on Ms. Liberty, a cyborg created by young scientists. She wonders about her sense of self. This is a story about love and heroism, and is mostly about the characters and their discussions, about genders and being a superhero in the world they live in, what they feel, while the fights in the city are just mentioned in passing.

Destroy the City with Me Tonight, by Kate Marshall
Wow. This one was such an innovative vision of the super hero origin story. It looks at it via the idea that some people got a disease where a certain city calls to them, where they must go if they don’t want to experience pain in their bones, and here they become a guardian of the city and its inhabitants, magically forgotten by everyone they knew. I really loved the twists.

I read these first two stories before sleeping, and I kept thinking about them. I thought that even if all the other stories were disappointing, I could not give this anthology less than 3 stars on goodreads, just because of these first two. They really blew my mind and I would totally have bought a novel with these premises.
I was excited to read this anthology but didn’t have any expectations; after these two my expectations went off the roof!

Fool, by Keith Frady
This one is about the “bad guy”, Dr. Entropy, who is about to finally destroy the Earth. Except pushing the button isn’t as easy as he thought it would be. What is a villain without a hero to stop him?
This was a really great story, especially for people who are fascinated by villains and good and evil. (Which I am!)

Pedestal, by Seanan McGuire
Oh how I love to read Seanan McGuire short fiction! And this one did not disappoint, once again!
About a young woman superhero who tries to live her life in anonymity, but just cannot because people are jerks. Still, it was really nice in the end and like the first two stories, I was not expecting such a level of emotion and positivity. She has a power that has to do with her reflection and that was something I’d never seen before. Perfect idea for a short story, because I’m not sure a full novel could have worked with this idea, but I wouldn’t say no to more with this character.

As I Fall Asleep, by Aimee Ogden
Here we are with a superheroine disoriented by her surrounding and trying to keep on doing her mission while not sure about what is happening. While not the best, the final twist was truly heart-wrenching. The central theme here is growing older as a superhero.

Meeting Someone in the 22nd Century or Until the Gears Quit Turning, by Jennifer Pullen
I don’t feel this was really in the theme. While the woman the main character fall in love COULD be a superhero, she isn’t. Still, it was not a bad story. But it was sad and deals with something I’m not comfortable with: child birth. Thankfully, while the anthology deals with this maybe twice, it was never in an awful way like I have encountered in the past in other anthologies or scifi stories.

Inheritance, by Michel Milne
About a boy and the powers he inherits from his absent father, a famous superhero who cannot stay home since he always has to go save someone or someplace. This was really sad and sweet, the difficulties of maintaining relationships while being a superhero is a big theme in this anthology and I liked how this played out here.

“People like legends. They don’t like people.”

Heroes, by Lavie Tidhar
Welp this was a hard one. This one is set in Berlin and deals with war crimes and torture, when one person wonderful gift is used in the most horrific manner. While I found it important, it was short and I was relieved to go on another story after this one. I’m “glad” to see the nazi theme was only used once here on Behind The Mask.

Madjack, by Nathan Crowder
Another one about the offspring of a “super person”, tinted with rock music. It kinda made me think of Marvel’s Starlord, except the main character here is a young woman. While not much happened, I liked this story, how the main character gets to understand things about her father and about herself.
I feel I also can safely say this was a touching tribute to David Bowie.

Quintessential Justice, by Patrick Flanagan
Quintessential Justice really made me smile a lot. Here we are with some kind of superhero manager, Jaleesa, who works for the “Support Services Division of The Justice Guardian Brigade” and has to take care of a superhero (who talks in a very pompous way) who’s not very popular with the public but is still doing his best. Their platonic relationship was great and I enjoyed seeing them get to understand each other.

The Fall of the Jade Sword, by Stephanie Lai
This story is set in Australia among the Chinese community and in the future, where airships and augmented bicycles are normal. So there was a strong steampunk vibe in this story which I really liked. It is a story that really made me travel, but that I felt was very confusing at times. Still, it was fast paced and Mok-Seung was a great main character to follow.

“She sits by the window, a book in her lap. She’s reading The Art of War, a highly suitable text for a young woman growing up in a foreign land.”

Origin Story, by Carrie Vaughn
I’m not sure how I feel about this story. It was about a young woman who stumbles on her old boyfriend from high school, except he is now a supervillain robbing bank. It was entertaining but I don’t know how I feel about the end. I guess I would have wanted to know what happened after that. Still, the idea was good, not a bad addition to the anthology.

Eggshells, by Ziggy Schutz
Oh how I loved deeply this story. It is about Penny, a young superhero-to-be, and she gets injured while… playing hockey. She get a concussion which will affect her more than she thought she could be. This story deals with family, identity, dealing with a trauma and recovery. It was really a powerful story, in a very different way than the others.

Salt City Blue, by Chris Large
I still don’t know what to think about this story. Helen Marshal is a powerful woman, but not in the same way we’ve seen until now in this anthology. She’s a businesswoman, kinda mean to her employees and set on having the life she wants to. The superhero element here would spoil the story I guess so I’ll shut up, but I really loved the end, and still need some thinking on others. If anyone wants to discuss this one with me, do not hesitate.

Birthright, by Stuart Suffel
I don’t really know what to say about this one. It was interesting but I feel it was like a preliminary draft that an author would write about their world-building. For me there was something lacking, but I’m sure other people would love it. That’s the thing about anthologies, there’s a story for everyone, eventually.

The Smoke Means It’s Working, by Sarah Pinsker
This quote actually works super-well on describing the story so I’ll just live it there!

“Another day, another new job, and she was still no closer to her goal of becoming a superhero’s sidekick.”

Torch Songs, by Keith Rosson
Set in a carnival where ex-supervillain now sits and wait to die out after they’ve been arrested. This was depressing and ends in a cliff-hanger, but I liked the camaraderie that unfold between two old super villainess.

The Beard of Truth, by Matt Mikalatos
This was a slice of life story in a world where people can suddenly get superpowers, just like that. So when that happens, they have to call a number and state their superpower to be registered. Our main character here suddenly realise everybody has the urge to tell him their deepest secret or deepest truth that they wouldn’t reveal under other circumstances. This was actually very funny and the perfect length.

Over an Embattled City, by Adam R. Shannon
About an alternate earth and the main character is looking to put things in order, except everyone thinks she’s lost her mind. That was cool and I was very eager to know what was going on and how this would end.

Origin Story, by Kelly Link
So there’s two stories with the same title in this anthology, that’s weird but at the same time, considering their title and the subject, I understand.
I feel this was a weird story to end the anthology on. I didn’t really love that one, it was confusing with weird names, deciphering who was who and when they were talking. In the end I managed the figure things out but I was disappointing to end such a great anthology with that one.
Also, TW: rape.


So, I would TOTALLY recommend this anthology. While I didn’t love all of the stories (and it is totally normal and fine), they all had their place in here and I feel that the ones I didn’t connect with still have the potential to be someone’s favourite. This will make everyone see super heroes/villains in another light.

Some stories were lighter than others, some were really dark, but they all complement each other on what it must be to be a super-powered person, live in a world with super-powered being or live in the future… As a whole, it mostly showed the dark side of the superhero life, or the aftermath of this life, but it still was a great reading experience.

I also loved the fact that a lot of the stories had a woman or young woman as their main character. Plus it can be noted that there are almost as many women writers in there as men, with almost a 50/50 ratio and I appreciate the effort. AND not every character was white and straight, with settings variating quite a lot. So the diversity aspect of the anthology was another +1 on why I would recommend it!

While I expected to see some of the ideas in there, others totally took me by surprise and I feel this anthology is a beautiful gem, with a lot of original content in the growing theme of superpowered people, whether they are superheroes or supervillains.

I extremely enjoyed this collection. It was a different side of the "normal" superhero stories. And, I discovered several new to me authors. I am looking forward to tracking down more of their work. Thanks for the twists!

I requested this book from NetGalley mainly because I am a fan of Seanan McGuire, but I was pleased to find that the majority of the stories worked well for me.

Among my favorite stories were:
Ms Liberty Gets a Haircut by Cat Rambo, which was a look at a female superhero who was created as a sex object, trying to take control of her life.
Destroy the City With Me Tonight by Kate Marshall, where random people become city guardians when maps of the city appears etched literally on their bones, and everyone who knew them as individuals forget they ever existed.
Pedestal by Seanan McGuire, where a heroine tries to have a private life in an era of internet stalkers. Set in the world of her short story series about a different heroine named Velveteen
As I Fall Asleep by Aimee Ogden speculates about what if an aging superhero develops dementia
The Fall of the Jade Sword by Stephanie Lai is a steampunk story in Australia with an Asian heroine dealing with prejudice and family expectations.
Eggshells by Ziggy Schutz uses superheroes to look at post-concussion syndrome.
The Beard of Truth by Matt Mikalatos made me laugh in his story of a world where people are randomly developing powers, and a young man learns that if he grows a beard, everyone around him is forced to tell the truth.
Over an Embattled City by Adam R Shannon has the interesting idea of a comic book writer who makes superheroes and villains disappear by finding out their origins and writing them into comic book characters.

By the end of the collection, there were only three stories out of the twenty that didn't work for me, and for a multi-author collection, that is an excellent ratio.

First let me be straight up and say that short story anthologies aren't always my thing. Their usual unevenness bothers me. I was interested in this anthology because of the A-List of authors involved. It doesn't disappoint but it doesn't enthrall, either. For the most part, the stories are interesting, and some, for example Kate Marshall's "Destroy The City With Me Tonight," and Ziggy Schutz's "Eggshells," have stayed with me days after reading them. All these stories have an undertone of what a pain it is to be a superhero. Whether in Seánan McGuire's "Pedestal," where even going to the grocery store turns into a paparazzi event, complete with social media tagging disaster, to Carrie Vaughn's "Origin Story," where your ex-girlfriend recognizes you during your now-turned-super-villain bank robbery, being super is hard. And I guess that sadness and despair is part of what made the anthology less than enjoyable at times. I read one or two stories a day, and that was fine. That was plenty. Some good craft here. Very little joy.

A collection of prose short stories themed, sometimes loosely, around superheroes and their worlds. Contributors such as Kelly Link and Lavie Tidhar were what got my attention more than that, though; if anything, I have the same scepticism of SF and fantasy writers doing superheroes as of litfic writers doing SF and fantasy. There can be the same sense of condescension, the notion that 'I've not been keeping up with this field, but I know better anyway', leading to an awful lot of pale retreads of ideas done to death in the field proper, which nonetheless expect to be applauded for their supposed bold originality. All the more so for the way superhero comics have ramified and dug deeper these past thirty years or so; when Larry Niven wrote 'Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex' in 1969, he was looking at stuff you'd never have seen in a Superman comic of the era; nowadays, any similar idea has probably been the subject at least of a dubious miniseries starring an analogue of the character in question. Fortunately, my fears on this count were largely unfounded; I suspect most if not all of these writers are proper superhero fans, and if some of the story engines aren't exactly original (the all-female superteam; the superhero pop star; the world whose heroes are gradually being retconned out of existence) then the treatments generally justify them all the same. Because ultimately, there are things prose can do better than comics. An issue of people sat around talking, or worse, musing to themselves, without any action to liven it up? There are a handful of artists who can sell that, but as a rule you're not playing to the medium's strengths. Whereas those quiet moments in between the big stories are perfect for prose, and that's what a lot of these pieces are; the vignettes, the marginalia, the calm before or after the storm.

I have so many positive feelings about Behind the Mask.

When I first glanced at the blurb, this superhero anthology seemed like it'd be entirely MY THING. I mean, I am honestly always talking about how much I love original superhero stories that have nothing to do with the Big Two's stable of overpowered and inconsistently characterized heavy-hitters.

It wound up being like…80-90% MY THING (which is still good).

While Behind the Mask had a couple of stories that missed the mark for me (largely in minor ways), it had a LOT more stories that had the kind of interesting ideas that I look for in superhero stories and plenty of "hits".

While I want to be fair to all of the authors in this anthology because, for the most part they were all innovative or interesting even if some of them weren't my thing, if I were to sit here and write a review for every single story here, we'd be here a while. So I'm going to focus on some of the stories that stood out the most to me and some of the stories that couldn't hold me.

My favorite story in this anthology is Seanan McGuire's "Pedestal" because it is actually everything I've ever wanted from this sort of anthology. Part of that is because I fan-Stitch over Seanan as often as possible, but okay "Pedestal" is a look at an aspect of superheroics that folks tend to overlook: the misogyny that lady-adjacent superheroes would face.

In a world where superheroes are public figures on par with pop stars, entitlement runs rampant among "fans" and shit gets real awful, real fast. This story features a wannabe-paparazzo, a tentacle monster from another dimension, and a superhero that just wants to get her ice-cream in peace. (Also, while the summary calls it light-hearted it's basically about fan entitlement and invasions of privacy so… Your mileage may vary on that.)

Speaking of favorite stories, Stephanie Lai's "The Fall of the Jade Sword" is a very close second for me because it feels like one of those old-time radio plays that I've been obsessed with for the past few years. Seriously, the language that Lai uses is so vivid that I had absolutely NO trouble picturing Mok-Seung as she starts to follow in the Jade Sword's footsteps.

"The Fall of the Jade Sword" has familiar elements that I always find fun in superhero media (i.e., superheroes in training, the sort of secret identity), but it's also unlike most of the work I've read in the genre.
Mok-Seung is an awesome protagonist and I would totally kill for another longer work focused on her adventures working alongside the Jade Sword and learning to adapt together.

I also largely enjoyed the first story in Behind the Mask, Cat Rambo's "Ms. Liberty Gets a Haircut" because it sort of serves as a commentary on superheroes, gender, and being who you say you are (as opposed to what/who other people say you are). It was largely a hit for me aside from some dialogue at the start about "porn star superheroes" where I couldn't tell if the characters were criticizing these oversexualized superheroes or the culture that created them. I loved this story because it felt a lot like reading Warren Ellis' work on Stormwatch and The Authority (but with you know… more queer ladies).

I also thought that this was a good story to start the anthology with because of the tone it sets and how, right off the bat, we're shown this absolutely atypical superhero narrative.

"Meeting Someone in the 22nd Century or Until the Gears Quit Turning" legitimately shook me. Author Jennifer Pullen got me to let my guard down with this super sweet rom-com vibe with quaint couple Sandra and Greg. Only to rip my heart out at the halfway point.

Here I am at the halfway point and I'm busy pondering the nature of cyborgs and then WHAM, I get hit right in the feels.

Why?

Because this story deals with miscarriages in a realistic and utterly heart-breaking way. Look, I'm not saying I ugly cried a bit but well… I kind of did.

(That being said, if your triggers include pregnancy and miscarriages, this is a story you might want to skip.)

Honorable mentions for awesomeness go to Carrie Vaughn's "Origin Story", Kate Marshall's "Destroy the City with Me Tonight", and Aimee Ogden's "As I Fall Asleep".

Now I'm not going to linger too long on the stories that I didn't like, but well… there are a few and I am a complainer at heart.

First, Keith Frady's "Fool" was… not my cup of tea.

His villain Dr. Entropy felt like a grimmer, darker Gru from Despicable Me (not an insult, I love those fricking moves) and the whole "tired villain decides to destroy the world rather than conquer it" plot is one that has never appealed to me.

I get that it doesn't end the way you'd expect, and the use of an intuitive android as a hero in the story is novel, but yeah… despite the fact that Frady is a talented writer, his story is just not my thing.

But hey, it might be yours!

Chris Large's "Salt City Blue" wasn't bad, but I honestly could not get why Skyball was so awful about Helen's ~little surprise~ and the tone of the story was a little too VH1 reality television series for me. But if you liked the nonstop drama of Grace Randolph's Supurbia, you might like this story.

Other stories that didn't work for me include Matt Mikalatos's "The Beard of Truth" (which felt a bit like something I'd see on Adult Swim's programming block) and Kelly Link's "Origin Story" (which has so many – too many – Wizard of Oz references for my liking and couldn't get me invested in the characters on top of that).

Meerkat Press absolutely deserves props for Behind the Mask's high percentage of lady writers (I think that when I counted, it was like… at least half the authors on the book). I also genuinely appreciate the perspectives that these authors bring to the table because these aren't stories being told in comics. Many of them look at "the everyday", domesticity, and the relationships that these heroes have to maneuver through.

As with many other anthologies I've read, I have some general comments: Behind the Mask could (and should) have had more on-page queerness and stories centered on characters of color. If there's ever another Behind the Mask anthology collection or another superhero anthology from Meerkat Press, that's something I'm going to be looking for.

And boy do I want there to be another collection like this from Meerkat Press!