Elizabeth Crane's “Nate Pickney-Alderson, Superhero” and David Haynes' “The Lives of Ordinary Superheroes” look at hero emulation from two very different approaches, both evoking poignancy and regret. “My Interview with the Avenger,” by Tom Bissell, examines the “negation of American justice” personified by the vigilante hero who is operating outside the law, regardless of his good intent, while raising questions of personal responsibility and identity (ask yourself, just who is conducting the interview).
There is an abundance of thought provoking themes and vivid characters in the anthology, and even the slightest stories are entertaining. It may be characteristic of modern fiction, or because the contributors had the graphic medium in the back of their minds as they were writing, but the anthology’s stories are disappointingly consistent in their tendency to “tell” rather than “show,” offering mostly plot and dialog, with scant description. Providing more detail like the devastation at the Tip Top Lounge (in Sean Doolittle's “Mr. Big Deal,” which has a particular Astro City feel) would have energized the anthology, which feels static far too often for a genre based in action. These stories are intended to be a departure from the punch-em-up’s of the comics, to be sure, but so many are contemplative and underwritten that the collection sometimes seems listless.
At its best, Who Can Save Us Now? contradicts the still-persistent stereotype that superhero stories must be superficial and cartoonish, and its slightest stories at least offer some imaginative ideas. Although, in true anthology style, Who Can Save Us Now? is hit or miss, it delivers often enough to recommend it to any reader looking for good superhero prose (including series like Wild Cards and the “New American Pulp,” Weird Heroes) or a collection of imaginative short stories.
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