Random Review: Super For You, Bad For Me by Asta Idonea #Review #Giveaway

Author: Asta Idonea
Title: Super For You, Bad For Me
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Paul Richmond
Publication Date: August 14, 2018
Length: 200 pages

Reviewed by Michael

Synopsis

Struggling actor Oswell Outterridge thinks he’s hit the jackpot when he’s chosen to play a scene opposite his idol, Kane Teague, in a superhero movie. However, things take an unexpected turn when the slime he accidentally ingests gives him telekinetic powers. Then Kane asks him out, against all expectation, and it seems that life couldn't get any better—aside from the little matter of keeping his identity secret from his celebrity boyfriend.

Oswell goes from a nobody with little social life and few prospects for the future to dating the man of his dreams and using his superhuman abilities to defend innocents. Everything is perfect, and it seems he’s finally achieved a happily ever after worthy of the silver screen. But when a supervillain arrives, determined to defeat Oswell and win Kane's affections, everything falls apart. In the ensuing conflict, Kane gets caught in the crossfire, and Oswell faces his toughest fight yet. Can he remain the hero he’s always imagined himself, or will a dark desire for vengeance change him forever?

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Review

I’ve been reading comic books now for well over thirty years.  Although it’s getting better, gay comic book super heroes are still somewhat of an anomaly.  So, when one pops up, I make certain to check it out.  I figure that the best way to show my support is to spend my money and buy whatever issue they appear in.  

In the time that I’ve been reading comics, there have been some rather unique origin stories.  Oswell Outterridge is an aspiring actor working as an extra on the latest film of his fanboy crush, out Kane Teague.  He’s kind of a nobody who struggles to stand out from the crowd.  So much so that he’s sure Kane will never notice him. 

 That is, until he’s selected to play the role of slime attack victim.  The slime he’s shot with gives him superhuman abilities such as telekinesis and, later in the book, the ability to shoot flames from his hands.  Another side affect is one he never anticipated:  Kane Teague takes notice.  A friendship develops that soon turns romantic.  But just as things seem to be going well, someone with an ax to grind makes his presence known.  

While it may sound like a basic origin story, where this one differs from most is in the writing.  It’s fun to watch Oswell learn how that not only does he have new powers, but also learn how to use them.  There’s one description about how he figures out how to fly that I found to be particularly inventive.  

As far as superhero books are concerned, this was actually a well written, enjoyable read.

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Release Day Review: The Angel On The Northern Line by Catherine Curzon #Review #Giveaway

Author: Catherine Curzon
Book: The Angel On The Northern Line
Publisher: Pride Publishing
Publication date: August 22, 2017
Length: 36 pages

Reviewed by Michael


Synopsis

When your average, run-of-the-mill retired superhero Latin teacher meets an angel on the underground, it’s not only runaway trains that spark.

Christian Winter used to save the world. In World War II, when good and bad was a simple matter of whose side you were on, life had seemed so much simpler. Back then it was easy for a superman to see the troops safely home. Back then it was easy to be Mithras.

Long since retired to teach Latin in a London school, the man who used to be Mithras wants nothing more than a cup of tea and a quiet life. All that changes thanks to a runaway train and a red-headed Scottish angel on the Northern Line whose eyes are bluer than a summer sky, and who just happens to have a thing for chaps in tweed.

Swept along by Freddy Rose’s passion and enthusiasm, Christian’s efforts to resist the Scottish angel’s attractions aren’t exactly heartfelt, but can the passionate angel and an encounter with a very important lady tempt Mithras back to a life of adventure?

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Review

Short stories can be hit or miss.  They usually don’t have a lot of depth or character development, give the small number of pages the author has to tell the story.  Which is why it’s such a pleasant surprise when I read one that not only has depth and character development, but also history.

“The Angel of the Northern Line” has exactly that.  Set ten years after the close of World War II, Catherine Curzon tells the tale of now-retired hero, Mithras, also known as Christian Winter.    After dealing with tragedy at the close of the War, Winter leaves the world of super-heroics for a life of academia.  With the War over, most heroes have retired and disappeared.  A chance, (or perhaps not so much) encounter with former hero leads Winter into the possibility of not only reconnecting with his former life, but also with another person, something he hasn’t done in nearly a decade.  

Curzon packs an enormous amount of information into a relatively short read, giving finer details to the Christian White that give him life and color his world. However, you never feel bogged down by those details.  Nor is it unnecessary fluff.  

This is one of those perfect set ups for future stories, and I would be curious to see what happens with Christian, Freddie…and the Queen.

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Release Day Review: Behind the Mask by Elizabeth Coldwell #Review #Giveaway

Author: Elizabeth Coldwell
Book: Behind the Mask
Publisher: Pride Publishing
Publication date: July 18, 2017
Length: 36 pages

Reviewed by Michael

Synopsis

He keeps his true identity hidden, even from the man he loves…

Twenty years ago, superheroes were outlawed by the mayor of Mokum City. Christopher Chase has grown up knowing that he has all the strength and speed of Sprint, his superhero father, who died attempting to save the mayor’s niece from being kidnapped. But, unlike his father, he is unable to fulfill his destiny and become a masked crimefighter. Even Christopher’s boyfriend, bar owner Johnny Brennan, doesn’t know Christopher’s true identity.

A chance encounter with a purse snatcher in the city cemetery gives Christopher a taste of what it’s like to use his powers for good. And when Johnny becomes caught up in a hostage situation, Christopher can no longer stand by. Even if it means losing his own life, he must pull on the costume of Sprint to save the man he loves.

Publisher's Note: This book has previously been released as part of the I Need A Hero Anthology with Pride Publishing.

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Review

I have never hidden the fact that I am a huge comic book nerd.  I don’t know how many hours I have spent in comic shops debating the virtues of the Tobey Maguire “Spider-Man” movies over the Andrew Garfield versions.  Or how angry I was that Michael Keaton had been selected to play Batman, only to be pleasantly surprised to see that he had really pulled it off. 

As super hero stories go, “Behind the Mask” serves as a good, by-the-numbers introduction to Mokum City, the fictional location for this series of short stories.  Years previous, the mayor of Mokum passed a law making it illegal for super heroes to operate in public.

Christopher is the son of a well-known hero that went by the moniker of “Sprint.”  He’s forced to stay “in the closet” about his powers as well as his identity, keeping these a secret from everyone including his boyfriend Jimmy. 

Jimmy finds himself in a hostage situation, and Christopher must make the decision to “out” himself and risking arrest, or watching his boyfriend die right in him.

The story itself is well written, as your standard super-hero versus a bank robber fare.  There seems to be a lot of potential for future stories involving these characters.  Like any good comic book, there enough ambiguous plot threads left to make future stories.  Was the mayor involved in Christopher’s father's death?  What was his true motivation in banning supers from Mokum City?  The comic nerd in me even thought of a cool time travel story involving a team-up between Christopher and his father. 

Maybe future installments will answer all of these questions and more.

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