Lou Anders, ed., Masked (Gallery Books, 2010)
Masked is an anthology of tales of original superheroes. Whether born on Earth or elsewhere, whether their powers are inborn or induced, these heroes all have something extra, and they have to learn how to live with it.
The advance proof of Masked that I received was titled With Great Power. . .. "With great power," as Spiderman's Uncle Ben said, "comes great responsibility." Or, as St. Luke put it (Luke 12:48, NRSV): "From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded." Two ways of expressing what seems to be a universal truth: the greater your abilities, the more you are expected (by yourself, by your friends and family and by society) to achieve with them.
While I liked the allusions inherent in With Great Power. . ., I think Masked makes a better title. For one thing, it's more appropriate, because not all of the stories actually look at the superhero from the point of view of the extra demands and higher expectations.
In "Cleansed and Set in Gold," Matthew Sturges introduces us to The Wildcard, a hero who needs to protect the horrific source of his powers no matter what. "Where Their Worm Dieth Not" is James Mackey's exploration of crime and punishment and the circularity of life. "Secret Identity," by Paul Cornell, is a gay romp (double entendre intended) that manages to be a profound love story.
"The Non-Event" (Mike Carey) and "Thug" (Gail Simone) are tragedies in the good old-fashioned sense of the word, stories in which the seeds of a man's greatness lead also to his downfall. Mike Baron's "Avatar" and Matt Chadbourn's "By My Works Ye Shall Know Me" exist on ambiguity. In the first we meet Tagger, a brand-new self-made superhero on his first mission. Will it be his last? Is he even a hero at all? The second introduces Nox and Styx (or should it be Nox/Styx?) at the end of their careers. In the end, I still wasn't too sure about either story.
"Message from the Bubble Gum Factory" by Daryl Gregory asks the old question "How do we know which reality is real?" "Vacuum Lad," from Stephen Baxter, looks at our definition of humanity. "A Knight of Ghosts and Shadows" is Chris Roberson's homage to the pulps. "Head Cases" by Peter David and Kathleen David show us superheroes who are all too human.
"Downfall" from Joseph Mallozzi brings us intrigue, with mysterious government agencies and even more mysterious relatives. Marjorie M. Liu, in "Call Her Savage," invites us into an alternate history where China, instead of isolating itself from the rest of the planet, explored western North America and fought Britain for it. Her heroine, Namid, is a middle-aged woman -- a refreshing change from the rest of the genre, I assure you, especially to this middle-aged female reviewer. Speaking of the no longer young, in "Tonight We Fly" Ian McDonald introduces us to a retired superhero and his nemesis and explores the bonds that unite them even after their rivalry has no more meaning or purpose.
The title of the concluding novella in the anthology intrigued me so much that I had to read it first. "A to Z in the Ultimate Big Company Superhero Universe (Villains Too)". Now that's a handle. Bill Willingham constrains himself to divide the story up into chunks based on an alphabetical list of the characters in his universe, and does it brilliantly
