Who Can Save Us Now?: Brand-new Superheroes and Their Amazing (Short) Stories
Edited by Owen King and John McNally, illustrations by Chris Burnham
Free Press, 417 pages, $16 paper
For those who wish to avoid the crush of “The Dark Knight,” this fresh, imaginative collection provides a new way of looking at the world. These superheroes have self-esteem issues or lucrative endorsement deals, are plagued by post-traumatic stress disorder, neuroses and televangelists. There is a light, clever touch to these 22 stories. Local stars Elizabeth Crane and Sam Weller, as well as writers like Jennifer Weiner and Jim Shepard, contributed to the collection. This is co-editor John McNally’s fifth collection — earlier books took adultery and high school loserdom as themes — and confirm the promise of anthologies to provide fiercely original new stories with humor and heart.
