Superhero novels

[Matthew E]

One of the things I like to read is superhero-related prose fiction. For original superheroes, I mean; I don't care about novelizations of comic book characters and stuff; most of that kind of thing is pretty bad. I've tracked down as much of it as I could, but it's hard to know what's out there. So here's my list of what I've heard of:

**The Wild Cards series - George R.R. Martin (ed.) (three more books coming!)
*Superfolks - Robert Mayer
**Flyboy Action Figure Comes With Gas Mask - Jim Munroe
*Count Geiger's Blues - Michael Bishop
*Those Who Walk in Darkness and What Fire Cannot Burn - John Ridley
**Temps and **Euro-Temps - Neil Gaiman and Alex Stewart (eds) (another shared world)
Other People's Heroes - Blake M. Petit
**The Scarlet Pimpernel and its sequels - Baroness Orczy
*The Curse of Capistrano and its sequels - Johnston McCulley (this is Zorro)
*Nobody Gets the Girl - James R. Maxey
The League of Heroes - Xavier Maumejean (not available in English?)
The Quantum Prophecy (and sequels, I think) - Michael Carroll
"It's Superman" - Tom de Haven
*The Fortress of Solitude - Jonathan Lethem
What They Did to Princess Paragon - Robert Rodi
*Riftworlds series - Stan Lee (edited or ghosted or something)
Brave Men Run - Matthew Wayne Selznick
The Kryptonite Kid - Joseph Torchia
Gladiator - Philip Gordon Wylie
**The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay - Michael Chabon
*Superheroes - John Varley (ed.) (short story anthology)
*Night Tales series - Nora Roberts (actually romance, but it's all grist for my mill)

(asterisks next to the ones I've read. Two asterisks next to the ones I strongly recommend)

So I figure this is the right crowd to ask these questions:

1. Anybody know anything that can be added to this list?

2. Anybody know anything good or bad about the ones I haven't read?

3. Anybody want to know anything about the ones I have read?

Thanks.

[The Batman]

Well there's a few characters in the Dune novels who are superhumans if not superheroes and they tend to explore, among many ideas, the ramifications of superhumans in the universes or religion and politics.

[Lester C.]

Does anyone know if Bill Mccay and Stan Lee ever finished the Rift World series? The last book came out many years ago, but there was a several year gap between book three and book four so who knows.

[Matthew E]

Since I posted this topic I've discovered this blog, Super Reader, which seems to be trying to be the ultimate resource for this stuff. On the other hand, the guy includes a lot of spy and pulp and science fiction stuff that I wouldn't include. Like, he even has Sherlock Holmes on there. But it's still good.

[Buzz Dixon]

GLADIATOR by Phillip Wylie, THE POWER by Thomas Scortia (I think; not 100% sure on that) and the WEIRD HEROES books published by Byron Priess, and Philip Jose' Farmers various pastiches of Tarzan, Doc Savage, et al: LORD OF THE TREES, TARZAN ALIVE, DOC SAVAGE: HIS APOCALYPTIC LIFE, LORD TYGER, THE MAD GOBLIN, A FEAST UNKNOWN. Caution: LORD OF THE TREES/THE MAD GOBLIN was an Ace double that served as a double barreled sequel to A FEAST UNKNOWN; the Ace double is PG-13 but A FEAST UNKNOWN is hard core X-rated erotica.

[Kirayoshi]

I dunno if this counts, but "The Second Logs of Phineas Fogg" by Philip Jose Farmer provides a superhero-ish twist on classic British pulps of the 19th Century. The story involves the revelation that a meteor landed in Wold-Newton outside of London during the early 1800s, irradiating the area as a number of affluent couples were crossing the region via horse-drawn carriage. The resulting children possessed superhuman physical and mental traits, becoming the great figures of the British pulps; Holmes, Nemo, Phineas Fogg, Tarzan. If you enjoyed Alan Moore's "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen", check it out.

[Roquefort Raider]

1. Anybody know anything that can be added to this list?

Lash House, by CBR's own Cei-U. It's honestly the best super-hero novel I've read, and ranks up there with Kingdom Come as tales of aging heroes go. A very good story backed by an impressive knowledge of DC characters and history. (It's unfortunately not in print, which is a darn shame considering that it's so much better than most of the exploitative prose being published today with the purpose of exploiting franchises rather than tell good stories).

[Ed Cunard]

"It's Superman" - Tom de Haven

I'm rather fond of this one myself. I finally bought and read it, and--wow. It's certainly not recognizeable as the Superman being published today--it's kind of a mix of the Siegel/Shuster Superman of 1939, mixed with the self-doubt and frailty that they have tried to instill in more contemporary Superman comics, offered through a pulp filter and seasoned with just enough historical and cultural references to tie everything together in a way reminiscent of Carter Beats the Devil or Kavalier and Clay. It also has what may be my favorite characterization of Lex Luthor ever.

[sheets]

If Wylie's Gladiator counts, Olaf Stapledon's Odd John should probably also go on the list. Also, Wilmar Shiras's Children of the Atom, AE Van Vogt's Slan, and Henry Kuttner's "Baldie" stories, which were all probably highly influential on the creation of the X-Men.

[Don Blanco]

More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon was about super powered mutant kids, pre-dating the X-MEN by maybe a good ten years.

[bluetyson]

Does anyone know if Bill Mccay and Stan Lee ever finished the Rift World series? The last book came out many years ago, but there was a several year gap between book three and book four so who knows.

No idea Did not even know there were four books? What is the fourth one called?

[bluetyson]

I dunno if this counts, but "The Second Logs of Phineas Fogg" by Philip Jose Farmer provides a superhero-ish twist on classic British pulps of the 19th Century. The story involves the revelation that a meteor landed in Wold-Newton outside of London during the early 1800s, irradiating the area as a number of affluent couples were crossing the region via horse-drawn carriage. The resulting children possessed superhuman physical and mental traits, becoming the great figures of the British pulps; Holmes, Nemo, Phineas Fogg, Tarzan. If you enjoyed Alan Moore's "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen", check it out.

Something in a similar vein, is Kim Newman's Anno-Dracula series (some story parts of which are online at various places). This is more about the vampires, but many other characters appear, and a Holmesian spinoff Diogenes Club has agents/adventurers trying to prevent problems (Holmes himself is imprisoned by Dracula in the first book, to prevent him being a leader of those opposed).

[bluetyson]

Well there's a few characters in the Dune novels who are superhumans if not superheroes and they tend to explore, among many ideas, the ramifications of superhumans in the universes or religion and politics.

Right, and one of the main parts of the first book is about genetic manipulation and breeding to produce the ultimate superhuman. I sort of put this sort of thing in a 'Related' section, you could call it Superhuman or Superman theme SF. I think the latter is what Clute/Nicholls file it under in the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. A borderline case, for me.

[bluetyson]

One of the things I like to read is superhero-related prose fiction. For original superheroes, I mean; I don't care about novelizations of comic book characters and stuff; most of that kind of thing is pretty bad. k) - Michael Carroll

"It's Superman" - Tom de Haven

Not all of it, though, and you have included one here, yourself. Elliott Maggin's Superman novels are also good, and ebooks of them are online here Superman website, just as one example.
Some of what you mention in your list is also not going to be overly good/bad, the pulp style Zorro, Nobody Gets The Girl, the ya Quantum Heroes (which I haven't read yet), or Nora Roberts romances!

[bluetyson]

More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon was about super powered mutant kids, pre-dating the X-MEN by maybe a good ten years.

Yep. Also, the Perry Rhodan series, at least in the Third Power arc (I haven't read any outside that) he literally has a Secret Mutant Corps of super powered mutants, of mostly the psionic variety, teleporters, telekinetics, telepaths, etc., starting from about the 4th story in English.