Behind the Mask

I’m frankly astonished that we haven’t reached superhero overload yet. Superhero stories continue to flood the movie theaters and the TV airwaves, with dozens more still in production or planned to follow. Marvel and DC seem to reboot their storytelling universes every six months or so, and giant crossover events happen so frequently that it’s tough to keep up.

It’s hard not to wonder if everything we have to say about superheroes has already been said.

Thankfully, Behind the Mask is here to prove me wrong. Not only do the stories collected here have something new and interesting to say, but they do so in hilarious, heartfelt, and intriguing ways.

Whether it’s a kid whose dad spends more time fighting crime than raising him or the crossroads of celebrity and secret identities in a supermarket, a superpowered pregnancy from a one-night stand or living in a famous parent’s shadow, these are relatable stories with unbelievable trappings, mixing whimsy and pathos with style.

These stories take the tropes that we know all too well and turn them on their ears, lampooning and embracing the cliches in equal measure, humanizing larger-than-life characters with a deft hand.