Dreadnought (Nemesis #1)

Dreadnought by April Daniels is a superhero with a twist.

Danny Tozer, age fifteen is trapped in the wrong body. She can only show who she really is in private. She is behind the mall about to pain her toenails when a superhero – villain fight breaks own down the street. Everyone knows that it is dangerous to be in the area when there is a fight.

The most powerful superhero in New Port City, Dreadnought, comes crashing through the alley and lands near Danny. Dreadnought has been killed. With his dying breath he passes his superhero mantle to Danny. Which transforms Danny into her best self – a girl.

While Danny is thrilled to finally match on the inside and out, she is not sure how her friends and family are going to react. She will lose some friends but gain others, including a free running, gun toting Calamity. Danny will have to decide what kind of superhero she wants to become.

Daniels has written a sweet, young adult book about a transgirl finding her way in a strange world.

Daniels, April. (2017). Dreadnought. New York: Diversionbooks.  

The Regional Office is Under Attack!

The Regional Office is Under Attack! by Manuel Gonzales is a story of female superheroes who regularly save the world from forces of darkness - until some of them decide to attack the very office that safeguards the world.

Sarah is the right hand of the person who runs the Regional Office - located a mile underground in midtown Manhattan. She was tracked by Mr. Niles until she was old enough to recruit. She doesn't know why Mr. Niles took her under his wing and seems to be grooming her to take over.

Mr. Niles started the Regional Office with Oyemi. She found the oracles who tell them what is going to happen. Henry picks up the recruits who help save the world. It is a strangely effective set up.

Rose was recruited by Henry - but not to work at the Regional Office. Rose was recruited to help attack the Office. Someone wants to bring the whole system down.

Told from the perspectives of Rose and Sarah, the attack on the Regional Office, is carried out with flashbacks to how each of the arrived there - plus interspersed papers from an academic study of the office. While there are superheroes and oracles, this book is a literary novel. It does not read like a Marvel comic. Gonzales beautifully writes about the characters in the style of someone like Gabriel Garcia Marquez or Ann-Marie MacDonald. 

Gonzales, Manuel. (2016). The Regional Office is Under Attack! New York: Riverhead Books.

Hero

Hero by Perry Moore is a superhero story with a twist.

Thom Creed is a basketball start in high school but his teammates keep their distance. There is something about him that is different. And his father has an infamous history as the most popular superhero until a rescue went wrong and now he is an outcast.

Thom doesn't want to make his father's life harder so he is keeping secrets. Secrets about powers that he has. Secrets about who he likes. Secrets about who he wants to become.

When Thom is on a bus that is attacked by villains, he uses his healing powers to help the injured passengers. When the League superheroes show up to help, he is invited to a tryout to become a hero in training.

When Thom is assigned to a team of hero misfits - Scarlett who can control fire but not her temper, Larry who can infect people with diseases, Ruth who is an old lady who can see the future, and Golden Boy who has been demoted back to rookie - he does not tell his father. His father has no use for superheroes with powers. He didn't need powers in his day - plus they have been shunning him since his fall from glory.

Moore has created a fun hero story with some serious underlying themes. Thom is an unlikely hero with whom readers will fall in love.

Moore, Perry. (2007). Hero. New York: Hyperion.

Batwoman: Elegy

Batwoman: Elegy by Greg Rucka, drawings by JH Williams, is Batwoman re-imagined by a genius. After a break in the series, due to the main character being stabbed in the heart, Rucka has brought back a great superhero and made her better.

Katherine Rebecca Kane is Batwoman. The path she took to get there is told in flashbacks through the book. Kate grew up in a military family. When she was young, she and her twin sister, along with their mother were in a car accident. It was a kidnapping. Her mother and sister were killed. After that, she vowed to follow in her father's footsteps and join the military to help make the world a better place.

Kate was on her way to becoming a fine soldier, but was separated from the military under Uniform Code of Military Justice, Article 125, known as don't ask and don't tell. Because of the honor code, Kate could not lie and say she was not guilty of being a lesbian.

It was still a long journey from the military to becoming Batwoman, and Rucka and Williams tell it with style and depth. I am not usually a fan of graphic novels or comics, but this series is awesome. Continue after Elegy with: Vol 1: Hydrology; Vol 2: To Drown the World; Vol. 3: World's Finest; and Vol. 4: This Blood is Thick.

Rucka, Greg. (2010). Batwoman: Elegy. New York: DC Comics.

Ms. Marvel

Ms. Marvel volume 1, No Normal by G. Willow Wilson, and artist Adrian Alphona is the latest version of Ms. Marvel.

Kamala Khan is a New Jersey teen. She is a Pakistani-American Muslim who is a fangirl. She loves the Avengers. She is a normal teen until she sneaks out for a party one night after her parents tell her she cannot go to a party with boys and alcohol.

After just a few minutes at the party, she agrees that it is not a party for her. As she is leaving a strange fog descends on the town. She passes out, has a vision of the Avengers and wakes up with superpowers she doesn't know how to control.

At first Kamala appears to be Carol Danvers, Captain Marvel. But once she realizes she can shape shift, she can find a look that fits with who she is better. A look that fits within her ideals and beliefs.

Wilson's Ms. Marvel is a more diverse character than the traditional superhero comic character. Kamala is great and the first book is about identity. If you are a fan of graphic novels or strong female characters read this series.

Wilson, G. Willow (2014). Ms. Marvel: No Normal. New York: Marvel Now.

Volume 2: Generation Why
Volume 3: Crushed