Do you believe in superheroes? Batman. Spiderman. Superman. Have you ever watch the TV series "Heroes" by Tim
Kring? Imagine it was real. Imagine they''re just among us. Imagine their technology and culture impacting with ours. Omniscopes and spacesuits, hyperspeed and invicibilities... Good thing that game-designer-turned author Austin Grossman believes in the idea of superheroes, and in his debut novel, Soon I Will Be Invincible, he goes imagine them real -- and the result is an entertaining and absorbing read, making lifelong comic readers like myself fullfilled and happy. Yet featuring enough oddities and action, the comic is accessible to people who haven''t paged through a comic book since childhood.
When I first heard about Grossman''s Soon I Will Be Invincible, I assumed that as a prose novel set in a world of super-humans, it would take one of two approaches, or a combination somehow. I expected it to be dark, gritty take on the source material -- the usual narrative delving deeper into the sex, violence and phychosis implied by concept of people in skintight spandex suit beating on each other as the usual.
To my surprise, Grossman takes neither approach -- he takes the colorful, slam bang gee-whiz element of
superhero comics as given, and tells a straightforward story of good guys appeal to our sympathies and making most of the good guys sort of jerky.
Otherwise, this book requires neither a degree in English Literature nor an interest in deviant psychology to be appreciated.
Soon I Will Be Invincible tells the intertwined story of a superhero, and a super villain --- the female cyborg Fatale and the evil genius Doctor Impossible, respectively. With his mad scince, Doctor Impossible, remarkable strenght, numerous gadgets, and plans for world domination, remind comic fans of Marvel Comics'' Doctor Doom, a Doctor Doom who occassionally gives a into self-doubt and other recognizably human vulnerability. Fatale, "a beautiful woman of skin and alloy built by the NSA to be the next generation of warfare," is more similar to Ladytron (a.k.a. Maxine Manchester), a one-woman wrecking crew introduced during an Alan Moore''s run on Wildstorm Comics'' Wild C.A.T.S. series.
In the first couple of chapter, relative newbie Fatale joins the New Champions, the worlds premier superhero team, and Doctor Impossible breaks out of prison and sets into motion his latest and greatest scheme for world domination. As Grossman wastes no time in setting up the situation, the story is told in an alternating points of view, with the opening chapter narrated by Doctor Impossible, the second chapter told from the point of view of Fatale.
The reader will usually find one voice more interesting and appealing than the other, but it is a testament to the author''s skill as a writer that both points of view make for enjoyable reading. Bit by bit and pieces by pieces, we learn about Fatale misgivings, doubts, origins and yearnings, as well as Doctor Impossible''s.
Grossman manage to use his two main character to impose some interesting questions: In Doctor Impossible''s case, one is made to wonder whey, granted immense power, one man chooses to help others and be so-called hero and another embraces the path of conquest.
As the story goes on, there will be super-powered showdowns, timetravel, mystical artifacts, secret hideaways, savage man-beasts, and all that other fun stuff that comic fans will be familiar with.
Happily, Grossman doesn''t dwell for too long a time on such concerns, using them more to round out the characters than to wax with philosophy. The strength of his novel lies in its narrative momentum, engaging characters, bright and shiny comic scenarios, and an excitement-filled action.
Above all, Soon I Will Be Invincible, is a fun read. It doesn''t delve to-altering aspects of the superheroes --- but for an individual who''s dreaming of being a superhero it is a great way to spend a whole day of
invincibility.