Super Short Story Collection

The Darker Mask: Heroes from the Shadows A collection of short stories, edited by Gary Phillips and Christopher Chambers

As a kid, I grew up loving superheroes and wanted to be one myself. If only I could get bit by a mutant spider or be dosed by gamma rays! Alas, I never became Spider Man or the Incredible Hulk. That didn’t put an end to my insatiable need to read about the do-gooder’s fight against evil. As I got older and realized that situations aren’t always black and white, I came to appreciate the dark hero, like Batman, who deals with inner struggles while trying to right the wrongs of his world. In The Darker Mask: Heroes from the Shadows, the protagonists would make Batman look like a saint.

The collection starts out strong with "Dream Knights," the story of two ordinary, underemployed people, Cassandra and Saddiq, who take on different personas when they fall asleep. Evil beings called Watchers feed on and amplify the negative thoughts and emotions of people from the real world. The more people act out on these thoughts, the stronger the watchers become in both the real and dream world. Cassandra and Saddiq transform into special warriors when they sleep with the ability to fight the watchers in the dream world, thus lessening their influence on the other side. But as they become better warriors on the other side, their waking selves suffer the consequences.

If you believe in karma and enjoy a little vengeance now and then, you’ll like "The Strega’s Last Dance." Angela Sandrini is the most prized Strega in New York City in 1949. She is a marriage counselor, nurse and witch all in one. She has seen much in her long life and has suffered a great deal. Much of this suffering was due to the local gangster, Bruno Maltano. Every business enterprise pays Bruno for the privilege of being in his neighborhood. As a result, he has made many enemies. The one person he doesn’t extort is the Strega. He needs her to find out who is going to make a move on his territory. But Bruno doesn’t realize that the Strega has been waiting for him for many years, and could be the one enemy he cannot defeat.

"The Henchmen" is a satirical look at the superhero versus super villain motif that makes you wonder, “Who are the real heroes?” JobPower is a temp agency that operates out of a tractor trailer. They don’t fill jobs for secretaries and office workers; instead they hire henchmen to tag along with super villains on mostly poorly thought out crime sprees or political crusades. The henchmen are underpaid, have no insurance and often suffer bodily harm at the hands of Night Mare, the local hero. Taurrance Green is one of the henchmen down on his luck until one day his true gifts shine through, and he finds himself in charge of a small army after their leader is killed. In many ways he becomes more of a hero than Night Mare could ever be.

I hope I have given you a taste of the kinds of adventure you’ll find in this unique collection of stories. If you like urban fiction and don’t mind a little strong language and violence, check it out.

--Mike N.