The Darker Mask
Heroes from the Shadows
Gary Phillips, Christopher Chambers
374 pages · Released Aug 19, 2008 · Macmillan + ORM
Content report card
The Darker Mask parent’s guide: what’s inside
LGBTQ+ themes
What it offers
Educational value
A note for parents
This is an adult short story collection featuring superhero and urban fantasy tales with mature literary themes. While centered on heroes and their struggles, the stories include crime elements, urban grit, and sophisticated writing aimed at teen and adult readers rather than children. The collection celebrates diverse characters and communities often underrepresented in mainstream superhero fiction, with stories exploring complex moral and social themes.
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From the publisher
Wildly fantastic superhero stories by a cross section of today's cutting-edge urban fantasy and crime writers. Expanding on the concept behind Byron Preiss's Weird Heroes from the 1970s, George R. R. Martin's Wild Card series, and Michael Chabon's McSweeney's Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales, The Darker Mask is a co... Wildly fantastic superhero stories by a cross section of today's cutting-edge urban fantasy and crime writers. Expanding on the concept behind Byron Preiss's Weird Heroes from the 1970s, George R. R. Martin's Wild Card series, and Michael Chabon's McSweeney's Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales, The Darker Mask is a collection of original prose stories recalling the derring-do of the beings we call Superheroes and the worlds they fight to save. But unique to The Darker Mask stories is that these plots and characters color a literary universe outside of what has been predominantly white, idiosyncratic, and male in previous homages to pulp. This is the stuff of urban legends, new mythos, and extraordinary folks who might live in a soon-to-be-gentrified ghetto, the dreary rust-belt of the city, or in another dimension. The Darker Mask offers an eclectic mix of popular fiction writers exploring worlds gritty, visceral, and fantastic. Includes contributions from L. A. Banks, Steven Barnes and Tananarive Due, Lorenzo Carcaterra, Christopher Chambers, Reed Farrel Coleman, Michael A. Gonzales, Gar Anthony Haywood, Naomi Hirahara, Mat Johnson, Victor LaValle, Walter Mosley, Ann Nocenti, Gary Phillips, Jerry A. Rodrigues, Alexandra Sokoloff, Peter Spiegelman, Wayne L. Wilson, and Doselle Young.
Shelved under
- Fiction
- Fantasy fiction
- Short stories
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ISBN 9781429984003 · Macmillan + ORM