Soon I Will Be Invincible

Soon I Will Be Invincible
by Austin Grossman
(4/5 stars)

I'm not really much of a comic book reader, so most of my superhero experience comes from "Superfriends" reruns, video games, and the vast array of movies in the last decade.  Because of that I probably missed a few in-jokes in this book.  I'm just saying.

Anyway, the story for "Soon I Will Be Invincible" is pretty much a comic book without the pictures.  Though actually it's simpler than some of the big comic book story arcs I've read about in recent years.  I mean there's no time traveling or dimension hopping or any of that, though those things are referenced as having happened at one point.

When it begins, Doctor Impossible (the resident Dr. Doom of this universe) is imprisoned for the twelfth or more time.  Meanwhile, Earth's mightiest hero CoreFire (based on Superman) has gone missing.  Fatale, a cyborg who used to work for the government, is brought in as part of a new superteam known as the New Champions to find out what became of CoreFire.

Part of that involves interviewing Dr. Impossible.  He uses this as a chance to escape and begin with his master plan for finally taking over the world.  Fatale and the rest of the Champions--Damsel, daughter of a former hero and an alien princess; Blackwolf (based on Batman); Elphin (an elf warrior); Rainbow Fire, a teenage cyborg; Feral, a mutant cat; and Mr. Mystic (based on Dr. Strange)--go chasing after Dr. Impossible but in true superhero fashion are always one step behind.

Interspersed in the Dr. Impossible parts of the narration are flashbacks to his origins, although we never learn his entire real name.  There's also some stuff about some of his previous schemes and battles with superheroes.

The whole thing plays out pretty straight.  There's no real attempt to base the story in a realistic world like the recent Batman movies.  There are no social concerns like "Watchmen".  There's violence but it's not over-the-top without much in the way of gore.  Not really any sex either.  So basically it's a little more introspective Saturday morning cartoon.

Yet I have to say I was really curious to find out what Dr. Impossible was going to do and if he was finally going to succeed.

So overall it's fun light reading, especially if you like superheroes.  And in terms of plot it's a cut above the more recent "After the Golden Age" I read.

That is all.