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
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.
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.