Friday, February 16, 2007

A nice take on the role of the super hero from Cory Doctorow

I've been reading a few of Cory Doctorow's short stories lately, since he's been so kind as to offer them for free download.

I'm feeling that familiar chagrin of an idea I wish I'd had first, when reading his story "The Super Man and the Bugout." He takes an interesting tack with the idea of Superman.

In his notes about the story he mentions that the idea came from supposing a more Jewish and more Canadian superman:

"a superhero story that asks what would have happened if Kal-el had landed in suburban Toronto and been raised by an old Jewish couple."

His superman wrestles with his social conscience and his role in the world. Neat stuff. Also notable because on top of this idea is the idea of a hero becoming irrelevant in a world where aliens show up with all the answers.

The story is available at

http://www.craphound.com/place/Cory_Doctorow_-_The_Super_Man_and_Bugout.txt

1 comment:

  1. Thanks, I'll have to check that out. Alternate takes on super hero prototypes are always fun!

    ReplyDelete