Best Superhero Books

Ex-Heroes (Peter Clines)

Zombies and superheroes, a match made in heaven? Before I read this book I would have said no, that's just too much genre-obsession to fit in one story. And yet, this book (and it's sequels, which have remained incredibly good) manages to combine the two heavy-hitting pop culture tropes in a fast-paced, hard-hitting story that manages to combine zombies and superheroes seamlessly in a remarkably realistic post-apocalyptic world. The first book starts up about a year after the zombie infection turns most of the world into shambling monsters. We join our heroes (our SUPERheroes!) in one of the last human holdouts in Los Angeles, and follow them as they try to deal with dwindling supplies, social unrest within their survivor's haven, a rival group of survivors, and a mysterious new threat emerging from the undead of the city.

Still sounds like too much stuff, right? But seriously, I can't recommend this series enough. The writing is quick, witty, and juggles a large cast and a complex plot with remarkable ease.

Wild Cards (edited by George R. R. Martin)

Aside from his more well-known forays into high fantasy, George R. R. Martin is known for being the over-arching editor for the shared universe known as the Wild Cards series. I'm going to be honest here, I'm pretty new to the series, and I've only read the first book so far. However, it was fantastic. The basic premise is that sometime just after World War Two ends, an alien virus is released on Earth. Of those infected, the majority die in horrifying ways, and the survivors live with a variety of mutations. Most of the survivors are Jokers with negative or small mutations, but some survivors are Aces with positive mutations (like flight, superstrength, etc). Each book is made up of a variety of short stories by various authors exploring different characters and aspects of this new world. This series makes the list for two reasons. One: this is a fascinating example of a shared universe outside of traditional comics. With so many different authors, not every story is gold, but there is something for everyone. Which also brings me to reason number two: the story depth. The series was started back in the 80's, and continues today, which has resulted in over 25 books. In addition, the internal timeline of the series spans from the 1940s to the present, which has prompted the authors to fuse their storylines with the historical events of those decades. Kind of like the Watchmen comics, but on a grander scale. Anyways, I'm looking forward to a whole new obsession!

The Damned Busters (Matthew Hughes)


Mild-mannered Chesney Arnstruther is just an actuary with an innocent fondness of mathematics and comics. More of an observer of life than a participant, everything changes when he accidentally summons a demon. Not really ready to sell is soul, he sends the fiend packing and quite unwittingly causes Hell to go on strike. Long story short, to set things right the Devil grants him the ability to fight crime (trust me, it all makes sense). Now with a demon sidekick, Chesney jumps into the role of caped crusader and quickly discovers there's a lot more to crimefighting than designing a costume and showing up. As he graduates from foiling muggings to thwarting villains, the stakes only grow higher. Can he sidestep the machinations of the Devil? Or win the woman of his dreams? Or will his efforts all end in pepper spray? Find out in this strange but entertaining crossover of supernatural and superheroes.



The Posterchildren: Origins (Kitty Burroughs)

In a world where some children are born gifted (and not the way your mother always said you were gifted, I'm talking about Xavier's School for Gifted Children kind of gifted), society has developed a standardized method of raising and training unusual children to responsibly in society (i.e. high school for superheroes). This is the story of some of those gifted kids, posterchildren in this world, as they navigate their powers and their society. I realize this sounds like Sky High, and it kind of is. But I actually love that stupid movie, and this book carries the fun of teenage superhero shenanigans while simultaneously dealing with sexism, body image, heteronormativity, etc., etc. It's fun, it's immersive, and it has great potential.
Unlike the rest of the books on this list, The Posterchildren is an independently published book, so you generally have to go through a site like Smashwords or Indiegogo to get the book. However, I promise it's money well spent, because this is actually a fantastic book.