Review of "The League of Regrettable Superheroes," by Jon Morris

Review of

The League of Regrettable Superheroes, by Jon Morris ISBN 9781594748691


Five out of five stars

 With so many movies featuring superheroes now hitting the big screen in sequence and several different actors having played heroes such as Superman, Batman and Spider-man, many wannabees have never been heard from. This book contains brief descriptions of some of the oddest and quite frankly dumbest superheroes that were ever created. As one would have expected, many did not survive for more than a few issues.

 Quirky is too mild a word to describe most of these characters. For example, there is “Madam Fatal,” a hero that is a man cross-dressed as a grey-haired old woman. This character appeared in 1940 and lasted for nearly two years! Another is “Fatman, the Human Flying Saucer,” where an obese man turns into an actual flying saucer when it is time to confront the evildoers. My favorite by quite a bit is “Dr. Hormone” (really!) Debuting in 1940, he was a man that used hormones for many purposes, sometimes well beyond the realm of medical ethics. He does not hesitate to use his potions on children and even babies.

 Comic characters tend to be quirky and unusual, but until you read this book it is unlikely that you ever realized just how far that expression can be extended.