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Mike Norris
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 4274
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| Posted: 20 March 2012 at 9:52pm | IP Logged | 1
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I remember being thrilled when I found a copy of the "Great Gold Steal" a Captain America novel from the 1960s by Ted White.
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Ed Love
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 05 October 2004
Location: United States
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| Posted: 21 March 2012 at 7:12am | IP Logged | 2
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I've thought for a while that the companies have been missing a bet with novels. Not with the big characters perse but with more of the minor, more genre characters. The books of Cussler, Koontz, Lee Child, Jim Butcher are already superhero/villain stories, just without the colorful costumes.
Right now, pulp novels are in a bit of a resurgence. Doc Savage, the Spider, the Shadow, Phantom Detective, Avenger and Whisperer are being reprinted with Doc actually getting new books. So, why not try with some of the more pulp inspired characters? Not just Batman, but Adam Strange and Captain Comet where you can do Burroughs and Lensmen stories. King Faraday, the Human Target, Unknown Soldier. Characters that you can build a book series around with its own internal continuity and consistency without worrying too much what's happening in the main DCU. Likewise, Marvel has heroes like Moon Knight, Nighthawk and even the more heavily pulp inspired Shroud.
And, with the popularity of horror-magic-mystery stories such as the Harry Dresden books, it would seem a natural to build series around Dr. Occult, Brother Voodoo, Madame Xanadu or even Morbius, Hannibal King, Blade, I-Vampire and Man-Bat.
Seems the trick though is to approach them as being real adventure novels, not to dumb them down because they are comicbook superheroes as is wont to happen.
There are a few superhero books out there if you look. Wild Cards has had a few new "novels" and there's a few others that I've seen crop up. Although most of these don't want to treat superheroes as adventure stories but get into the dysfunction aspects of superheroes (ie make them "grown up").
Edited by Ed Love on 21 March 2012 at 7:12am
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James Lansberry
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 11 February 2011
Location: United States
Posts: 110
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| Posted: 21 March 2012 at 8:26am | IP Logged | 3
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Some do, some don't, it depends on the hero being written.
I've got a couple of the Marvel books from the `70's (Hulk: "Stalker From the Stars", Hulk & Spider-Man: "Murdermoon") that read like a script from the comics themselves without the artwork, but there was a very successful Marvel line in the `90's that were very enjoyable.
Diane Duane did a Spider-Man trilogy featuring Venom, the Lizard and Dr. Octopus; Christopher Golden did a nice X-Men trilogy and Adam-Troy Castro did a nice dualogy/trilogy on Spider-Man and the Sinister Six. (There was a "prequal" book, if you will, that is often overlooked.)
Written well, you forget that you don't have artwork to look at.
And I can't recommend Roger Stern's "Death and Life of Superman" novel enough...
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
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| Posted: 21 March 2012 at 8:42am | IP Logged | 4
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To answer the question posed by the thread title, I don't see why not.Is there ANYTHING that wouldn't work as a novel, provided the writer had sufficient skill?
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Kevin Brown
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Joined: 31 May 2005
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| Posted: 21 March 2012 at 10:44am | IP Logged | 5
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Yes they can work. I loved the WILD CARDS series, though I have not read it in years. I also loved the Blackhawks novel that was written by William Rotsler and the Challengers of the Unknown novel by Robert Goulart. Not sure how they hold up right now, but I remember them being thoroughly engaging and fun.
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Adam Hutchinson
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 15 December 2005
Location: United States
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| Posted: 21 March 2012 at 10:54am | IP Logged | 6
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Robbie, I had a few of those Adventure Gamebooks too. My parents bought them for my older brother and I right before we left on a two day car ride to Maine. They were fun.
Actual novels about superheroes I enjoyed were Roger Stern's "Death and Return of Superman", Kevin J. Anderson's "Last Days of Krypton", and Tom Dehaven's "It's a Bird."
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Paulo Pereira
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Joined: 24 April 2006
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| Posted: 21 March 2012 at 11:54am | IP Logged | 7
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Ed wrote:
| There are a few superhero books out there if you look. Wild Cards has had a few new "novels" and there's a few others that I've seen crop up. |
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Just out of curiosity, has anyone else read these books?
Edited by Paulo Pereira on 21 March 2012 at 11:55am
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Phil Kreisel
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Joined: 03 February 2006
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| Posted: 21 March 2012 at 12:15pm | IP Logged | 8
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Sure they can. It's really no different than any science fiction novel, which works on describing the world around the characters and giving enough information for the reader to form an image in his or her's mind as the material is being read. I remember getting ahold of this book back in the ' 60s. The Avengers novel had a slightly altered group compared to what was in the  comics at the time. I also had picked up two Batman novels written in the '60s - one based on the TV show, the other adapted from the movie (both of which starred Adam West). I still have copies of all these books (which are likely long out of print).
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Wallace Sellars
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Joined: 01 May 2004
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| Posted: 21 March 2012 at 12:33pm | IP Logged | 9
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I thought that book was a mock-up someone had put together! If it's real, I want to read it!
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Robbie Parry
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Joined: 17 June 2007
Location: United Kingdom
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| Posted: 21 March 2012 at 12:55pm | IP Logged | 10
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I must admit, folks, that I was never really interested in superheroes novels, but the comments and pictures posted in this topic have changed my mind. Although most books posted here are probably long out of print, I might have some fun next time I head to the second-hand bookshop.
I guess if I can enjoy the novelization of SUPERMAN III, I can use my imagination to enjoy superhero novels.
QUOTE:
| Robbie, I had a few of those Adventure Gamebooks too. My parents bought them for my older brother and I right before we left on a two day car ride to Maine. They were fun. |
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I only ever saw the Spider-Man one, Adam (which I bought at a railway station). What other Adventure Gamebooks were there?
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Adam Hutchinson
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| Posted: 21 March 2012 at 1:07pm | IP Logged | 11
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I'm not sure how many there were, but we had the Spider-Man one you mention, one starring the Thing called "One Thing After Another" (written by gaming guru and Epic Mickey creator Warren Spector), and a Captain America one. They were a fun way to spnd the car ride, and the Thing one introduced me to the idea of parallel universes.
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Robbie Parry
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| Posted: 21 March 2012 at 1:09pm | IP Logged | 12
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Thank you, Adam. And yes, they did help pass the time. In my case, an 86-minute train journey from Birmingham to London was spent entirely reading that book!
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