New Work Published: Powers vs. Power Volume 3!

It's been too long since we've had a new volume of stories from Robin Reed, so I am happy to report that the latest and final chapter in the Powers Vs. Power saga has just been released.  Once again, I am happy to have provided the cover art for this collection of superhero-based stories, this time with a tribute to some classic superhero comic book covers (a cookie for you if you can name the issues being referenced!).  You can see a preview of the cover below, but to get the book you've got to head over to Smashwords and grab it for just 99 cents!  While you're there, be sure to grab the first two volumes in this series, and let me also recommend Robin's other book, "Mama" and "Halloween Sky",  two of the finest works of horror available on Smashwords.  You could grab the lot of them for just a few bucks and have yourself a summer's worth of good reading.  I know I've just nabbed a copy of "Powers vs. Power" vol. 3 and am looking forward to diving back into that world.  With a cool cover like this, how could you say no?

Powers vs. Power V. 2 Now Available

Waiting for a Watchmen sequel that's likely never going to happen?  Read every issue of Astro City and wondering where to go next?  Let me suggest you try "Powers vs. Power" by Robin Reed.
The second volume of this series has just been released in various ebook formats, with my own work gracing the cover.  Each book is a collection of short stories based on a group of original superheroes created by Robin for Metahuman Press.  I enjoyed the first volume very much and am pleased to say that the second volume, so far, is maintaining the same level of quality.
Writing prose about superheroes can be a difficult task because the visual aspect on which the medium of comics depends is missing.  "Biff!" and "Pow" don't parse the same in a non-graphic form.  This means that the stories, if they're not to be entirely juvenile, have to be a lot more character driven.  The problem is then to avoid the pitfall of turning the work into fanfic, making the characters cheap pastiches of existing heroes or winding up hip deep in long descriptions of powers and physiques.  Robin manages to avoid these dangers quite nicely and has created a cast with a fair amount of depth and personality.  Yet, the work does not cross over much into Alan Moore territory, in the sense that this is not a deconstruction of the genre.  Superheroes in this world are a good thing, and there's a good sense of fun and wonder in these stories as well.  I think these books will be enjoyed by anyone who actually likes superheroes.
Powers Vs. Power Book 2 is available in Kindle format from Amazon at the low price of $2.99, and in various ebook formats from Smashwords for just 99 cents.  If you're fan of the genre, or of good storytelling in general, I really do recommend it.

Knighthawk!

Here's another piece done for Robin Reed's book, Powers vs. Power. This time, it's her character Knighthawk, this piece being used for the back cover of the book. In case you haven't done so already, check out Robin's book over at Lulu.com. You can even read some of the stories online at Metahuman Press. Trust me, it's worth a look.

Cover Up!

Astute readers will notice that I haven't been posting much here lately. It's not that I've stopped caring, nor even that I don't have any material to post. It's just that I've been very caught up in current projects, with nary a minute to spare for things like putting together blog posts.
The good news is that some of those projects are finally starting to see the light of day, and I should be able to start posting samples soon, starting with the image below.

This is the cover to "Powers vs. Power" by Robin Reed, now available from Lulu.com. This book is a collection of superhero-based short stories, all connected within the frame of a larger story. I've read the stories myself, and I think they're quite enjoyable. This is not so much biff-bam-pow superheroics, nor what Warren Ellis calls "underwear perverts". Rather, it's solid writing with believable characters in a realistic setting. While a certain amount of power fantasy is unavoidable in this genre, the stories depend more on character development and strong narratives, which makes reading the book time well spent. Fans of stories like "Astro City" and "Kingdom Come" would do well to check out this book; they'll find the same kind of storytelling with a respect for the genre that does not have to resort to "Watchmen" style deconstruction to succeed. All in all, good value for the money.
"Powers vs. Power" can be previewed and purchased via it's page on Lulu.com. Do yourself a favor and check it out.