I guess I’ve been on a superhero update kick of late, but that’s ok. I’d picked up Heroine Complex in a bookstore before, but this time I actually went through with the purchase. Overall, I don’t regret the $7.99 I spent. This is a really female-centered story, which makes it an interesting twist on the genre. After a vague large-scale supernatural event, some humans have developed supernatural powers, and now some people make a living as such, or in Evie’s case, as the personal assistant to Aveda Jupiter, the main hero in San Francisco. In addition to the usual schedule managing etc one would expect, Evie also has to manage her boss’ social media and image presentation which in this world is hugely important. It’s overdone to the point that I’m thinking that there’s gotta be some kind of commentary on the power of gossip, blogs, and social media image in modern society going on. After Aveda suffers some minor injury in a vague mishap, Evie has to pretend to be Aveda with the expected disastrous consequences, although not quite for the expected reasons; it turns out Evie has some pretty powerful powers herself, although she’d like to keep that hidden. Evie also has a dramatic personal life, with having custody of her teenage little sister and starting up a new romance with a co-worker.
For a hero story, this one focuses quite a lot on flawed characters trying to do their best in the world, although since we only get Evie’s perspective, she’s really the only one who undergoes any visible growth and change. Bea (Evie’s sister) seems to undergo some changes, but that’s not much explored, and neither is Aveda’s, and given what we learn about her and Evie’s shared history, there’s got to be a lot going on with her. I realize the sequels probably take on some of that missing growth on for both Aveda and Bea, but it’d be nice to see a little of it here too. Little touches of the ridiculous, like demons who take on the appearance of cupcakes that need vanquishing, or Evie’s subsistence on Lucky Charms, add an almost Absurdist feel to the whole thing, although it doesn’t always work. The supernatural karaoke battle for example seems pointless in a way that goes beyond Beckett into the realm of stupid and meaningless.
In spite of some things not quite working and some unnecessary vagueries, this is overall an entertaining read. Admittedly, I’m not sure I’m going to need to hurry and get either sequel, but this one is enough of a stand-alone that that’s probably fine.