Gods of Justice Review

Next month Dallas, Texas publishing house Cliffhanger Books will be releasing a ten story anthology titled Gods of Justice. We here at comicbooked were lucky enough to get a press issue early and I’ve been spending my time reading it.  Each tale concerns superpowered vigilantes and the daily trials they go through.  Overall this book is worth your time but there’s a few stories that, if you’re in a hurry, I’d recommend you just breeze through.  All of them present some kind of fresh idea that I was entertained by but I also have to admit that a few of the early stories rank along the amateur status.  Despite some clever ideas the exposition of a few of these tales is, how should I put this… a little flimsy.  Under each title I’ll give a rating from 1 to 10 for Content (C) & Story-Craft (E) so when you decide to get this book maybe you’ll have a better idea on which tales to spend more time with.

The Mass Grave of John Johnsons: C: 7  E: 4

This story by Micah Urban revolves around a mortician trying to solve the puzzle of forty two unidentified bodies.  With a little help from the Federal Office of Super-Heroes and an oddball cast of caped-crusaders we find, as is often the case with these stories, that things are not what they seem.  WhoDied, a clever and uniquely creepy hero, literally dissects the identities to discover a terrifying string of murders.  Together the mortician Abram Murry, WhoDied, Locality, & Four-D have to strike out on the adventure of Dr. Murry’s life to prevent the 42nd murder before it happens.  Yes, that’s correct, there are 42 bodies in the mass grave but at least one of them might be preventable.  Intrigued?  Me too.  The only downside to this story is that Urban tends to bury the real excitement of the narrative with a not-too-subtle context of Dr. Murry’s daddy issues.  It’s a good read to kick off the book but be forewarned if you have a weak stomach: it gets a little gory.

Daughter of Nyx: C: 7  E: 5

Kelly Wisdom’s tale of a sect of humans born with bird wings reflects the tyranny and injustice of oppressive governments, “racist” hate speak, and fear of what is different.  In a relatively distant future we meet Veronica, our winged heroine, and her would be lover Mia.  The story follows their struggling relationship in a world where homophobia is the norm (especially if one of the women has wings).  “V” as we come to know her has spent a lifetime held back by the fear that someone might discover she is the last survivor of the “extinct” race of winged-people.  This tale explores the power of love, what we as people instinctively do under the oppression of fear, and the hope we can find in each other when all else is lost.  This story is worth your time but I found myself thinking the same thing of it as I did of Margaret Atwood’s “A Handmaid’s Tale.”  This is a great story with a great hero but I’d like to know a lot more about the government situation! Eh, how much can you do in a short story?

Going My Own Way: C: 6  E: 5

This story by Star Trek writer Dayton Ward is a pleasant piece about a man who doesn’t quite meet his father’s abilities while living up to his expectations.  Daniel Balin is the son of a superhero comparable to the classic Superman but without all the speed, strength, or other abilities.  What Daniel does do very well is see; through all spectrums and surfaces.  He uses this ability to work for a local fire department and while his father respects and honors that decision the government doesn’t.  More about a man’s search for his place in this world “Going My Own Way” is a warm-hearted story but if you’re looking for action maybe skip ahead a few pages.

Identity Crisis: C: 4  E: 3

Lisa Gail Green tells the story of twin sisters, one who is intelligent, couragous, and selfless and another who is nerdy, clumsy, and full of self doubt.  The two end up having to switch clothes and fight each other’s battles.  All the same old twin-sister’s-stories stuff.  This is actually pretty common place and I found rather dull.  If you’re going to skip one in this collection make it this one.

Blunt Force Trauma: C: 4  E: 3

I don’t mean to sound like a broken record but Kevin Hosey leaves me little choice.  This is a painful replay of the ex-partner story.  One driven mad by revenge (and possibly and experimental serum) and another lured to his demise by his last chance at honor.  Hosey leaks his surprises so when they hit they are barely that.  By the time I got to the end of it I was disgusted by the villain (which a good author should do) but completely unsatisfied by the result.  This is the literary equivalent of fast-paced jaunt to a shanty gas station.  Again, if you’re in a hurry skip this story.

Neutral Ground: C: 7  E:6

Jordan Taylor’s tale of a shape shifter in WWI is definitely my second favorite in this collection.  Following a British Corporal on the front line trenches this story explores the morality of war and the things we all hold most dear at the end of our life.  This is also the first story in the anthology that I wasn’t somewhat put off by air of inexperience telling the tale.  Taylor gives enough flavor and detail to make it believable and encompassing without forcing descriptive phrases that make me as a reader want to brush my teeth (or at least have one of WhoDied’s Altoids).  The question in this story is put forth by the narrator early on, “Some men say there’ an army in No Man’s Land.”  The answer is that No Man wins unless he can care more for others than himself.  Depending on how expensive “Gods of Justice” is this story by itself is worth the cost (if that cost is $15 or less).

Breaking the Circle: C: 6  E: 6

This epic little number by Derek Tyler Attico is a pleasant piece that recycles a lot of what we’ve seen in space/time continuum stories while altering it just enough to make the idea entertaining.  We’re introduced to Forefather who is altering time to stop the travesty of his present.  To do so he needs to find a solution to The Vitruvian and Fenril Beast’s seemingly endless fight before they unwittingly spread a lethal pandemic across the globe.  The answer he comes up with is maybe one of the most rewarding reasons for villainy I’ve ever read outside of Neil Gaiman’s 2009 “Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?”  I will warn you, to get the best impact from this story skip the last two sentences.  Attico’s rather dull sense of humor dissolves what is up until then a good story.

The Dodge: C: 6  E: 7

This space cowboy tale is a nice family yarn (see how I did that, its a wild west story so I used the word yarn) about an elder brother who has the power to “dodge” or phase.  He and his two siblings hunt down outlaws on some foreign planet inhabitable due a gene splicing technique that also gave the protagonist, Jason, his powers.  While at times this story feels a little bit too much like “Fallout 3″ meets “3:10 to Yuma” the bits of sibling love mix in well with the over abundant amount of description given to the dust clouds.  This is one of those rare stories that I think would make a better movie or “Twilight Zone” episode but definitely read it for yourself before taking my word for it.

The Justice Blues: C: 5  E:6

Carla Lee Suson presents a semi-unique story that should be brought to you by the Lifetime Movie Network.  The story of a magical songstress made battered house wife pulls at your heart strings from time to time but not enough to justify the entirety of this story.  Seriously, cut like four pages out and it is infinitely better.  Anyway, five years into Angelica’s marriage to the superhero Constructor and the honeymoon has decayed into marital rape and abuse.  On top of that Constructor’s cheating on her.  I’ve been trying to not spoil any of these stories for those of you who will read the book but these are all things you would have deduced long before they happened.  So yes, terrible marriage to Mr. Charming is going to come to an end.  The way in which the final execution of the plot happens is worth a read but only if you remembered to skip those few repetative pages in the middle.

Death and Life of The Hero: C:9  E: 9

The final story in this collection, written by DC’s Ricardo Sanchez (famous for his Resident Evil comics) is hands down the most rewarding and thought-provoking.  Really more of a social introspection piece, Ricardo tells us of a deceased hero known as The Hero and the reporter that is trying to retell his story twenty years later.  I really don’t want to ruin too much for you so all I’ll say is this story needs to be published elsewhere and consumed en mass as it is a powerful look into and reminder of who we all are and who we all can be.

When you get around to reading this let us know what you think here or on our forums.

Tags: cliffhanger publishing, Gods of Justice, ricardo sanchez

About the Author

Written by Jared Walter

I occasionally write for ComicBooked.com but mostly I focus on my podcast Vigilante Nation and joining the other heroes of CB for some of their podcasts. I'm the guy that is pretending to be smart.

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