A review by vaguelymaybe
Super Stories of Heroes and Villains, by Tim Pratt, Mike Mignola, Benjamin Rosenbaum, J. Robert Lennon, Paul Di Filippo, Claude Lalumière, Ernest Hogan, Cory Doctorow, Chris Roberson, Will Clarke, Jonathan Lethem, Christopher Golden, Rachel Pollack, George Singleton, Kim Newman, Carrie Vaughn, Leah Bobet, Camille Alexa, Gene Wolfe, Tananarive Due, Kelly Link, Steven Barnes, Kurt Busiek, James Lowder, George R.R. Martin, A.M. Dellamonica, Jess Nevins, Jack Pendarvis, James Patrick Kelly, Carol Emshwiller, Win Scott Eckert

2.0

i doubt there's any multi-author anthology that really deserves more than 3.5 stars, as it's usually a pretty mixed bag, but this one in particular is a real stinker. every inch of the book's design screams "FUN! ACTION! BAM! FUN! SUPERHERO! WHAPPOW!" but many of the stories skew intellectual, and at least a full third of the 28 stories were literally not about superheroes at all (even if i'm being generous about the definition of 'superhero'). it would be difficult to find an anthology that's less consistent and less on-theme. i gave it an extra star for the inclusion of a few stories i did really love (in order of appearance): Origin Story by Kelly Link, Clash of Titans (A New York Romance) by Kurt Busiek, and Man Oh Man - It's Manna Man by George Singleton. (honorable mention to Faces of Gemini by A. M. Dellamonica, The Super Man & the Bugout by Cory Doctorow, and The Pentecostal Home for Flying Children by Will Clarke)
(reviews of each story in the update links)