My Take on METAHUMANS VS. ROBOTS
A few years back, Coscom Entertainment published a unique anthology about super heroes fighting zombies. ��The sequel was about super heroes and werewolves. ��I read Metahumans vs. Zombies and Metahumans vs. Lycanthropes and reviewed them both on Amazon and on this blog. ��I was disappointed when A.P. Fuchs, the editor and publisher of Coscom, retired last year, leaving the series in limbo. ��He passed the series over to J.L. MacDonald, creator of Nightcat, to continue through her publishing company, Lion’s Share Press. ��I had been playing around with a character who would be tied into my Adventure Chronicles series but would continue beyond its conclusion. ��So, adapting her into a super hero, I wrote a story and submitted it. ��I find myself in somewhat of a dilemma, now. ��I love all of the stories in the book. ��And I can’t review it because I’m a contributing author. ��Ugh.
But I can discuss the books on here. ��So, here are my takes on the stories, in the order of appearance in the anthology:
1. “The Battery” by Sean N. Koury-I’ve gotten to know Sean online and his humor comes through in this story about a cyborg, named Bounty Hunter, who can travel to alternate earths. ��My favorite part of this is when Bounty Hunter tells a child that he has been to the dimension where Batman lives and it keeps having cosmic events that rewrite history (alluding to the reboots that DC Comics keeps having).
2. ��“Steam” by Steven J. Semones-A very well-written western/super hero story. ��Mixed in with alien robots.
3. ��“A Whole Other Animal” by Greg Mitchell-Light Sphere does battle with a robot who has been infected with lycanthropy. ��Yes, a robot/werewolf. ��It’s an entertaining story. ��The big thing was that Light Sphere’s secret identity is Rick Castle. ��Due to that being the name of the primary protagonist in my favorite weekly television program, I pictured Light Sphere being played by Nathan Fillion during the duration of the story.
4. ��“I Always Wanted a Giant Robot” by Scott Story-This one plays very noir to me, with the whole story being told by the hero, Johnny Saturn, to a friend over drinks.
5. ��“Othveria: ��Mystery Metal” by T.W. Johnson-We’ve met Melfaxus in Johnson’s Othveria: Crisis. ��Here, we get to see his heroic arch-foe, Metaegus. ��Uniquely written in the present tense, the story reads like a Japanese monster show.
6. ��“The Science of Evil” by Keith Gouveia-The hero, Midnight Angel, is the daughter of Satan and has to fight demons that come through a natural portal from hell that appears in her abdomen. ��An interesting premise, although the villain that she fought in this story was a robot that was created by the government to help her.
7. “Eye Robot” by J.L. MacDonald-Truthfully, the story that I was waiting for. ��Nightcat has to battle flying robots who are being mistaken for UFOs.
8. ��“Duomo Arigatou” by yours truly-The first story that I’ve written about Seigi, a former assassin from the Waruiyatsu ninja clan who has become a Christian and vowed to spend the rest of her life fighting evil.
9. ��“The Black Knights of Stonebridge” by Jim Robb-I had wondered how Robb would write a story about his medieval super hero, the Crusader, that would put him up agaist a robot. ��Not only did he succeed, but he wrote an amazing story, to boot.
10. ��“Robots Attack!” by Frank Dirscherl-The grandfather of indie metahumans in prose fiction, the Wraith, is back and has to fight an android that looks like a friend.
11. ��“Razor Wave” by Gina Ranalli-A story about a team of metahumans having to battle a former hero. ��A very emotional story..
12. ��“Rage Agaist the Retcon” by Lorne Dixon-A WWII hero who has survived all these years (but aged normally). He had the most emotional ending in the Lycanthropes anthology and his story here is just as entertaining.
I truly enjoyed all of the stories in the anthology and strongly recommend the book to anybody who loves super hero fiction. ��It’s available in Ebook and Paperback.
