Who Wants to Be a Superhero? #1 Starring Feedback (Dark Horse Comics)
by Stan Lee
Our Price: $3.95
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Stan LeeIllustrator: Will Conrad
Edition: Comic
Published: 2007
ISBN: N/A
Publisher: Dark Horse
Book Reviews of Who Wants to Be a Superhero? #1 Starring Feedback (Dark Horse Comics)
Book Review: After waiting months and months Matthew Atherton finally gets his "Feedback" comic book
Summary: 4 Stars
"Who Wants to Be a Superhero?" on the Sci Fi Channel was summer was certainly a different sort of reality television series. Hundreds of people showed up in costumes as superheroes to be whittled down by the producers to a dozen who be challenged by Stan Lee each week to behave like a real superhero. Simple tasks usually contained a more fundamental challenge and one of the interesting aspects was how Lee would lecture the contestants each week on what it means to be a comic book superhero. The most surprising aspect was that there were some truly emotional moments, such as when Monkey Woman made it across that backyard with the two attack dogs hanging on to her, Major Victory's phone call from his estranged daughter, and Feedback's story about how he turned to Lee's "Spider-Man" comic books after the death of his father for a role model. Nobody took this contest more seriously than Feedback (real name Matthew Atherton), and he was my pick to win, which he did, defeating Fat Momma in the finale. As a result of winning the contest here we have issue #1 from Dark Horse Comics of "Who Wants to be a Superhero?" featuring Feedback. Scripted by Lee with art by Will Conrad, this comic book will be of interest to those who followed the series and of little concern to the rest of the comic book reading universe.
Feedback, a.k.a. Matthew Atherton, is a 34 year-old software engineer. His super powers are that he absorbs power and abilities from video games that he plays, which allows him to generate a feedback field that disrupts electronics within 15 feet. He is also a computer genius and his catch phrase is "Game on!" But his vulnerabilities are that power lines give him headaches and microwaves give him nausea, which makes for an interesting pair of limitations on the character. These are the powers that are described inside the front cover of this comic book, which are different from his powers as established on the character's official Sci Fi channel website. But when you are talking about things like having to decide what video game to play in the morning which may or may not be completely inappropriate for that day's challenge and losing a random part of his memory each time he uses an emulated power, no wonder Lee refined things a bit here.
The chief charm of the comic book is that Lee works in such aspects of Atherton's real life, such as being the fatherless youth who turned to comic books and ending up meeting a girl named Sarah Blevins, who will become his wife. I especially liked the last part because every time I hear about how Lee and Kirby changed comic books when they came up with the "Fantastic Four," I always remember that it was Lee's wife who urged him to write a comic book the way he wanted for once. The story covers Feedback's origin (amazing what a bolt of lightning can do if you are clutching a game controller) and his first battle as a superhero. Actually, his powers do not come into play that much and he uses his brains as well. The artwork of Feedback being created during the storm is the best in the issue and the hero sort of looks like Atherton. Lee indulged in several instances of self-reflexivity ("I feel like I'm living in a comic book," our hero thinks at the end) and the net result is more fun than it is memorable. But that was the expectation here, even if we had to wait until the same month that the second season of the show premiers to finally get our hands on this comic book (I know Mindset won the Internet voting to get on the show, but I think Ms. Limelight and Pantheon sound interesting for Season 2).
The back of the comic book includes the covers for the other 10 superheroes from Season 1 and it is strange that the cover for the actual comic book is the most boring one because it is the only one without any sort of background. It is basically the same cover we saw during the series, except then it said "Taking heroism to the next level" back then and now it just declares "And the winner is...Feedback." Feedback is also supposed to be a featured character in a Sci Fi Channel original Thursday Night Movie, but given how long we had to wait for the comic book (I had just about forgotten about it and I know I am not alone in that regard), I hate to think how long we will have to wait for the movie, even though Atherton, who will be playing the character, said at one point . There is also going to be action figures for Feedback, Fat Momma, and Captain Victory (the final three from Season 1) and maybe those will be out by Christmas (maybe even the next one).
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Books and e-Books
Real Solutions for Busy Moms: Your Guide to Success and Sanityby Kathy Ireland
Howard Books; Published: 2009-04-07; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.44
Price in other shops:
Moo Baa La La Laby Sandra Boynton
Little Simon; Published: 1982-11-30; Board book; Book
Best price: $2.00
Price in other shops:
The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrunby J.R.R. Tolkien
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Published: 2009-05-05; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $12.99
Price in other shops:
WordPress For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/ Tech))by Lisa Sabin-Wilson
For Dummies; Published: 2007-11-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.05
Price in other shops:
![The Carrot Principle: How the Best Managers Use Recognition to Engage Their People, Retain Talent, and Accelerate Performance [Updated & Revised] Image](/images/The-Carrot-Principle-How-the-Best-Managers-Use-Recognition-to-Engage-Their-People-Retain-Talent-and-Accelerate-Performance-Updated-Revised-1439149178-X.jpg){kind=small}
The Carrot Principle: How the Best Managers Use Recognition to Engage Their People, Retain Talent, and Accelerate Performance [Updated & Revised]by Adrian Gostick, Chester Elton
Free Press; Published: 2009-04-07; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $11.44
Price in other shops:
The Great Gatsbyby F. Scott Fitzgerald
Scribner; Published: 1999-09-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.98
Price in other shops:
The Associateby John Grisham
Doubleday; Published: 2009-01-27; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.12
Price in other shops:
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah EquianoCoffeetown Press; Published: 2008-10-01; Paperback; Book
Price in other shops:
A Lion Called Christian: The True Story of the Remarkable Bond between Two Friends and a Lionby Anthony Bourke, John Rendall
Broadway; Published: 2009-03-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $12.76
Price in other shops:
The 5000 Year Leap: A Miracle That Changed the Worldby W. Cleon Skousen
National Center for Constitutional Studies; Published: 1981-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.39
Price in other shops:
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
Doctor Who: The Infinite QuestWarner Brothers; Release date: 2008-11-18; DVD
Best price: $4.37
Price in other shops:
The Pirate King (Forgotten Realms: Transitions, Book 2)by R.A. Salvatore
Wizards of the Coast; Published: 2008-10-07; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.33
Price in other shops:
The DC Comics Encyclopedia, Updated and Expanded Editionby Michael Teitelbaum, Scott Beatty, Robert Greenburger, Daniel Wallace
DK Publishing; Published: 2008-09-29; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $21.15
Price in other shops:
Saving the World: A Guide to Heroesby Lynnette Porter, David Lavery, Hillary Robson
Ecw Press; Published: 2007-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.00
Price in other shops:
Doctor Who - The Complete First SeriesWarner Brothers; Release date: 2006-07-04; DVD
Best price: $64.93
Price in other shops:
Stan Lee's LightspeedRelease date: 2007-01-09; DVD
Best price: $4.08
Price in other shops:
Stan Lee Presents - MosaicSTARZ HOME ENTERTAINMENT; Release date: 2007-01-09; DVD
Best price: $4.63
Price in other shops:
White Night (The Dresden Files, Book 9)by Jim Butcher
Roc; Published: 2008-02-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.99
Who Wants To Be A Superhero? Season 2 (3 DVD Set)Release date: 2007-10-19; DVD
Best price: $24.95
Who Wants to Be A Superhero? (2 DVD Set)Release date: 2006-09-21; DVD
Best price: $24.95