Does This Cape Make Me Look Fat?

    (Chronicle, 2006)
™ and © Chronicle Books

There have been a number of books telling lay people how to turn ourselves into productive members of the super-hero community. This book presupposes that we’re already super-heroes. But being super doesn’t automatically solve all of one’s problems, which is why you need this: a self-help book for super-heroes.

All of the standard super-hero dilemmas are covered: choosing the wrong name, replacing dead sidekicks, coming up with effective catchphrases, and joining a team. Then there are such unanticipated issues as what to do when your parent is a super-villain and how to maintain proper eye contact with a heroine with super décolletage.

The book is presided over by a number of heroes, who act out the scenarios like some sort of workplace training video. The art is often reused and seems repetitive in many places, but then it comes out with something truly oddball that resets readers’ expectations.

All in all, Does This Cape… has plenty of tee-hee-hees and a few bwah-ha-has—more than enough to make it worth picking up.

— Jack Abramowitz
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