A book called "Soon I Will be Invincible" helped give superhero fiction a shot in the arm – it started a new genre of superhero books. Original superhero stories, not novelisations of the already famous heroes who have sunk into the public consciousness.
Stories that involve the super, the not-so-super, those struggling with their powers or embracing it, those "blessed with suck" or just given a power that is easy to keep under wraps.
Shimmer is a story that takes the old trope of a body swap and takes it to an entirely new level. This is no Disney movie involving a few days trapped in a body, then a lesson learned and laughs to be had. This is a serious story – not one to be taken lightly.
There are plenty of laughs though – the character of the Peacemonger for example, a member of the local super-team that once tried to arrest a dog for skipping school, or subtle humour of Doctor Smoke, at once another member of the super-team but also something more.
Shimmer deals with a multitude of themes, not least of all being trapped in a body that doesn’t belong to you – of needing to show what’s on the inside, not the outside, not the immediately apparent.
It’s a subtle blend of Invincible (the comic, not the aforementioned book) and Astro City. It’s a story told in four colours, and you should be reading it.
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