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A review by josb
Absolute Power: Tales of Queer Villainy by Mari Kurisato, Audrey Chase, Barbara Ann Wright, Tristen Tarwater, Leia Weathington, Missouri Vaun, J.D. Glass, Erica Friedman, Susan Smith, A. Merc Rustad, Emily Kay Singer, Claire Monserrat Jackson, Jude McLaughlin
3.0
I am a person that has started to transfer my appreciation for superheroes to a deep appreciation for villains and the queer/subversive subtext they embody. A collection of short stories that removes the queer subtext felt like a big deal. The stories themselves seemed decently written, but the moods between stories were so different. One story described the gory murderous glee of a villain in detail and then was followed by an ultra campy villain and hero rivalry. It made it really hard to get into the mood and made me dread starting a new story because I had no way of knowing how it was going to end up.
This might be for you if you are looking for darker shorts. There are some lighthearted titles, but they felt more on the bittersweet side. I felt like if I was a little more prepared for the stories this would have been more enjoyable, therefore, I am adding a quick synopsis of the shorts below as well as any noticeable content warnings I could recall in each story for any future readers.
Final Grades - Erica Friedman
Supervillain trains the next generation of villains as students in a Post Secondary setting
CW: student-instructor seduction
Date Night - Tristan J. Tarwater
Villian goes on a date night that turns eventful
Eden's Revenge - Missouri Vaun
Eden plots an act of revenge against a man and the system that wronged her family
CW: kidnapping
Gentleman Jack - Barbara Ann Wright
"Jack" robs banks and finds a rival in a clever law enforcement agent
CW: mind control/suggestion
Fallen - Audrey Chase
An evil goddess enacts a plot to hurt her superhero rival
CW: gore, drug use/addiction, emotional abuse
The Devil Inside - JD Glass
A reporter interviews the devil and finds herself in the middle of a coupe
Glitter Bomb - Emily Kay Singer
Villian enacts a plan to take over the city with her "rainbow love gun" but chaos ensues when her rival superhero and a fellow villain appear.
CW: mind control, fatphobia, non-consensual advances (kissing, groping)
For Want of a Heart - A. Merc Rustad
Bartender finds herself making a deal with a Winter Goddess to help her out of a bind.
CW: addiction (gambling),
Absolution - Claire Monserrat Jackson
A super-powered disgraced detective teams up with an old friend to solve a problem at a Neo-Amish settlement.
CW: homophobia
So Many Things Seem Filled With the Intent - Jude McLaughlin
A hero spends the day at a mad scientist's lab interacting with the experiments.
CW: ableism
The Prado by Chance - Leia Weathington
A morally grey Interpol officer is hired to protect valuables and gets a surprising offer.
CW: mentions of drugs, voyeurism, excessive alcohol use
Jaguar Light - Susan Smith
Jaguar stops a fellow villains' takeover plot.
Chrome Crash - Mari Kurisato
Dirae attempts to find a powerful telepathic who has no control of her powers.
CW: gore, animal death, mass murder
This might be for you if you are looking for darker shorts. There are some lighthearted titles, but they felt more on the bittersweet side. I felt like if I was a little more prepared for the stories this would have been more enjoyable, therefore, I am adding a quick synopsis of the shorts below as well as any noticeable content warnings I could recall in each story for any future readers.
Final Grades - Erica Friedman
Supervillain trains the next generation of villains as students in a Post Secondary setting
CW: student-instructor seduction
Date Night - Tristan J. Tarwater
Villian goes on a date night that turns eventful
Eden's Revenge - Missouri Vaun
Eden plots an act of revenge against a man and the system that wronged her family
CW: kidnapping
Gentleman Jack - Barbara Ann Wright
"Jack" robs banks and finds a rival in a clever law enforcement agent
CW: mind control/suggestion
Fallen - Audrey Chase
An evil goddess enacts a plot to hurt her superhero rival
CW: gore, drug use/addiction, emotional abuse
The Devil Inside - JD Glass
A reporter interviews the devil and finds herself in the middle of a coupe
Glitter Bomb - Emily Kay Singer
Villian enacts a plan to take over the city with her "rainbow love gun" but chaos ensues when her rival superhero and a fellow villain appear.
CW: mind control, fatphobia, non-consensual advances (kissing, groping)
For Want of a Heart - A. Merc Rustad
Bartender finds herself making a deal with a Winter Goddess to help her out of a bind.
CW: addiction (gambling),
Absolution - Claire Monserrat Jackson
A super-powered disgraced detective teams up with an old friend to solve a problem at a Neo-Amish settlement.
CW: homophobia
So Many Things Seem Filled With the Intent - Jude McLaughlin
A hero spends the day at a mad scientist's lab interacting with the experiments.
CW: ableism
The Prado by Chance - Leia Weathington
A morally grey Interpol officer is hired to protect valuables and gets a surprising offer.
CW: mentions of drugs, voyeurism, excessive alcohol use
Jaguar Light - Susan Smith
Jaguar stops a fellow villains' takeover plot.
Chrome Crash - Mari Kurisato
Dirae attempts to find a powerful telepathic who has no control of her powers.
CW: gore, animal death, mass murder