Hero Town

Book excerpt: Amidst the glittering optimism defining America's post-War period, the great metropolis of New York City is watched over by a legion of costumed superheroes. Half a century later, the heroes are all gone, and New York has collapsed into seemingly irreparable ruin. Throughout the 1950s, superhuman beings with fantastic abilities face off against bizarre enemies and absurd situations in their ongoing fight to uphold justice, defend the innocent, and safeguard the public welfare. In the early 21st century, a group of young superhumans is mentored by the few former heroes that remain, while monstrous gangsters and crazed supervillains battle for control of New York's decrepit husk. This epic saga, spanning two distinct eras, details the exploits of such magnificent champions as the patriotic Star-Spangled Angel, the sorcerer Dr. Obscura, the nigh omnipotent Super-Atomic Man, and the antisocial Urban Ranger, and the incredible adventures they undertake at the height of the Superheroic Age, while simultaneously examining the mystery of their disappearance, and the events that mold the shape of the dystopian New York of today.