Zephyr: Phase One by Warren Hately Review

Title: Zephyr: Phase One

Author: Warren Hately

My Rating: 4/5

Part of a series? Yes

Genre(s): Superhero, Adult, Fantasy, Science fiction 

Description/Blurb:

Zephyr phase one isn't exactly an average book, it's from a prose web-comic series to find out more look here.

It's 2011 on the eastern seaboard of the United States. The place is Atlantic City: a sweeping longitudinal metropolis rebuilt following widespread devastation in 1984. Superhumans are not only real, they're human. All too human, as Nietzsche would say.

Zephyr is a "novel" alt.superhero adventure influenced by postliterary writing and Sturgeon's law. The style is cynical, cinematic and systematically against standard expectations of the genre. Imagine if Bret Easton Ellis's American Psycho was about costumed vigilantes rather than stockbrokers and you have half an idea.

Zephyr tells the story of a major, if somewhat jaded superhero in an alternate universe where New York City has been abandoned and the Beatles were a superhero team. Zephyr is a regular guy, but with powers, and it's easy to wonder if his life might have been better without them as supervillains and other problems that only superhumans can deal with derail his efforts handling life.

In Phase One, Zephyr tackles the pressure to reform his old Sentinels superhero team for financial gain, saves his best friend Twilight, endures sexual blackmail, reconciles his daughter's expulsion from high school and deals with a close betrayal, all as the star-god Hariss as-Sama prepares for its assault on Atlantic City.

My review: 

Finally a superhero story for grown ups! There's the super powers, the villains, the slightly ambiguous in betweens (I'm having to really try to avoid spoilers in this review). We get to see our hero Zephyr deal with the press and trying to keep his normal identity secret which isn't something comics really touch on too much. Warren Hately also manages to include all the battles and plots that comic readers tend to love, there seems to be something going on around every corner, I really feel for the poor normal people living in that world who have to deal with all the supercharged criminals without any powers of their own.

There's a fair bit of adult content in this, well I'm not sure how to describe it, novel? comic? so even though it's great and at certain points quite witty writing I would avoid letting children or anyone a bit on the prudish side read it.

The idea that Zephyr is a veteran in the superhero world at just 35 is quite an interesting point, especially in the youth obsessed world we live in ourselves where older celebrities tend to get less press. Though really it’s more likely that he’s a veteran because of how dangerous the superhero world is, I mean how many of us would survive in a world where people can control pretty much any element I could easily see myself accidentally injuring myself with my own powers if they were decent ones.

Anyway to cut away from the weird rambling in the last paragraph I'm seriously recommending this book to someone who likes the whole superhero thing, you don’t even have to be the greatest fan. I've never read a ‘proper comic’ and most of my superhero experience comes from films like The incredibles or Batman and I really enjoyed this book.