Superheroes, Super Problems

Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's... my alarm clock. Being super means dealing with super problems, as well as mundane ones. Superheroes, Super Problems is an original anthology exploring the balance between the extraordinary responsibility of being a superhero and the ordinary struggles of human existence…and the limitations of Spandex.

From Gilgamesh, Beowulf, and Moses to Superman, Batman, and the Incredibles, characters with superpowers are as old as storytelling. Behind every hero stands a great villain, and let’s not forget about their minions, not to mention the civilians living in a world where superheroes cause traffic jams and flight delays. We love their powers, but we want to know their problems. The cape is no escape—it’s a trap.

Imagine a superhero has been battling villains all day long, but his kids refuse to eat the dinner he made. Or a gloating villain returns to her lair only to find her chihuahua has chewed through the cord to her death laser.

Superhuman strength can’t save a hero’s child from cancer. Superpowers won’t make someone immune to prejudice or fanaticism. Perhaps the world’s greatest defender is accused of a hideous crime, or struggling with the pain of a divorce behind the mask. A seemingly well-organized hero might be battling addiction, and saving his city is the only escape he knows. As their superpowers fade, a hero may need a service animal. Your hero could be caring for an aging supervillain parent or struggling to open up in therapy while hiding their secret identity.

As you create your own superheroes, we not only want to know their powers, but how they juggle life. Show us that the only superpower that matters is humanity.

We’re looking for stories from a wide variety of genres, from science fiction to horror and from fantasy to romance, as long as there is a superhero integral to the story. The main character doesn’t have to possess powers, and could even be the super villain.

Humor is welcome, as are darker themes, but please keep your stories appropriate for a PG-13 audience. Your story must contain ORIGINAL characters and no copyrighted material—that means no Superman, Batman, Spider Man, Wonder Woman, or any other existing intellectual property. We’re looking for original stories, not lawsuits.

BANG! POW! Saving the world is easy. Monday morning is hard.

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