Superhero Novels

The pictures are all in your own imagination with these non-graphic novels featuring your favorite costumed crusaders!

The Last Days of Krypton by Kevin J. Anderson
Anderson delivers an epic story of the final days of the planet Krypton before it explodes. The novel chronicles the politics and betrayals that blind both heroes and villains to the coming disaster, including the uprising led by General Zod and culminates in the escape of a single infant child.

Spiderman: The Sinister Six Combo by Adam-Troy Castro
Peter Parker, the amazing Spiderman, has made an astonishing discovery – he has a sister! Worse, a manipulative supervillain known as the Gentleman, who had a hand in the deaths of Peter Parker's parents, has somehow brainwashed her into becoming the deadly supervillain known as Pity! Together with Doctor Octopus, Electro, the Vulture and Mysterio, they've formed the newest incarnation of the supervillain group dedicated to destroy Spiderman, the Sinister Six.

Wolverine: Weapon X by Mac Cerasini
This novel relates the cruel story of Logan's transformation into Wolverine, as seen through the eyes of his tormentors. As Logan manages to free himself from his captors, a brutal wave of violence affects all those involved. From the bloody aftermath of Logan's transformation, all involved in the Weapon X program endure their own personal change...via guilt, ambition and humanity. Can anyone survive the carnage of this bioengineering team's twisted dream? Chances are slim, as the lines between man, beast and monster are blurred for all the players in this closed experiment.

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
It is New York City in 1939. Joe Kavalier, a young artist who has also been trained in the art of Houdini-esque escape, has just pulled off his greatest feat to date: smuggling himself out of Nazi-occupied Prague. He is looking to make big money, so that he can bring his family to freedom. His cousin, Brooklyn's own Sammy Clay, is looking for a collaborator to create the heroes, stories and art for the latest novelty to hit America: the comic book. Out of their fantasies, fears and dreams, Joe and Sammy weave the legend of that unforgettable champion the Escapist. As the shadow of Hitler falls across Europe and the world, the Golden Age of comic books has begun.

It’s Superman! by Tom DeHaven
This novel reinvents the early years of the Man of Steel. Opening with the young Clark Kent on a date, the novel takes an entirely fresh approach to the emergence of his superpowers and the start of his newspaper career, following him from rural 1930s Kansas across America to Hollywood and then New York City. He meets a worldly Lois Lane and conniving political boss Lex Luthor and begins his battles against criminal masterminds, mad scientists and super villains inspired by fascists. This fun new novel is sure to appeal to fans of the TV show Smallville and the novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.

Justice League of America: Exterminators by Christopher Golden
When a mass outbreak of superpowered individuals threatens the world, the JLA determines that latent metahuman abilities are being triggered by an alien contagion, one that's spreading throughout Earth as it transforms its hosts into monstrous engines of destruction. Racing to contain the infection, the world's greatest super heroes link the parasitic plague to an alien invasion from the team's earliest days and make a horrifying discovery: the JLA itself is responsible for the imminent disaster they now face.

Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman
Doctor Impossible – evil genius, diabolical scientist, wannabe world dominator – languishes in a federal detention facility. He's lost his freedom, his girlfriend and his hidden island fortress. Over the years he's tried to take over the world in every way imaginable: doomsday devices of all varieties and mass mind control. He's traveled backward in time to change history, forward in time to escape it. He's commanded robot armies, insect armies and dinosaur armies. Fungus army. Army of fish. Of rodents. Alien invasions. All failures. But not this time. This time it’s going to be different...

Batman: Knightfall by Dennis O’Neil
A savage fight with the super villain Bane has left Batman virtually crippled – and Gotham City defenseless. As Bruce Wayne begins the long and painful path to recovery, he realizes he must choose a successor in his role as the Dark Knight. But is Wayne's apprentice, Jean Paul Valley – a young vigilante known as Azrael – worthy of the mantle of the Bat? Is Gotham ready for this new Batman and his lethal brand of justice? And what will happen when Bruce Wayne returns to reclaim Gotham City and his role as the true Batman?

Green Lantern: Sleepers by Christopher Priest
Green Lantern Kyle Rayner wants nothing more than to get his girlfriend Jenny-Lynn to marry him, even if it means facing her father, Green Lantern Alan Scott. Jen, otherwise known as superhero Jade, however, is not ready to settle down. She finds herself attracted to their exterminator, Eddie. He turns out to be a sleeper agent for Sinestro, the arch nemesis of the Green Lanterns. Kyle must stop Eddie from helping an alien race invade earth and save his girlfriend. Several other DC heroes help out, such as Hal Jordan, Plastic Man and Black Canary, but the final fight is left to Kyle.

Doctor Doom: X-Men The Chaos Engine by Steve Roman
Returning from another dimension, the X-Men discover that Earth is now ruled by one of the most notorious tyrants the world has ever known – Doctor Doom. Far more disturbing than the police state in which they find themselves, however, is the fact that some of the world's greatest Super Heroes have allied themselves with the legendary villain. Searching for answers, hunted by old enemies and former allies, the mutant adventurers face their greatest challenge: deposing an armor-clad madman with an entire world against them.

Batman: No Man’s Land by Greg Rucka
Leveled by a massive earthquake that has left thousands dead and millions more wounded, Gotham City has been completely cut off from outside aid, transformed into a lawless battleground – a No Man's Land – where the survivors are turning against one another and where the city's protectors are torn by a crisis that may consume them all. Gotham now teeters at the edge of the abyss...and Batman is missing.

Smallville (Series) by Various (Note: these books are in our Young Adult area under Smallville)
Clark wants to be a normal high school student and spend time with his friends Lana and Lex, but he is forced to secretly battle the creatures and villains that resulted from the same meteor shower that brought him to Earth. As his powers begin to awaken, Clark must constantly hide who he really is from everyone but his parents. If you like coming-of-age novels with teen angst, try some super-teen angst with this series based on the hit TV show.

The Death and Life of Superman by Roger Stern
On November 18, 1992, news of Superman's death shocked the world, as the legendary Man of Steel was killed defending Metropolis from the monster called Doomsday. Here is the dramatic story behind the bestselling comic book of all time: the fates of Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Ma and Pa Kent, the Justice League and the reign of the four super beings who mysteriously appeared after Superman's funeral, each claiming to be the real Last Son of Krypton. And finally, here is the complete, incredible story of Superman's triumphant return!

Superman: the Never-ending Battle by Roger Stern
A mysterious super-terrorist has devised a master plan to bring the world to its knees, using the planet's own weather as a weapon against Superman and his teammates in the Justice League of America. But the conflict raises troubling questions for the Man of Steel about authority, justice, power and the price of liberty in a world where the enemies of freedom stand on the brink of victory.

Superman Returns by Marv Wolfman and Michael Jan Friedman
In this “novelization” of the 2006 movie, Wolfman & Friedman retell the story of what happens when Superman returns to earth after an absence of several years while on a mission in deep space. The earth has apparently gotten along more or less just fine while “big blue” has been gone. Meanwhile, Lois Lane has moved on with another young suitor named Richard White. As the hero begins to tackle the fact that life on Earth has continued without him, he is forced to face his old arch-nemesis Lex Luthor and restore the life that was once his.