How did I not know about Superbat before now? No, I’m not talking about the DC Comics (and fan fiction) stories about Batman /Superman fusions (Batman with super powers), or the fan fiction stories about Batman and Superman as a couple.
I’m talking about Matt Carr’s 2017 picture book Superbat, about a bat who wants to be a superhero. It seems right up my alley–and it is. Big, bright images tell a story about a bat who loves comics, and sometimes stays up late into the day reading. He wants to be a superhero, and even makes his own costume. However, every power he declares –that he can fly, that he can echolocate, etc.–gets him laughed at by the other bats, because they have those powers too.
He’s dejected and ready to give up–until he uses his bat ears to hear a cat attacking a family of mice across town. He flies over and saves them, and, even though he has no more power than your average bat, becomes a hero, at least to them.
Heart as heroism and bright colors.
Not great, but good stuff.
