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THE DARKER MASK (2008)

With "Accidentally, Like a Martyr" by Reed Farrel Coleman

Publisher: Tor Books

The Darker Mask is a collection of original prose stories recalling the derring-do of the beings we call Superheroes and the worlds they fight to save.  But unique to The Darker Mask stories is that these plots and characters color a literary universe outside of what has been predominantly white, idiosyncratic, and male in previous homages to pulp. 

This is the stuff of urban legends, new mythos, and extraordinary folks who might live in a soon-to-be-gentrified ghetto, the dreary rust-belt of the city, or in another dimension.  The Darker Mask offers an eclectic mix of popular fiction writers exploring worlds gritty, visceral, and fantastic.

Featuring Walter Mosley, Gary Phillips, Reed Farrel Coleman, Tananarive Due, Steven Barnes, Wayne Wilson, Lorenzo Carcaterra, Gar Anthony Haywood, Naomi Hirahara, "LA" Banks, Jerry Rodriguez, Mike Gonzales, Alexandra Sokoloff, Annie Nocenti, Mat Johnson, Peter Speigelman, Dosselle Young, Victor LaValle. Edited by CAC & Gary

CONTENTS

Dream Knights - L. A. Banks
Trickster Steven Barnes Barnes, Steven Tananarive Due
The Strega's Last Dance - Lorenzo Carcaterra
Avatar - Christopher Chambers
Accidentally, Like a Martyr - Reed Farrel Coleman
The Whores of Onyx City - Michael A. Gonzales
Heatseeker Gar - Anthony Haywood
Tat Master - Naomi Hirahara
Henchman - Mat Johnson
The Angel of Loneliness - Victor LaValle
The Picket - Walter Mosley
Switchback - Ann Nocenti
And What Shall We Call You? - Gary Phillips
Dred - Jerry A. Rodriguez
The Edge of Seventeen - Alexandra Sokoloff
In Vino, Veritas - Peter Spiegelman
The Messenger Wayne-  L. Wilson Wilson
Housework - Doselle Young

Available from Tor Books (Macmillan), Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and fine bookstores.