More Fiction: Peer Review

Peer Review is one of my favorite stories. I wrote it in 1992 for an anthology called Superheroes edited by John Varley and Ricia Mainhardt. It’s a superhero story about Revenant, a shadowy character who strikes fear into the hearts of his enemies. I’ve always liked superheroes who are normal people trained to the pinnacle of human achievement. I guess that’s because I’ve never been bitten by a radioactive spider and wasn’t born on another planet.

In this story, Revenant sets out to remove a six year old boy from a religious cult’s compound. His sister needs a marrow transplant and his mother has stolen him from his father to prevent the donation. Unfortunately for our hero, some true superheroes—Strike Team Alpha of the American Justice Commission—are set up to keep Nathan in that compound. Brains versus brawn in a story of heroism and a couple of laughs.

This edition of the story includes an afterword in which I discuss the character, how the story came to be written, and why Revenant currently appears in Aaron Williams’ graphic novel series PS238.

Click on the graphic above to go to the store. Peer Review sells for $3.