I finished reading Superfolks by Robert Meyer today. It's a novel that tells the story of an aged, comic book superhero whose powers once resembled Superman, now being culled out of suburban, middle age restlessness to save the world once more. Sound familiar? Sound a little bit too much like the Incredibles? Yeah, I thought so too.

The thing is, this novel was published in the mid 1970s, long before not only the Incredibles, but long before the comic book world became ultra realistic and "serious" in the 1980s. Copyright infringements and creative theft aside, the book is still interesting, with a raw sense of bawdy humour that goes way beyond the kiddie comic books we're all used to and ultimately, becomes a hilarious parody of all that is serious (and not serious) in the comic world.

It's an amusing story, a very very fast read that I devoured while riding up and down the subway line the last few days to get back and forth from my parents' house. Still, I'm not sure I'd recommend it to people who aren't comic book fans to start with. After all, who else would care where superheroes go to get their uniforms tailor made?