69 Books Like Shadow Legion

In the days after World War II, an alien device explodes in the skies above New York, blanketing the planet with an extraterrestrial virus. Most of the victims die horrible deaths. A smaller percentage – the “Jokers” – find their bodies mutated in various unpredictable ways. And a scant few draw an “Ace” – superpowers without the consequences of a Joker mutation. Wild Cards is the first in a series of “mosaic novels,” books of stories featuring the work of several writers contributing their own pieces of a larger tapestry that helps build and flesh out a remarkable world. The Wild Cards series is perhaps the most elaborate and provocative superhero universe that exists in prose fiction. 

As much as I love comic books, it's always bothered me how many people think comics are superheroes and vice-versa. This was one of the first really successful attempts at doing something with… show more.

The next Avengers movie is a few years away and there’s no way of knowing when (or if) there will be another Justice League movie. So if you’re looking for some epic, superhero team action to hold you over until then, look no further than Van Allen Plexico’s Sentinels series. This is the kind of widescreen superhero action you’ve come to expect from the MCU and Plexico’s love of the genre drips off every page.

If you were a fan of the X-Men animated series, then this next pick is the book for you. Magneto and his followers take control of a fleet of the mutant-hunting Sentinels with the express purpose of establishing a new mutant nation. Naturally, the X-Men have to stop him, but with half the team on a mission in space, that’s a tall order. Golden writes a story that’s perfect nostalgia bait for anyone who loved the 90s X-Men.

Not a novel, but Supergods is one of the most intriguing books about the superhero as a concept that I’ve ever read. In Supergods, the always thought-provoking Grant Morrison digs into what superheroes actually are by picking apart archetypes, delving into the history of the medium, and exploring their place as a sort of modern mythology. Having written countless superhero comics, including some of the most surreal such stories ever to exist, Morrison is in a unique position to dissect the genre in a way that leaves you thinking about what superheroes mean and why they matter. It's the kind of book that makes you examine what the building blocks of superheroes are, and as someone who enjoys playing in that sandbox, it makes me look at one of my favorite genres in new and unique ways. 

This book came out on my birthday a few years ago and felt like a present specifically for me, and other superhero fans will feel the same.

This YA sci-fi trilogy features a world divided between those who either love or hate the Renegades, a group of superpowered humans.

If you enjoy the themes of “heroes aren’t always what they seem” present in superhero works like The Boys, then Renegades is a milder version of that, making it a great entry point for superhero fans and an action-packed, thought-provoking read about what is right or wrong.

This book has one of the most fun depictions of heart disease you’ll read. Wait! Don’t leave! That came out wrong!

Superhero comics rarely consider the toll of an intensely physical role. In this continuation of the landmark superhero series, Blue Beetle struggles with his sense of self-worth when he puts on weight and discovers that he has heart disease. The character’s role in the long-running series had mostly been comic relief, and this storyline gave the character some greater nuance and shading.

As a less-popular character, Blue Beetle can consider retirement without the guarantee that writers will have him miraculously discover the cure to a lifelong condition. While cracking jokes about himself in spandex to cover up his own insecurity, this comic takes time to consider aging, chronic conditions, and the way friends react to a life-changing diagnosis.

Although Jobber possesses the rare and powerful gift of fire, it comes with a heavy price - death by hanging, as is the fate of anyone discovered to have one of the Gifts of Oran.

These abilities stem from the elements themselves, and those who possess them must keep their powers hidden.

What sets this book apart is the inclusion of several strong female characters, defying the typical "sole hero" archetype. However, my favorite has always been Jobber, whose tomboyish nature resonated with me on a personal level.

I was all in on this one from the first chapter. I just love books about characters with secret double lives! I also enjoy stories that fly against gender stereotypes, and that’s what Princess Magnolia’s alter-ego, The Princess in Black, definitely does.

And the monsters that this atypical superhero fights are hilarious, partly because of how they are illustrated and partly because of their naivete and caveman-style way of talking. Because they are hilarious, and also, perhaps, because their most sinister desire is just to eat goats, they are successful villains without being remotely scary, which is nice.

This is also the beginning of a series with many installments, so once my daughter was hooked, she had a great pile of reading material to entertain her for hours and hours.

Tom Strong is a throwback to classic pulp heroes, and the closest thing to a superhero you’ll find on my list. Tom is super strong, super smart, and super white, but that’s where comparisons to the heroes from which the author drew inspiration end! Tom’s Black wife and daughter are fully realized characters with thoughts and feelings of their own. Tom doesn’t punch out the bad guys, he doesn’t even believe in bad guys! Instead, he uses his intelligence to recognize that conflict arises not from malice, but from misunderstanding and incompatible needs and desires. With this in mind, Tom can use his super-intelligence to craft a compromise that reestablishes order. Far from preachy, eat-your-vegetables sermonizing, these stories are witty, layered, thought-provoking, and hilarious.

I’m a long-time DC Comics reader, so I’ve been a fan of Mister Miracle and the other characters in this story since childhood. But they’ve never been explored like this. This is a story of two people bonded by trauma. Scott Free (Mister Miracle’s secret identity) and his wife Barda are deeply broken and deeply in love.

Their lives are messy–like on an intergalactic scale. They’re being pulled into wars on other planets by actual gods. But they would fight armies to protect their love and their family. It’s a gorgeous exploration of how being a superhuman affects people and their families, and Gerads art adds otherworldliness to the whole journey.