"Fine, then. Who's your favorite superhero?"
"Jean Grey," I counter quickly.
"Okay. So what's your favorite issue?"
I meet his gaze. "The Uncanny X-Men number one-three-eight, from October of 1980."
His forehead jumps, so I go ahead and seal his admiration by quoting, "Hear me X-Men! No longer am I the woman you knew! I am FIRE! And LIFE INCARNATE! Now and forever . . . I am PHOENIX!"
There were two reasons I decided to pick up this book. The first was the cover. I mean, look at it! The cover is simply gorgeous. The title includes the word "supervillians," which automatically makes me assume it's something I would like, and the picture features a girl with gorgeous pink hair. (I used to have purple hair and am a huge fan of the dye-your-hairy-crazy-colors philosophy.) I was even more sold when I read the back and saw it was about a girl who loves comic books and is a pretty great artist herself. Blaze (or Love in the Time of Supervillians) by Laurie Boyle Crompton looked like exactly the type of book I would deeply enjoy. Turns out, I was right.
When Blaze's dad left for New York to pursue his acting career, he didn't just leave his family behind, he left his old-school Marvel comic book stash. In his absence, Blaze found herself drawn to the old comics, poring over them and falling in love with each one. It wasn't long before she began drawing up her own superheroes and giving them origin stories like the ones she had grown so attached to. Her love for the characters and her improvement in her art not only fed her soul, but the ever-present hope that her dad might just return if he saw how much they had in common and how good she was at creating the sort of thing he had once been so attached to as well.
Now at seventeen, Blaze spends most of her free time chauffeuring her brother and his friends to and from soccer games in Superturd (her poop-brown minivan), spending most of the game time drawing and reading her comics. She spends the rest of that time during the games watching Mark, the boys' coach, and daydreaming about what it would be like if she could manage to snag him as a boyfriend.
It's not long before Blaze's wildest dreams seem to come true and Mark is not only giving her the time of day, but even seems to find her tendency to go off on fangirl rants about particular Marvel characters cute. He may not pay too much attention to what she's saying, after all, he's more of a soccer fan, but she knows she can make it work.
Blaze's younger brother sees what's happening between them and immediately tries to convince his sister it's a bad idea to get tangled up with his coach, but she's not listening. He's thirteen. He couldn't possibly understand. Josh knows something about Mark that Blaze doesn't and her refusal to listen to her brother's protests will leave her with humiliating consequences. Then again, Blaze may not be as mild-mannered as everyone seems to think and geek girls are pretty creative when it comes to taking revenge.
I could have read this entire book in one sitting if I didn't have to go to work on a pretty regular basis. It was one of those books where I woke up and read for hours, right up until I was going to be late if I didn't put the book down and speed my way to work. I absolutely adored it. Everything about this book appealed to me and, like I already mentioned, I could hardly persuade myself to put it down.
Blaze is a fun and believable protagonist. She's insecure about the way others perceive her and her inability to catch the attention of the guy she's somehow fallen in love with, but she's also passionate about the comics she adores and the art she creates. She's not afraid to be herself, even if she sometimes hands her heart to the wrong people.
I also have to give a little shout-out to two of my favorite supporting characters in this book: her little brother, Josh, and Quentin, the Comic Book Store Guy. (I shouldn't forget Andrew, one of her brother's friends. What a little gentleman!) They are magnificent and provide such lovely interactions throughout the novel. I found myself begging to see more of them every time they were gone.
I really enjoyed this book and I would especially suggest it to like-minded individuals who also happen to be great comic book fans. Whether you're a Marvel-lover (like Blaze) or a DC junkie (like Quentin), you'll love every bit of this story. And let's not forget the gorgeous artwork peppered throughout, compliments of Anne Cain. Even after finishing, I keep finding myself flipping through the book just to catch a glimpse of those lovely illustrations.
Rating: ~ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ~
"It comes from Greek mythology," she says, "but I've given the symbol my own twist. In my experience, sometimes the only way folks can manage to become the person they're meant, is to have destiny fling them straight into the fire."
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