VILLAINS PRIDE is the sequel to the fantasy novel parody VILLAINS RULE, which was a surprise sleeper hit of indie publishing this year. The premise of the books is Jackson Blackwell, the self-styled Shadow Master, is a consulting supervillain who provides practical advice to horrible people across the Multiverse.
He’s not an antivillain, he’s a genuinely honest-to-gods awful human being, but he’s also entertaining to read about as he does his best to ruin the lives of those around him. I admit, I’m a bit biased here because Michael Gibson is a fan of my own work and included a nod to the novel Cthulhu Armageddon in this volume. With that warning, here’s what I think about the book: pretty darn good.
Oh, don’t get me wrong, Jackson Blackwell is an obnoxious jerkass who is never stops insulting everyone around him ranging from his wife as well as friends to the reader themselves. There were several times I wanted to be able to speak to Jackson and mention that he isn’t so cool as to not switch to other supervillain books (like, say, the Supervillainy Saga or D-List Supervillain).
There’s also the “human centipede” he creates that is truly revolting as well as an overreaction. Face it, if Jackson Blackwell existed in real life, he’d be one of the guys you’d ban from your social media and be better off for it. Certainly, you have to agree with his love interest that he’s all manner of a sexist jerk.
Despite, or perhaps because of these facts, Jackson Blackwell’s adventures in Comic Book WorldTM are quite a bit fun. It’s because the narrative is aware he’s a monster and there’s no attempt to soften him up or dillute him with “pet the dog” moments. No he’s awful, awful to heroes, awful to other villains, and it’s hilarious. The fact the author repeatedly makes fun of Jackson and himself in the process helps the story.
Indeed, a large part of the book’s appeal is the fact Michael Gibson makes attacks on the concept of sequels, how they usually suck, and what cliches he’s falling into himself. I didn’t quite enjoy this as much as Villains Rule but the fourth wall breaking was great inbetween. Just don’t expect to side with Jackson in this as you’d be missing the point. He’s about as lovable as S.M. Stirling’s the Drake wrapped up in an MRA shell.
9/10