A book half as long and focused on the SNL skit that is the Butterfly King would have been awesome! But that is not this book.
This is an over the top telling of a superhero tale, where three over the hill sidekicks must step up to save the world. Unfortunately, I feel like only parts of the story were over the top. The rest of the story attempted to add depth, backstories, and way too many details to the MCs’ lives and only succeeded in neutralizing the fun, bonkers parts.
Instead of riffing off of The Butterfly King’s Batman addiction, you need to suffer through Sam’s depressing life and endless whining and his unwillingness to use his powers for entirely unimpressive reasons. You also get to experience a lot of random super powers (including for our third leg in the superhero stool: Allergy Girl) and story interludes that serve no purpose except to repeat the endless Butterfly King gags.
Halfway through I started fast forwarding frequently. If there is a sequel under 8 hrs, especially one following a BK caper, I may still buy in… but if it’s just another 12 hr sequel? Pass.