Grrl Power #140 – Open mouth, insert foot to just below the knee
Poor Sydney, it’s hard to make friends when your mouth tries to sabotage it. Peggy’s pretty resilient though, she’s probably had to deal with a lot worse, and from people actually trying to be mean about it.
Up until I drew this page, I hadn’t decided if it was her right or left leg, and I just drew it without really thinking about it, so now I guess it’s her right. Let’s hope I don’t forget that too often.
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Let’s see if we can do one last push for Rebecca Cohen’s bid at the Netroots Scholarship, which basically means she can attend an otherwise expensive conference and hobknob with other feminists and bloggers. Rebecca’s comic GynoStar is something I’ve linked before, so stop by and give it a read and if you’re so inclined, throw her a vote.
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Instead of recommending a webcomic for you, I thought I’d suggest some books I’ve been reading. Superhero novels specifically. Unfortunately there doesn’t really seem to be a ton of them – it seems like an underserved genre, unless Amazon just has terrible recommendations for that subcategory, in which case I’m happy to hear your suggestions.
The Wearing the Cape series by Marion G. Harmon is the first one I read, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Coming off a bunch of very dense novels like Dan Abnett Warhammer 40K stuff, Wearing the Cape was an easy read with good characters and a somewhat more realistic take on superheroes than most comic books. The series consists of Wearing the Cape, Villains Inc., and Bite Me: Big Easy Nights. Bite Me is an extension of the universe with one of the characters from the first two novels, and doesn’t have as much superheroey stuff in it. It’s not as good, but I still enjoyed reading it. There’s also a short digital novella called Omega Night. It’s like a stand alone chapter, but after investing myself in the universe I was eager to read more.
After that I read Soon I Will be Invincible by Austin Grossman which is from the bad guy’s point of view. Then there’s Nobody Gets the Girl by James Maxey which strays the furthest from the typical superhero setup. I recommend Playing For Keeps by Mur Lafferty, it’s a great read about a bunch of “Third Wave” heroes with lame powers drawn into a conflict between the Thors and Magnetos of their world.
Lastly there’s Confessions of a D-List Supervillain by Jim Bernheimer, which is one of my favorites. I’d put it up there with the first two Wearing the Cape books. It’s another one from the villain’s point of view as you might have guessed from the title, but it’s also set in a world with characters complex enough that behind the scenes, it’s sometimes tough to differentiate between the good guys and the bad. It made me think I need to work on the back stories, motivations and complexities of my own characters more. In fact I enjoyed it enough that I looked for more work by Bernheimer and wound up reading a book about 13 year old girls riding unicorns. So yeah. Rider: Spirals of Destiny was quite good too. Fortunately Bernheimer is planning more books in both series.
If you have recommendations for me and everyone else in the comments, I have a few things on my wish list, primarily Ex-Heroes: A Novel, and Worm, which is a long running story in blog form. I think I would enjoy it but it would be a lot easier to read if I could figure out how to do it on my kindle. A long time ago I read some of the Wildcard books, but I’m don’t really enjoy anthologies that much. I prefer a single author’s vision.
SuperheroThey're super, thanks for asking!
Meatspace ComicSeriously these are awesome. Check 'em out!
Not UpdatingNo longer updating or only updates sporadically, but definitely worth reading.
SeriouslySeriously you guys. If you like Grrl Power the check these out.
"Mature"Mature subject matter and occasionally something explicit but usually safe. Can't guarantee the ads are safe though.
Dongs Ahoy!Full frontal and backal. Lots of skin, sex on some or all pages, explicit or otherwise.
The girl lives with Dabbler and Harem, of course she’ll have a strong constitution about it. ..
Then again..
ohh man I’ve lost a lot of friends this way, stupid asbergers
As far as I’m concerned, asbergers is just a poor excuse for people to act like jerks & trolls. A nearly total lack of empathy for others.
Yes, I did look it up in the Urban Dictionary. I already knew what Aspergers was, but this was the first time I’ve heard about asbergers & originally thought it was just a misspelling.
https://i.imgur.com/JXkkh.jpg
Last guy I met with asbergers was a pretty nice guy, if a little “different.” I’m not sure why people keep saying that about it.
Because a large number of people online with poor social skills “self-diagnose” as having Aspergers/Autism, which they then use as an excuse to act like an asshole. It’s not a denial of the disease, but a criticism of those that use the IDEA of it to make themselves look like a victim.
well I actually was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, it’s been a real pain in the ass, and to the guy who first replied to me, I actually have a great amount of empathy, not everyone on the web lies, just most of them
And what is your excuse for antagonising us, hmm?
Majority representation?
So far as I’m concerned, mundies go out of their way to be offended by harmless stuff whenever they can just so they have an excuse to have a go at anyone different to themselves.
… Did you seriously use, “Mundie” as an insult? That is, quite possibly, the third dumbest thing I’ve heard today.
By which I would have to infer that you’d only been awake for 7 minutes when you posted this.
I know a couple of guys with Asperger’s Syndrome, as in a doctor actually diagnosed them with it. They are both pretty nice people with plenty of empathy for others, just… not always good at expressing it. Asperger’s doesn’t mean sociopathy, it means having trouble reading social cues and understanding what will offend others. One of the guys is very patient and even-tempered, but also very blunt; he sees no point in softening the truth – but he is also quite happy to be spoken to with the same bluntness. He is never hypocritical. The other one actually hides it pretty well – he just finds social situations extremely stressful. So… yeah. Don’t talk like that about people with the disorder. They deserve that same empathy you’re falsely claiming they don’t have.
Re: midnight destroyer
Please let that comment be a poor excuse for a joke. As a person on the autism spectrum, I find it difficult to make emotional connections to people. Since memory is heavily reliant on emotions, that means I don’t always remember people I grew
Something went weird with my comment. Anyways-
I find it almost impossible to truly empathize, even with family. I also remember almost natch of the first ten years of life. And I promise you, ADHD does not make life easier- just more interesting. That being said, I do have enough social skills to hold down a job as a bike mechanic.
another Aspy reporting in. and..yeah. being autistic isn’t an excuse for being an ass. also come to REALLY detest people who use it as a detraction. it’s like the new version of calling someone “Gay” as a disparagement.
There is nothing to “excuse”.
It is one thing to troll people deliberately… but another entirely when mundies pitch a fit because they’re fundamentally incapable of interpreting things rationally and can’t take responsibility for their own emotional incontinence (oh sure, call it “empathy”).
Heck, most of the sorts who “use it as an excuse” are just mundie fakers themselves.
Can someone in this comment chain explain to me why the hell people be ragging on us that have Aspergers? I have it and the only thing it impacts is my sociability.
Well I am not one of the previous participants in the thread, but simply because I felt that it had been responded to fairly thoughtfully. Although there is quite a heavily negative tone to the conversation, if you read through it carefully, you will see that only the single comment was directed at people suffering from aspergers. The respondents (in my opinion correctly) identified that his likely issue was not actually with those sufferers, but with people who do not have it, but claim to, as an excuse for bad behaviour.
Any reasonable person will realise that somebody, who has a genuine diagnosis, will not be in control over the various symptoms of their condition. As opposed to people who choose to impersonate being a sufferer. Even though it gets a bit confusing, read it all carefully, and you will see that most of the replies are from sufferers or those sympathetic to the condition.
So, personally, I think this thread simply has some poor articulation of issues and mis-communications. Therefore do not feel that it should be read as a general attack on the condition or the sufferers. Of course I cannot say how well, or badly, society at large might treat folks with Aspergers. But would like to express every sympathy for any prejudice that is shown. I know that there are a lot of ignorant and anti-social people in every community.
Certainly I feel confident in saying that the majority of commentators in this community are very sympathetic to any mental conditions or syndromes, and we were merely letting those with first-hand knowledge handle the response.
Aspergers!!! UNITE!!!! I have been reading this webcomic waiting to find something to add my 2 cents to when lo and behold! an aspergers conversation! I just had to get in here now. This will probably be long so skip to section 2 if you want to ignore the aspergers part.
1. Why do people think aspergers makes people jerks? I personally have been diagnosed. (though in reality i have been diagnosed and self cured of a variety of mental disorders…A.D.D still eludes my self cure. I personally think my doctors are incompetent or i’m just that much of a freak that they don’t know whats “wrong” with me. Anyways…) The lack of empathy deal i can see but honestly think is an excuse for most Aspergers diagnosed. I still feel that what others percieved as a lack of empathy was a testament of my ability to compartmentalize my feelings and deal with the logistics of a problem as opposed to the emotional content of a problem. I actually tend to have greater empathy then most i know because i actively work on it and put effort into it while most other normal people can rely on instinct (I Assume). I have a small group of close friends that i can relate with and always treat others with the utmost respect.(unless i’m Dota-ing and some feeder is on my team Gahhhhh) But for the most part my relationships are affected only by how much effort i have to put in to them. It helps that i believe selflessness is the most noble thing in the universe (My friend says i actively use my I.Q and turn it into E.Q.) Anyways my two cents. To that raging aspergers dude… I feel you about mundies :( dem emotions be wack yo, still… time and place for everything. So in summation while aspergers has been a problem in my life by actively using my emotionless grasp on my self I found my weaknesses and used my super asperger powers to deal with them making me the most empathic, and humble person i know. (this hypocrisy is intentional. Don’t judge me on my attempts at humor…please.)
2. This is completely comic related section. Oh My Gawd dis comic!!!. So hilarious and the artwork is fantastic! Maxima I love you pls be mine! I Love the references to the classic Marvel super heroes table top game. I still play with my aforementioned friends and i guess you do too to have all these references! The column shifts!!! Seriously great work. I like how you don’t focus too much on how the powers work because if you over analyze (<—Lol anal) everything there is no fun looking forward to the power stunts. In my group i was the one that could use my heros purposely limited powers in fantastic ways. Made me cry when my friends who had the potential didn't have the imagination I totally relate with Halo in that front. I hope you suceed and if your book comes out i will buy it 10x Times (no actually only once but i'll refer people) over !!!! (oh dear lord almost peed my pants when i clicked the back button on accident. so glad it saved all this)
Thanks! :) I haven’t actually played the Marvel RPG since version 1.0 unfortunately, though I hear recent versions ditch the columns and power rank names, which is unfortunate.
Woot! A reply! Yeah we have tried checking out newer versions but the just don’t compare to the original well. We have house ruled plenty of stuff and it has evolved over time into a sort of unique system for us but the core parts of what made the game genius are still there. https://www.classicmarvelforever.com/ has helped us keep the game alive … for us anyway. I love that you admit to being a shameless min-maxer with abilities. I was that way too. Took me a while to realize people don’t like when you do that. I decided to reverse my style and play the under-powered but inventive hero. Another thing i forgot to mention before is that i love the originality of your heroes so much. I mean you have the staple usual heroes that are in ever hero group (except the lame underwater hero) but the staples are all side characters and the main ones are all incredibly unique. I reached the latest update and am sad that i have to wait now my 4th time coming by and reading through the archives…guess ill wait a bit longer and see where they end up.
Must have magickally missed this part the last time i came thru the archives, but I don’t suffer from aspergers. I suffer from idiots who can’t be bothered to even try to understand things they do not experience themselves. Mind you, the SPD can fuck off any time now.
A good superhero book is Cassidy Jones and the secret formula
What if you found one day you had a superpower?
Jumper by Steven Gould is an exploration of that for teleportation.
My fave power, so I’m biased, but I still recommend it.
Very good book. S-o-o much better than the movie – although that, admittedly, had its moments.
I loved the first book… The second book I did not like it as much… The movie pissed me off… It went against the story of original book so much…
The author found the movie to be so jarring that he ended up creating a “movie novelization” novel of his own book, which followed the story of the movie and tried to get it to make more sense. Stick with the original Jumper, it’s far more compelling.
Actually they are a bit old now, but The Incarnation’s of Immortality by Piers Anthony. The first one is called On A Pale Horse.
From your current reading suggestion list, I would wager you would really enjoy them.
Yes I agree the humor is pretty good in them too. To become Death you have to kill Death. lol
Or at least get hired by him, like Mort by Terry Pratchett.
Man I read those when I was in high school. One of the first big series I ever read. Piers Anthony really likes to describe women as “voluptuous.”
Maybe that’s an indirect influence on the whole voluptuous superheroines business, too?
Good series, but I feel that it has aged terribly when it comes to how it treats its female characters. I just, don’t really feel like I can think of any of them who are all that… independent and strong as opposed to doing everything for a dude or a child. I haven’t read it in a while though, and have only read most of it as opposed to all of it.
All science fiction and fantasy is a product of it’s time. And, given the cyclical nature of history, it is possible that events which seem out of date in one era become common place in another. For better or worse.
Like films which portrayed the Russians as being the bad guys fell out of fashion. I suspect that we will be seeing a shift in that pattern in any that have entered production this year though.
Sometimes the differences can, as you say, just make it feel too dated to be realistic. Other times, it can actually contribute to the feel. Flash Gordon films spring to mind. 50s films (retro or not) are so stylised, in the first place, that changing the misogynistic element to it would feel odd, unless cleverly scripted.
I have not dug those books out of my library for some time. I must make a point of dusting them off and seeing how badly that does impact them now. I certainly remember enjoying them the first time round, so would recommend them on that basis, anyhow.
I thought the motives of the female characters being male/child-centered quite refreshing actually. (Piers Anthony books) All those modern “independent” women running around doing anything and everything EXCEPT reproduce the species gets depressing. It’s like.. raising a child is only something you do if you aren’t “good enough” to find something better.
Nor were his female protagonists ONLY wanting to get married. Some wanted a cure for a medical problem. Some wanted (and found) a job. One was just bored! And he had male protagonists for half the books too. Um… exactly half I think. I’d need to read the whole collection again… but I’m pretty sure he alternated the gender of his main character for every book in the series.
TL:DR – In Piers Anthony’s books the main, side and background characters usually had “get married and have kids” as a major goal. As a reader I found that realistic and refreshing.
Okay, here’s something I can’t figure out:
One, or at least one, of Dabbler’s arms is cybernetic (and I’m assuming Dabby made it herself). So couldn’t she make Peggy a leg that’s just about as good as her original one? Or maybe she did already and Peggy is just keeping the older models around for spares. Thoughts?
we joked about that about a year ago. Including what Dabbler would’ve done to it. (dildo-missile launchers were involved)
Actually if hes story comes from the same source as Wereworld an evil alien race replaced her arm to upgrade her attack abilities.
4 Possible Explanations:
* The Cast Page is a tad dated, with some some of it’s info phased out, including the part about Dabby having a prosthetic arm.
* The reason she took to code name Dabbler and not Renaissance Woman, which would be our Occam’s Razor, if you ask me. Her very moniker, ‘A ‘Jill’ of All Trades’, is based on an old idiom that was short for ‘Jack of all Trades, Master of None’ referring to a fry who could almost anything asked passably, but not at a level on par with someone who does it for a living. She could most likely set Peggy up with such a leg and far more, but that would mean FOCUSING on 1 THING for a LONG TIME….And that’s just no fun for our lil’ Xenodobblebus, now is it?
* The devil found in the details is the problem. One of her arms *technically* is cybernetic, but both the cyber-parts and how it functions with the rest of her are as alien as she is, so to give Peggy the same deal would require starting from scratch, and, ‘Dabbler’ not ‘Renaissance Woman,’ as said above.
* Peggy just doesn’t trust Dabby enough with something like this, which may be for the best, at least until both get to know each other better…
Well Dabbler has said she refuses to share tech with humans.
I dunno, but that may have something to do with it.
Yup.
Words are her Kryptonite.
No, MITTENS are!
Words are her silver kryptonite, mittens are obviously green.
man i’m really loving this comic sydeny has to be one of my favorite superheroes
Although classified as “Urban Fantasy”, Larry Correia’s Grimnoir Chronicles (Hard Magic, Spellbound, and now Warbound coming out) are some of the best super-style books ever written.
I think the website is broke. I keep clicking the “Next” button and nothing happens.
=OP
You have just reached the end of the archive. You now have to wait until each Monday morning like the rest of us to continue the wondrous adventure that is Sydney’s introduction to the realm of the superhero. I know it is frustrating having to wait instead of having the next great page available at the click of the Next button, but almost all of us have been through this frustration. Our support meeting is on these comment pages, each Monday afternoon.
Hi, I’m Deof Movestofca and I’m a Grrl Power-aholic.
I am taking it one day at a time.
As it turns out, that day is Monday.
I’ve been waiting for Monday since there were like 6 pages.
Those were the hard times.
superheroing’s shortest stint: and here we see Paper-bagman’s heroic effort to calm Sydney down, after which he will be unexplainably twisted about his neck, and popped mercilessly….
;}
I bet you bite the head off of jelly babies!
I’m only commenting because I love your name. Let’s be friends. :)
In Hero Years… I’m Dead, by author Michael A. Stackpole is a good Superhero book.
I don’t really read a whole lot of superhero stuff (other than this comic), but I remember one book in that genre that I quite liked: Skye Sparkler by Kim H. Metzger.
It’s fairly old by now (I first read it when it came out, in 2001), but it’s still available, though apparently only on paper. I seem to recall it being available as an ebook too, but can only find the paper editions at the moment, so maybe I’m misremembering.
There’s a bit of superheroing in it, but it mostly focuses on the people and their reactions, following Skye from before she became the world’s first super, and through the consequences that has for her – including some legal/identity problems (due to her body changing significantly as a result), and her struggle to be accepted for who and what she is.
… Hm, now I feel like pulling it out of storage and rereading it…
From the blurb on the back (spoilered in case you prefer not to read those (I probably should have done that in my previous post too)):
Now, Marcy fights to prove her identity to the world. It is a battle that eventually brings her up against a force far more formidable than any super-villain: The Congress of the United States!
I apparently read more superhero stuff than I initially thought, as I have another suggestion: the Masks series by Rodford Edmiston (aka Stickmaker).
The first story in the series (of 14 so far) is available for free here, and links to the rest can be found near the bottom of this page.
While Amazon says HTML is not directly supported by Kindle, its format is apparently based on HTML, which makes it very easy to convert to from HTML – according to this page it actually works to just rename the HTML file to .txt (without losing the formatting). I haven’t tried it myself, but that’s because I don’t have a Kindle to test with.
Sounds interesting. I (obviously) enjoy the non-battle portion of superhero stories.
Yeah, I do too. That’s part of the reason I like both this comic and the Masks series, as there’s much more to it than just the on-the-job scenes (which aren’t all battles, either – or at least not all just straight-up fights). This includes both interaction between individuals, and things that deal with the society as a whole, such as the laws and politics that come with a world that has many supers.
(An interesting tidbit: in the Masks universe, a large percentage of the population has at least some super genes – but that counts both those with no *active* powers, and those with powers that wouldn’t really help you be a hero *or* villain, like e.g. the power to make your eyes change color at will. This isn’t something everyone in it is aware of, though…)
I don’t know of promotions are allowed in the comments. If not, please let me know and I won’t do it again. Since Masks was mentioned here I figure this notice is appropriate.
The first three Masks stories are out from Doppler Press, via Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=as_li_ss_tl?tag=dopplerpress-20&ie=UTF8&text=Rodford+Edmiston&search-alias=digital-text&field-author=Rodford+Edmiston&sort=relevancerank&linkCode=sl2&linkId=668e393b8512b1a22da33b61e6267d8c
We have no objections to folks linking to relevant items. Spammers promoting random stuff is another matter, of course, but you have provided information useful to the community, so that is fine.
In fact, as it is on Amazon, if anyone does feel tempted to buy any of those, they can even make our author some money if they order it via this comic’s Amazon links.
*points paw at relevant buttons, in sidebars, for USD, GBP & CDN*
I read this in its early days but lost the link after a Format/Upgrade. Its great to be returning to the wonderful comics again…
DaveB, could you please please please make that last panel of Sydney a wallpaper or something? It’s just so funny and cute! (btw I absolutely have loved this comic from the start, it’s so amusing and Sydney is just hysterical :D )
acrobat the web comic is absolutely fantastic
T_T
I have this problem frequently! My brain is wired for humor and has no functional off-switch.
Why would Peggy have an artificial leg with a flesh-toned top and a realistic foot, but just a bare metal pole connecting the two? A fully realistic leg would make more sense there.
I did some research on prosthetics and there were a few designed like that. I suppose to make them cheaper than a full molded leg but still be able to put a regular shoe on it.
Having a look through a few images of prosthetics, I also noticed that some athletes had a similar arrangement. Although there were also the more prominent profile high-efficiency/low-impact designs.
I guess that when performance is a higher priority than aesthetics, then some weight can be saved by having the hybrid design. Allowing more rugged materials for the structure than would be needed for everyday use. What is useful to an athlete may also be helpful to a soldier.
Yet that hybrid design still allows normal footwear to be used. Be it sporting, standard issue military boots or something appropriate for socialising. A fleshy-looking foot not excluding sandals or other footwear that is not concealing. And, of course, if trousers are worn, as Penny does, the artificial part is hidden anyhow.
One other advantage that strikes me (compared to having, say, one one dedicated athletic prosthetic and another purely realistic), is that it can be advantageous to have both in one. From a cost point of view for regular folks. For someone with Uncle Sam to cover the bills, that is less of an issue though. But it would still be useful in terms of not having to carry two around.
If you have to be able to pass regular fitness tests and/or go out on exercise (thinking more her sniper role than pilot, although they too require survival training), you definitely do not want to be lugging around any unnecessary equipment. Likewise if she came down behind enemy lines.
Plus, I can see that not everyone will want to hide their prosthetic. Either from an extrovert point of view. Or from a practical one. For example somebody who is still learning how to walk on prosthetics, may want the limb to look clearly artificial to allow folks nearby to be aware and make allowances.
Oh. My. God.
I’m dying. Literally. I think I’m dead. This comic is absolutely hilarious.
Thanks! Leave me in your will!
Calm down, Halo! You weren’t making fun of her with that last comment, so stop drawing attention to it!
new reader playing catchup. noticed nobody noticed sydnys Jamie Hyneman impression. HAHA priceless!
I got it too. Wouldn’t have been sure it was him if she hadn’t done the facial hair thing, though.
I had an instructor in college who was confined to a wheel chair. NOBODY told more wheel chair jokes, more “politically incorrect” jokes than he did. And it made the class both memorable, and fun. He is still my favorite instructor. From the few people I’ve dealt with that have lost body parts, or at least use there of, from injury or illness, most seemed to be able to joke about it better than the people around them. Granted, there are a few who do get VERY offended by those jokes, and you should be polite for them and refrain, but if they have the humor for it, you will be far more embarrassed than they will, or than they will be mad.
And she’s called Peggy. PEG-gy! Cosmic irony must have hit that poor girl hard. Though she probably hits back harder given her hardcore military credentials.
Sydney must feel like she’s really going out on a limb.
Don’t worry. With her powers, even if she cut it off, Sydney could stay up in the air.
Ahahahahahahahahaha…. *cough* I can’t breathe…
I can relate to Syd. I worked in a convenience store and a customer with one hand came in to buy a pack of cigarettes. He picked them up and put them under the arm with no hand and tried to take off the wrapping and was struggling with it. Totally without thinking, I said, “Need a hand?” Needless to say, I am surprised I wasn’t fired. Luckily, the customer laughed, said he was good and said that people ask that more often than you think.
Astonishing. I’ve never before seen someone put their foot so far into their mouth it went all the way back down again.
Peggy’s face really lights up, when she smiles, in panel 5.
Sydney, I task you to make Peggy smile more often! She becomes much more becoming like that. You need to do your duty, as a wingman!
Rereading this, this was really funny.
Do the Lorien Legacies by Pittacus Lore (the pseudonym of James Frey and Jobie Hughes) count as a superhero series? The story is about a group of aliens with powers hiding on Earth after their planet is destroyed by another hostile race whom have followed the first group to Earth and are searching for them.
Wait, the only person with a peg leg is named peggy. Really.
DaveB does feel bad about that.
But I can endorse his comment there, about the depth of her character. Whilst many of the others are over-the-top extroverts, Peggy is subtly portrayed with a loveable personality. When she is not being overshadowed by the whirlwind that is Sydney.
I particularly like her wry sense of humour and the fact that she clearly comes across as a friend you could count on, if in need.
It’s kind of unreal how much I adore Peggy.
This is the page to fall in love with her, if you are going to do it.
I’m puttering around, reading through the archives. Taking the time to read the artist’s comments on everything.
It’s not epub, but I don’t think anyone has recommended The Velvet Marauder yet:
https://velvetmarauder.blogspot.com/
Who taught her the foot in mouth disease? Ranma Saotome?
wearing the cape is good and since I am following this rather late in the cycle (started reading a week ago, third time through) I thought I would suggest a few books: Armageddon Girl, Don’t tell my parents I am a supervillain, Girl fights back, The Seven, The First; are the best of the supers I have come across though there are a lot others. on a tangent there is the Federal Witch series and it’s adjuncts which are excellent
First time reader coming along years after the fact, but I want to echo the Brandon Sanderson recommendation. Seriously, this guy cannot be over-endorsed. A lot of his stuff actually has superhero style characters in it, but for a specifically super-themed series look at the Reckoners books.
Short intro, a weird object appears in the sky and people start getting superpowers, but everyone who does also turns into homicidal maniacs. The series is set years later, government has collapsed as normal people generally can’t stop supers doing what they like, so there’s a fair few post-apocalyptic style elements to the setting. There’s even mentions of a religion based around the belief that one day a good super will appear and restore order. Character wise it’s based around a small group of normal people who go around finding out the personal kryptonite of the worst and most powerful supers and ending their rampages. It’s very well written and highly amusing at times, while being serious and thought provoking when it counts.
If you’re willing to stretch the definitions a bit, everything he’s written in the Cosmere universe has unique and quirky power systems, including one short story called ‘Sixth of the Dusk’ in which the humans have no super powers, but they’re on an island where many of the animals do, most of which are hostile. Apart from obvious series order, most of his stuff can be read in isolation, so you can start almost anywhere. The glaring exception is unfortunately also his best work to date, the Stormlight Archive series has started bringing in characters from Warbreaker and expanding on concepts and universal mechanics first revealed in the Mistborn series, so you should read those before getting into the heavy stuff. :)
A throat mic? Who turned down the chance to install a censor on that thing?
I am told the right to use those puns costs an arm and a leg