Welcome to “Independents Day,” Nerd Caliber’s short reviews of noteworthy comics and books NOT produced by a major publisher.

“He took to the air. He stayed high enough to be unseen by the few drunks and social dropouts who were on the street at that time—only tourists ever looked up, and it was far too late for them to be around. But he also stayed below the city skyline to avoid being spotted by heroes brooding on gargoyles or flying against the moon dramatically.”

– The Machinist, Part One: Malevolence

Tina Turner may have once argued that we don’t need another hero, but indie author Alexander Maisey’s superpowered novella The Machinist proves it. Upon his release from supervillain prison Nicholas McHenry, the tale’s eponymous figure, wants no part of going straight. Ideally he would just like to carve out a niche in the criminal underworld, maybe get a little famous at the same time.

Oh, the best laid plans of supervillains oft go astray. Without spoiling some wicked twists and turns from the book, The Machinist quickly finds himself as public enemy number one, and for the rest of the book only his intelligence, incredible inventing ability, and technologically advanced armor and weapons stand between him and complete destruction.

Even if the reader doesn’t love McHenry as a person, he’s easy to root for. Often doing the wrong thing for the right reasons and the right thing for the wrong reasons, The Machinist is complex and fun. His character arc goes from loser punchline to revenge-minded anti-hero as he shreds through this fast-paced 82-page story.

As a fan of the Bronze and Copper Age comic books, I felt The Machinist capturing those eras in sly moments of parody and praise. Maisey clearly knows his pulp stories as well, since the cover apes the famous “Spider-Man No More!” John Romita, Sr., panel. Who doesn’t love chapters titled after comic sound effects like “Pow!” and “Whoosh!”? And even though he has crafted a dark character and world filled with the real possibility of death, this adult story never loses its sense of fun and wonder.

In summing up, this novella might be titled “Malevolence,” but it delivers a pow-smash-bang! of awesome superpowered fun. I give it four Superman punches out of four.

Buy The Machinist, Part One: Malevolence.

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