<DIV>Before there was&#160;<I>WATCHMEN</I>,&#160;there was&#160;SUPERFOLKS....</DIV><DIV>&#160;</DIV><DIV>David Brinkley used to be a hero, the greatest the world had ever seen--until he retired, got married, moved to the suburbs, and packed on a few extra pounds. Now all the heroes are dead or missing, and his beloved New York is on the edge of chaos. It's up to Brinkley to come to the rescue, but he's in the midst of a serious mid-life crisis--his superpowers are failing him. <BR><BR>At long last this classic satire that&#160;inspired comic books like&#160;<I>Watchmen</I> and <I>Miracleman</I> is back in print. It's a hilarious thriller that digs deep into the American psyche.<BR></DIV> <DIV><B>Robert Mayer</B> was an award-winning journalist. He now lives in New Mexico. <I>Superfolks</I>, his first novel, was originally published in 1977.</DIV> <DIV>David Brinkley used to be a hero, the greatest the world had ever seen&#151;until be retired, got married, moved to the suburbs, and packed on a few extra pounds. Now all the heroes are dead or missing, and his beloved New York is on the edge of chaos. It's up to Brinkley to come to the rescue, but he's in the midst of a serious mid-life crisis&#151;his superpowers are failing him. <BR>&#160; <BR>At long last this classic novel, a satire&#160;that changed superheroes forever, and&#160;that&#160;would become the inspiration for the next generation of comic book creators, is back in print. It's a hilarious thriller that digs deep into the American psyche.</DIV> <DIV>"Infectiously funny."&#151;<B><I>Los Angeles </I>magazine</B><BR><BR>"It is gorgeous. It is splendid. It is funny as hell . . .&#160;[Mayer] writes like an angel."&#151;<B><I>Newsday</I></B><BR><BR>"What if you were a superhero going through a mid-life crisis? Your tights are in a bunch. You've lost your hair. Your powers have a mind of their own . . . You'll never look at superheroes the same way again!"&#151;<B>Stan Lee, comic legend and creator of Spiderman and&#160;The&#160;</B><B>X-Men</B></DIV><DIV><B></B><BR>"What Robert Mayer has done, and done with real aplomb, is carry off a smart satire and a very funny novel while at the same time caring enough about his characters that the reader's investment is respected and paid dividends. Without being derivative, it reminds me of early Vonnegut&#151;Vonnegut through <I>Cat's Cradle</I>&#151;as well as the first couple of the <I>Hitchhiker's Guides</I>. It's always satisfying when an influential but neglected work&#151;in any genre, in any field&#151;is 'rediscovered' and given its proper credit."&#151;<B>Tom de Haven, author of <I>Funny Papers</I>, <I>Derby Dugan's Depression Funnies</I>, and <I>Dugan Under Ground</I></B><BR><BR>"<I>Superfolks</I> is an irreverent look behind the mask of superheroes wrapped up in a cutting lampoon of late 70's attitudes."&#151;<B>Paul Dini, writer and producer of <I>Batman: The Animated Series</I></B><BR><BR>"<I>Superfolks</I> was the book that showed me you could do more with superheroes than adolescent power fantasies. Without <I>Superfolks</I> I doubt there'd have been an <I>Astro City</I>."&#151;<B>Kurt Busiek, Multiple Eisner Award-Winning Creator of <I>Astro City</I></B></DIV>