King Oblivion* and Adam Wallenta
Skyhorse Publishing $12.95
King Oblivion returns with more advice for the newbie supervillain and it’s a bloody good thing! I realized after his debut Supervillain Handbook that I wasn’t cut out for villainy, but several of my friends found the idea of becoming a rogue more appealing. This book will appeal to them and to you, dear reader, if you are looking for more advice on how to kickstart your career as a merry prankster of pandemonium.
King Oblivion retained the same format for the Supervillain Field Manual as his debut book. Why mess with a good thing? Twelve chapters organize helpful advice and tips and address such concerns as how to announce yourself with flair to make a lasting impression of fear and what to do when you occasionally triumph and more frequently get your ray gun handed to you. Supervillains often team up — and that reminds me of the delightfully menacing Supervillain Team-Up comic Marvel published back in the early 1970s. What fun it was to follow the nefarious exploits of Dr Doom and Namor. Sure, they’ve each got making and breaking alliances down pat, but you, my fledgling felon can profit from making joint efforts and the artfully preemptive double cross. Oblivion also reveals some escape methods (Hey, you can’t expect a master villain to reveal all his escape tricks in one book); how to get that power your sweaty little brain craves and how to make the most of it so you don’t fizzle out and get D-listed next to Clock King. As logical as he is ruthless, Oblivion discusses how to prepare for all the havok you’ll create with the power you’ve acquired and what to expect when the carnage hits the fan. Money may not be the most important objective for you in your burgeoning career in villainery, in which case we have a fundamental difference of opinion. Thankfully, Oblivion has a number of suggestions on how best to utilize the luchre, filthy or not, that you’ve amassed from successfully following the best ever how-to book for wannabe doers of evil! Let King Oblivion reduce the stress of deciding whether to follow Luthor’s path and invest in shell corporations and scientific research or rehabbing abandoned subway tunnels into your idea of the perfect lair and the envy of your peril-inducing peers! This book includes a bonus glossary and let’s face facts. The rest of the world is full of goody two shoe do gooder types and that includes those hot air bags in the media. Words are just another form of power and here’s how to break down and appropriate for your own use all those lies they’re spreading about you.
Adam Wallenta delivered the illustrations here with a clean precision and awe and a dash of humor here and there. Keep his name handy for when you’re ready to write your auto-biography. That is, if King Oblivion lets him work freelance.
Thanks again to King Oblivion for sharing some of his hard learned secrets and for not mind wiping me for reading the book as he threatened. At least he hasn’t yet. Pick this book up if you’re ready for the next step on your path to super villainy.
*As told to Matt D. Wilson
