Count Geiger’s Blues by Michael Bishop is a satirical look at super heroes. Not just the heroes themselves, but the way they are looked at in society. We don’t have an anti-hero, but an interesting take on what it means to be a hero and the role of art in life.

Xavier Thornton is the snobbish art critic for the local newspaper. He hates popular culture and is much more interested in opera and ballet, than TV and rock concerts and don’t get him started on comic books. When a bizarre set of circumstances ends up with him swimming in a pool of radioactive waste, he becomes a super hero with an interesting weakness…high art. He can no longer listen to the classical music or enjoy the ballet, but is instead thrust into the world of low art that he can’t stand.

The book walks a tight line between farce and satire with it falling off the edge a few too many times. It’s an fun read, but not a great one. The exploration of art in culture mixed with the super heroics doesn’t always work and gets forced into the plot a little to heavy handedly at times. Mildly recommended at best.