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The Amazing Adventures Of Phoenix Jones: And The Less Amazing Adventures Of Some Other Real-Life Superheroes (2011)

by Jon Ronson(Favorite Author)

3.69 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

1101568313 (ISBN13: 9781101568316)

languge

English

genre

Humor

publisher

Penguin Group US

review 1: A daycare manager for autistic children by day, masked vigilante at night. A scenario many people have read before in comics, except this is real life. Phoenix Jones is the real life super hero’s (RLSH) name and fighting crime is his game. I remember hearing about him in the news a year or so ago so I was interested when the excellent Jon Ronson (The Men Who Stare At Goats, Them, The Psychopath Test) set out to interview him and find out why people are now dressing as superheroes and patrolling the streets. The answer is slightly vague and what you’d expect – they feel like nobody’s in their real lives, helpless and worthless, but they put on a mask and costume and they suddenly feel great and different. Never mind that most of them barely fight crime per se, they�... more��re out there at night scaring drug dealers and thus feel they’re making a difference. Phoenix himself is an oddball, getting into scrapes outside of night clubs and stopping drunk people from getting behind the wheel of a car – in one instance trying to force a man to eat a taco before driving so he’ll be slightly more sober. This becomes known as “the taco incident”. I would’ve liked to have read a more in-depth story but the length of the “book” limits that and it seems there’s not much else to the RLSH’s stories besides their rather dreary patrols that are in stark contrast to their comic book aspirations. The story is also 60% of the ebook, the remaining 40% is an excerpt from “The Psychopath Test”, which if you’re like me you’ll already have read. It’s not a bad read it’s just very short but it’s an interesting look at this emerging sub-culture especially if you’re a fan of superhero comics like me. Phoenix Jones and co. prove how remote the world of superheroes is from our real world. Kick Ass this ain’t!
review 2: A great little inside look at Pheonix Jones' life and the broader "Real Life Superhero" movement. It makes me think what it would take for me to go to the lengths Jones goes. I know Rain Wilson is looking to make a reality show about Jones and while I think he's utterly mad it's interesting to see what made him mad and how he's using that and how much (in some ways) I can see his point. What I also find interesting is the bitter little rivalries that seem to be going on in the "RLS" movement. A good (if quick) read and at 4 bucks on Kobo well spent. less

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