There are fifteen stories, including; "Timelines" by Steve Crow, where a subtle hero named Tangent, has the ability to glimpse pieces of possible futures. Editor James Lowder gives us a story called "Fanboy," detailing how the ideals and aspirations of a young comic book creator become warped into something much darker. The splendidly named Lucien Soulban presents "Forever Young," a bitter-sweet fairy tale replete with haunting imagery. Jim C. Hines contribution is "Sidekicked," a coming of age tale in which Sparrowhawk, a young heroine, steps out from the shadow of her mentor. Mike W. Barr's work, "The Judas Silver," introduces us to Griffin Frost, a detective bordering on the supernatural, whose abilities have more in common with Derren Brown than Batman. Alex Kolker weighs in with "The Shield of Little Italy," a story about a character similar to Iron Man, in terms of ability, but very different in his circumstances and outlook. John Sullivan provides a startling tale named "One Step From The Light," which begins at a funeral, then backfills a story of The Furies, Megaera, Alecto and Tisiphone, vengeful armoured vigilantes who try to channel one man's heartfelt rage against tragedy into something more productive. A special mention must be made for John Kovalic, who in "SF" gives us a character that cleverly works out the commercial potential for the one thing a world filled with metahumans does not have.

Path of the Bold is a small book, bursting with variety, imagination, levity and well placed touches of pathos. All the stories are of an equally high quality, and the low key theme feels more solid than in the first book. I was sufficiently enthused to hope that there will be another anthology in the series, or perhaps a natural progression to a single plot, where each chapter is written by one of the collected authors, Wild Cards style. The characters, situations and locations have the potential for something special. In the meantime, I can recommend this work as a worthy addition to the collection of any comic book fan, young or older, who favours superior script over flashy scribble.