Posted in: Books, Comics, Comics Publishers, Current News, Titan | Tagged: Actress Model Whatever, Kim Newman

Model Actress Whatever, a New Superhero Novel by Kim Newman

Model Actress Whatever, a new superhero novel by Kim Newman is being published by Titan Comics/Titan Books in October 2025

Published Mon, 20 Jan 2025 01:57:08 -0600

by Rich Johnston

Comments

Article Summary

Discover Kim Newman's "Model Actress Whatever," a satirical superhero novel with a twist on 2020s London.
Follow Chrissie Chambers, a soap star turned superheroine, in a humorous and darkly thrilling storyline.
Immerse in an alternative reality where The Beatles' hallucinodelic album shapes the world differently.
From Bram Stoker Award-winning author, this novel blends superheroism, soap opera, and alternative history.

Model Actress Whatever is a new novel by Kim Newman, completed last November and scheduled for publication this October. And recommended for fans of Austin Grossman's Soon I Will Be Invincible and George R.R. Martin's Wild Cards, but I reckon with a little bit of Temps as well, as "a bitingly satirical story of superheroism, soap opera and alternative reality " in which it was an un-split-up The Beatles whom in 1971, recorded the album Never Mind rather than Nirvana's Nevermind, and giving us Never Mind The Beatles rather than The Sex Pistols' Never Mind The Bollocks… with soapstar Chrissie Chambers as the country's leading supernatural superheroine. And set now, in this very different 2020s London…

Model Actress Whatever, a New Superhero Novel by Kim Newman

Kim Newman is an English journalist, film critic and fiction writer specialising in film history, horror fiction and alternative history. He has won the Bram Stoker Award, the International Horror Guild Award and the BSFA award, and is best known for writing Anno Dracula, and appearing at every cinematic press screening at the very back so his wide-brimmed hat won't obscure anyone's view. Model Actress Whatever will be out from Titan Books on the 5th of October.

"When Chrissie Chambers (model actress whatever) discovers her soap opera character is about to be killed off, she finally stops dieting and discovers hitherto untapped supernatural abilities. Meanwhile, Chrissie's aunt – former national heroine Lady Shade – goes missing. Afraid for Jasmine's safety and itching to costume-up, Chrissie and her ghost-possessed best friend Loulee break into Devil's Dyke, the asylum where Jasmine works as a therapist with the most dangerous cutthroats (supervillains) in Britain… only to find the inmates have taken over… Chrissie debuts successfully as a cloak (superheroine), but who will become the arch-nemesis of Lady Shade II? In Chrissie's timeline, the Beatles didn't split up and recorded a hallucinodelic album in 1972 – Never Mind (strictly, Never Mind the Beatles) – which literally changed the world. Set in an alternative 2020s London, this hugely entertaining, darkly humorous superhero tale is packed with Newman's trademark wit, and comes with wickedly sharp edges."

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!