The Incredible Adventures of See Thru Sam

Johnny McKnight

• Publisher: Oberon Books
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9781849434720
• eBook ISBN: 9781849436489
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Letteratura
• Subtopic: Teatro britannico

2013 Critics Award Scotland Best Technical Presentation WINNER 2013 Critics Award Scotland Best Children and Young People's Show NOMINEE Sam McTannan is just a typical 15 year old, with one exception. Sam is a Superhero! He can literally turn See-Thru when it suits him, only today something is wrong.In Superhero comics they would call it a blip.Sam's powers are failing him and the people he doesn't want to see him start paying a little bit too much attention. The story of an ordinary boy with an extraordinary life. A heartbreaking, life affirming comedy about life, love and being a total loser.

Characters

Sam

Chip The Grip

Sheila the Feeler

Walrus

Herbie

Cousin Joan

Uncle Alec

Mrs Delty

Mr Holmes

Auntie Betty

Walrus’ Mum

Magrit

Lana

Violet

Chunk

Mrs Timmins

Ainsley

Mrs Morgana

For all those Superheroes still waiting to fly.

One day you will.

NOT SO FAST

A young boy appears in a spotlight, in an all-white box. His name is SAM.

SAM: Okay, first things first,

before we start this story,

tale,

mythology

which is, in actual fact, a factology – if that’s even a word – before we get to any of the good stuff, the good versus evil, the triumph of the meek, the Armageddon of human civilization being saved by a lanky six-footer –

before we do any of that you should know,

need to know, that at the end of this story,

the last chapter,

the final page...

I…

Well…

I…

Die.

All truly great superheroes have to.

THE ORIGIN STORY

SAM: Anyone familiar with the superhero knows that there has to be an issue 1.

The Origin Story.

How The Incredible See Thru Sam came to be.

Power can come in loads of ways – you’re either bitten, smitten, inflicted, wounded, healed with a dubious glowing chemical complex, or licked by lots of cats.

You might be part-god, or demi-god or a quarter angel, part-devil, part-amazonian with an invisible plane.

Some people don’t realise they have power until they get older.

Like me.

I was born to two parents.

CHIP & SHEILA: That’s us.

SAM: I think they get that. So embarrassing.

My father. Chip ‘The Grip’ McTannan.

My mother. Sheila ‘The Feeler’ McTannan.

They were known throughout the land as –

ALL HEROES: The McTannans.

SAM: They were good people.

CHIP & SHEILA: Great people.

SAM: Chip The Grip lived a double life. By day he ran a butchers shop, distributing food to the needy for small pieces of silver. By night he was charged with teaching me the responsibilities that come with being the son of a superhero.

CHIP THE GRIP: Always remember son, the true path is the only path.

SAM: He would warn me of the dangers of enemies out to destroy us.

CHIP THE GRIP: Keep back from the dangerous electronic device son, your eyes will go square.

SAM: Superman’s dad, Jor-El, built the Phantom Zone, the Rocket to take Kal-El to earth and the Fortress of Solitude where he can appear in the form of a hologram and offer Superman advice whenever he needs it, even though he’s dead.

My dad was even better than that.

My dad…could fix toasters. And make astounding toast and cheese. He had the most amazing power. Those days where you wake up and it feels like the metropolis is in blackout and you just want to stay under the covers and pretend that none of it is real, my dad – Chip The Grip – would lift you up, holding you with his big gigantic protective barriers and he’d keep holding, and holding, and holding until he’d activated this powerful magnetic force and you’d start to feel –

CHIP THE GRIP: Better. It’s all better.

SAM: And it would be. My dad had the power to take the hurt and pain and sadness away through his mighty arms. The world needs that. I need that.

CHIP THE GRIP: Better. It’s all better.

SAM: That was my dad.

And my mum. Well, her powers were something else.

You see the brilliant superheroes don’t get all their powers at once, cos that would be stupid as there would be no plot or character development. It took till season 8 before Clark Kent flies in Smallville – unless you count Episode 1 of season 4 but that wasn’t really Clark Kent, it was Kal-El who is a totally different person. You see Clark needed 8 seasons to, I don’t know, find out how to work everything – how to run that fast, how to use the laser eyes and superears and everything. My mum was like that.

She had super senses, they got stronger the older she got. Like me. Sheila The Feeler. Super smell.

SHEILA FEELER: You little stinker, you get that from your dad, not me. You should go out the room when you need to do that. It’s like an animal smell that.

SAM: She could hear a pin drop from miles around.

SHEILA FEELER: What did you say Samuel Joseph McTannan? Go and apologise to your Uncle Herbie right now.

SAM: And more than all the senses, she could see everyth...

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Half-title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Characters
• Begin Reading