For ex-Navy SEAL Jon Hayes, the super-powered ‘costumes’ are just part of ordinary life in New York City, until the day his pregnant wife Melanie is senselessly killed in a clash between Captain Light and The Jade Shade. But as Hayes struggles to come to terms with his loss, and questions for the first time who the costumes are and where they come from, the once sharp lines of his reality begin to blur… If Hayes wants to uncover the shocking truth about the figures behind the costumes, and get justice for his fallen family, he’ll have to step out of the background, and stop being a bystander. In Bystander 27 by Rik Hoskin, superheroes and supervillains are a fact of life. They are famous, or infamous, depending on what side they are on. We get to follow a single man, Jon Hayes, as his entire existence is changed at a fundamental level by a seemingly random, horrific event that involves the biggest hero in New York. Those of you who have read or watched The Boys are going to see, at least initially, similarities between Hayes and Wee Hughie’s origin story, but don’t worry that doesn’t last for long….