That's not to say the former KC101-morning-man-turned-aspiring-novelist wouldn't help fight crime if he had super powers, but he definitely wouldn't be as straight-edged and honorable as the Man of Steel.

"If I were a superhero I would certainly use it to get laid," Penn says without a hint of shame. "I don't think I would be a dignified superhero."

If Penn's latest offering, a story just shy of 20 pages entitled Diary of a Superhero is any indication, his alternate universe would surely include a disproportionate number of bangs for every ka-pow and whack.

Diary of a Superhero is exactly that, the diary of a superhero. Penn's Flying Avenger III - his dad and grandfather were also Flying Avengers - pours out his rants on everything from days at the office as his alter ego to problems with the ladies to whatever else is on his mind.

"It was my first stab at 'let me sit down and write 100 pages,'" Penn says of the origins of Diary. He penned it about five years ago and from there, "it collected dust."

That was until Penn found Contemporary Press, a Brooklyn-based publisher pumping out short story collections of "urban fiction." Penn's story is among the 13 offerings packed into Danger City, Contemporary's April 2005 release.

Penn's biggest challenge actually turned out to be Contemporary Press' 8,000 word submission max. He says he "literally" copied and pasted a section of his 100-page opus into an email and sent it off for consideration.

Word came back that the publisher was interested but they wanted Penn to tweak it a bit and shore up an ending.

"I was like, 'shit, I sucked then,'" Penn admits after rereading and editing his pages.

And while it's been five years since he first produced the work that would be whittled down into Diary some of Penn's focus has changed. But Diary still offers classic Penn moments, including - of course - the Flying Avenger's post-rescue sexscapades with the damsels in distress he just saved.

But Diary also offers insight beyond Penn's superhero libido. There's the sidenote about how the Flying Avenger used to charge classmates a buck a flight at school.

"I would never be able to contain the fact I could fly," Penn says.

And there's also the superhero vs. super villain debate. Superhero's alter egos hold down dayside jobs that likely offer poor bennies and tiny raises.

Meanwhile, super villains simply smash and dash and can watch cable all day if they want ... they're their own boss.

"Sometimes the only difference between the good guys and the bad guys is a cape," the Flying Avenger writes in his first diary entry. It's advice his dad gave him.

As for Penn: "I don't know if I would have the balls to be a bad guy," he says. "I never thought that as a kid."

For now, Penn's shopping his "novel" and continuing his part-time gig at New Haven-based Ultra Radio - www.ultraradio.com - and pushing his stand-up on Sirius Satelite Radio's Raw Dog channel.

His latest piece is about a "guy who was a player back in the day, gets his girlfriend pregnant and has a daughter."

The character has to go back and revisit his exes in an attempt to prevent the returning thud of the karma boomerang as his daughter grows up.

No word how much of this tale is autobiographical. Remember, truth is more interesting than fiction.

article by Jon Cooper, Editor