All words and no visuals make serious fiction superheroes an exciting read

Superheroes born in comic books have been reincarnated in plenty of TV shows and movies. Can superheroes in serious fiction stand up to them with just the power of prose?

Superheroes have never really worked for me outside what I consider their natural environment – comic books. Even in this post-Avengers movie age, I still find brightly-costumed heroes interacting with real life on the big screen somewhat jarring, something with which I have no trouble in the confines of a comic panel.