Was Superman's arch nemesis Lex Luthor based on Aleister Crowley? Can Captain Marvel be linked to the Sun gods on antiquity? In Our Gods Wear Spandex, Christopher Knowles answers these questions and brings to light many other intriguing links between superheroes and the enchanted world of estoerica. Occult students and comic-book fans alike will discover countless fascinating connections, from little known facts such as that DC Comics editor Julius Schwartz started his career as H.P. Lovecraft's agent, to the tantalizingly extensive influence of Madame Blavatsky's Theosophy on the birth of comics, to the mystic roots of Superman. The book also traces the rise of the comic superheroes and how they relate to several cultural trends in the late 19th century, specifically the occult explosion in Western Europe and America. Knowles reveals the four basic superhero archetypes--the Messiah, the Golem, the Amazon, and the Brotherhood--and shows how the occult Bohemian underground of the early 20th century provided the inspiration for the modern comic book hero.
With the popularity of occult comics writers like Invisibles creator Grant Morrison and V for Vendetta creator Alan Moore, the vast ComiCon audience is poised for someone to seriously introduce them to the esoteric mysteries. Chris Knowles is doing just that in this epic book. Chapters include: Ancient of Days, Ascended Masters, God and Gangsters, Mad Scientists and Modern Sorcerers, and many more. From the ghettos of Prague to the halls of Valhalla to the Fortress of Solitude and the aisles of BEA and ComiCon, this is the first book to show the inextricable link between superheroes and the enchanted world of esoterica.
* Chris Knowles is associate editor and columnist for the five-time Eisner Award-winning Comic Book Artist magazine, as well as a pop culture writer for UK magazine Classic Rock.
* Knowles worked with Robert Smigel on The X Presidents graphic novel, based on the popular Saturday Night Live cartoon, and has created designs and artwork for many of the world's top superheroes and fantasy characters.
* Features the art of Joe Linsner, creator of the legendary Dawn series, and more recently a collaborator with comics maestro Stan Lee.
An Exclusive Preface to Our Gods Wear Spandex: The Secret History of Comic Book Heroes by Christopher Knowles
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyable stuff,
By Joe Penn (Halle/Saale, Germany) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Our Gods Wear Spandex: The Secret History of Comic Book Heroes (Paperback)
This is a great little book, which certainly puts the history of superheroics into a really new light and intellectual genealogy.
It was at its best when investigating the paradigms of mythological heroes, their influence on the pulps, and the influence of pulp material on golden age comics. There is a definite (and often demonstrable) influence at work here. The book is far less convincing in substantiating some of the claims of a more direct influence of the occult milieu on early comics. One supposition is that Aleister Crowley was the model for Superman's enemy Lex Luthor. This is possible, but the evidence marshalled by Knowles to prove this is circumstancial and slight. The other major claim, that Batman was 'linked to the Kabbalah' is product merely of Knowles' own definition of Batman as a 'Golem' style hero: no direct evidence from the comics or from Bob Kane's biography are cited in order to substantiate this claim. The 'link' is therefore a fabrication. Concerning the earier sections of the book, which read breezily and very well, the research could have been substantially better. Some of the sources emplyed by Knowles to discuss the Golden Dawn, Rosicrucians, etc are rather dubious (Howard's 'The Occult Conspiracy' for example). This leads to some errors: for example Knowles states that both Bram Stoker and Sax Romer were members of the Golden Dawn, which is simply not true. He was here following a fabrication that first appeared in the 1960s (in Pauwels and Bergiers' 'The Morning of the Magicians')and has been repeated uncritically ever since. Also, for readers who are not experienced comic fans (such as myself, a more helpful bibliography could have been included. It is all very well to know that Dr. Doom appeared in 'Fantastic Four #7' (or elsewhere), but is this comic still available today? Has it been reprinted? But these are only minor quibbles, which do not distract from the major argument of the book, which links modern superheros to archetypes established in the mythology of yesteryear. As Knowles demonstrates, these archetypes have been constantly re-formed and reformulated in order to suit the needs of the contemporary reading audience. Good stuff.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The histories of American comic book heroes and who defined them considers both the social and mythical impact and influences on,
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Our Gods Wear Spandex: The Secret History of Comic Book Heroes (Paperback)
The histories of American comic book heroes and who defined them considers both the social and mythical impact and influences on these heroes, arguing that fantastic characters aren't just entertainment, but deities for modern technological society. From the occult origins of such characters to the attraction magic and the occult has held over all, this analysis earns a place not only on the shelves of New Age libraries, but for any collection strong in social issues, myths, and the needs of modern society.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I have to admit my gods do wear spandex,
By
This review is from: Our Gods Wear Spandex: The Secret History of Comic Book Heroes (Paperback)
This is a very well rounded tome for the subject matter. It is very interesting to consider the parallels between the gods and goddesses of ancient times, pulp icons, real life heroes, and the modern spandex clad superhero. My favorite part of the book is the connections made between Alex Ross's epic graphic novel Kingdom Come and the rise and very welcome fall of the comics industry during the early 90's due to massive prints of garbage comics. This was a interpretation that I have never heard or considered, and as I indulged myself by reading the book again I felt a sense of enlightenment. The artwork was simple and cliche, which was the point, but it definitely illustraded the points being made within the text. Thank you for writing this book Mr. Knowles.
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