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Supergods: What Masked Vigilantes, Miraculous Mutants, And A Sun God From Smallville Can Teach Us About Being Human (2011)

by Grant Morrison(Favorite Author)

3.75 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

1400069122 (ISBN13: 9781400069125)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Spiegel & Grau

review 1: Grant Morrison provides a fascinating tour throughout his life in comics. It's as much autobiography as it is a history of comics, and he expounds on some of his theories regarding the genre of superhero comics. But it's all great reading, as Morrison's writing style draws you in. When he starts talking about angelic beings encountered in stoned stupors, you can't help but believe in the beings, too. The paperback edition includes an extra chapter on Superman, and his explanation of the character's greatness were enough to even make me stop disliking the character. It's a great book, well worth reading.
review 2: I wavered between three and four stars for this one. I had referenced a chapter or two of this book a few years ago as part of my final American Studi... morees thesis, which dealt with the evolution of Superman and Batman in American pop culture... and it's so true that just a couple of years later, I think my wonderful thesis is completely underdeveloped crap. I wish I could go back and smack myself with this book and beg myself to look past the two characters to the wider trends. Anyway, to actually review this book. The four star parts were those that actually dealt with the history and evolution of comics and superheroes and their creators. Just fascinating, well written and well researched. Now, I have always enjoyed Morrison's work. It may be stereotypical, but Arkham Asylum changed the way I thought about comics and my personal, once again stereotypical, favorite, Batman. Ahh. I can still remember opening it for the first time, taking hours and hours to savor the art and the madness. So it shouldn't have been a surprise to realize that Morrison is nuts. Full on nuts. And he owns it. Which makes him fascinating as well. The autobiographical aspects of this book are definitely a whole other story. However, the juxtaposition of his personal experiences with the historical analysis is a bit tedious, hence the three-star rating. Morrison is an interesting dude, but when I picked this book up, based on the title and the first several chapters, I hadn't expected the second half to be so "me" heavy on Morrison's part. He wrote two different books here, and both are good and worthwhile in their own right - they should just not be smooshed together in one cover like this. Fun quotes: "Batman knew what it was like to trip balls without seriously losing his shit, and that savoir faire added another layer to his outlaw sexiness and alluring aura of decadence and wealth." p 21 less

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