Supergods: What Masked Vigilantes, Miraculous Mutants, And A Sun God From Smallvile Can Teach Us About Being Human
(444 pages, Spiegel & Grau)
By-Grant Morrison
Scotland's Grant Morrison is much more than a comic book writer. He is one of those interesting characters whose personality and sheer will changes an entire industry around them. So when he decides to write a book about the cultural history of comic books and peppers it with healthy portions of tales from his own life, he has gotten my attention.
It only seems fitting to unleash one of the true mad geniuses of comics school us on how comics have been both a result of the historical times they were birthed in and shaped popular culture for over seven decades.
In Supergods, Morrison (an accomplished writer and playwright) does this with great relish. His work with various titles including Zenith, Batman & Robin, The New X-Men and The Invisibles has positioned him as a great comic writer and social commentator.
He’s been writing them for more than three decades now and this book see him harness his passion for comics. In Supergods Morrison examines the history of the industry while offering the thesis that comic book heroes both mirror and shape their times.
In addition to giving a succinct history of the medium, Morrison uses comic books as a reference point for the changing values, beliefs and ideas of popular culture. The exuberant and glossy Morrison
draws on history, mythology and art to examine the archetype of the hero through popular culture. Case in point is the Man of Steel whom Morrison meticulously points out as a cultural icon, while taking great pains to explain how Superman could be perceived philosophically as a modern godlike figure for a contemporary age.
Balancing a thin line between memoir and madness Morrison reflects on his career in comics, using personal recollections to offer readers a glimpse into the industry while also tipping his hat to the significance of men such as Jack Kirby, Alan Moore and Frank Miller.
With breakneck speed the book takes the reader on a roller coaster journey through comic book history, hitting the high and low points while mixing in some sociology, psychology and politics for good measure.
As Morrison crafts his argument about the relevance and cultural impact of superheroes he finds an interesting parallel in the events of human history and the birth, ascent, decline, resurrection, re-ascent, further decline and eventual resurrection again of our most popular vigilantes, mutants and super beings. He argues that being human requires the need for superheroes. He contends that our culture uses these heroes in a similar way to the Greeks, Romans and others used their mythological figures to reflect their society and
Supergods is a necessary read for anyone who enjoys comic books. It also works as a cultural examination of both the medium of comics and the culture that so desperately needs hereos to save the day (a lot).
No comments:
Post a Comment