Our Gods Wear Spandex

CatFang · Our Gods Wear Spandex

Thought you lot might be interested in this - Norsefire1 in particular

OUr Gods Wear Spandex

Amazon Synopsis:
Synopsis
Was Superman's arch nemesis Lex Luthor based on Aleister Crowley? Can Captain Marvel be linked to the Norse god Thor? 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 the fact that like DC Comics editor Julius Schwartz started his career as H.P. Lovecraft's agent, to the tantalizing influence of Madame Blavatsky's Theosophy on the birth of comics, and the Gnosticism of Superman.The book also traces the rise of the comic superhero 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 distinct superhero archetypes - for example, the Messiah, the Golem and the Amazon -and shows how the occult Bohemian underground of the early 20th century was the breeding ground for the modern comic book.

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.The chapters include: Ancient of Days, Ascended Masters, God and Gangsters, Mad Scientists and Modern Sorcerers, and many more. From the ghettos of Prague and 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.

CatFang

I have read this now, and while it is an interesting idea I would not recommend you buy it unless you really need to start from very first principles (ie primary school level RE / History in an English School - "what is a religion", "who are the Greek / Norse heroes" etc).

What would be great is kind of the "grown up" version of this book that really looks into the basic idea in a lot more detail.

Having said that I agree with the premise of the book and the historical connections between many comics creators and occultism/fringe religion etc are interesting, if not unexpected. Again, it would have been good to have some more meat on the bones of the history side as well.