Supergods [Kindle Edition]

"Grant Morrison has a hell of a tale to tell: The graphic novelist who co-created Batman's twisted game-changer Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth tripped on psilocybin mushrooms, fought movie execs to keep the Joker in high heels and reaped the benefits of going 50 hours without sleep in order to better access his unconscious. Subtitled What Masked Vigilantes, Miraculous Mutants, and a Sun God from Smallville Can Teach Us About Being Human, this trippy autobiography-cum-critical essay gathers up the deep thoughts and otherworldly hallucinations experienced by the comics writer." --Wired.com

NPR's "Summer High Fliers"

"Grant Morrison is one of the world's leading experts on comic books, and he draws on his entire body of work in Supergods, charting the history of superheroes from the very beginning. Morrison places the figures we all know -- Superman, Spider-Man, the X-Men -- in a broad cultural context, invoking art history, science and mythology to explain why we are so fascinated by the superhuman." --NPR.org

'As a writer for Batman and Superman, Grant Morrison is in the perfect place to analyse the rise and fall of the superhero.' --The Sunday Times

'Supergods is a rather astonishing piece of work that leaves you feeling pretty much as those first readers of Superman in 1938 must have felt: slightly more aware of our place in the universe and cautiously optimistic about the future.' --Independent on Sunday

`The author shows a deft turn of phrase while appraising his fellow creators...Supergods proves an entertaining introduction to newcomers' --Metro

`It offers the same switchback exhilaration as Morrison's comic books' --Sunday Herald

`Morrison makes a passionate and knowledgeable tour guide through comics' golden age' --The Times

`Whatever your views on Grant's own creative output which I find both dazzling and, on occasions, daunting, no one can deny the man's blistering intelligence and throughout his career he has never ceased from innovation. Each new project makes readers sit up and think and I imagine many of his peers have felt the same way. Similarly this 400-page history of and tribute to this medium's meta - humans will give you much to ponder, and I don't think any true fan of the genre, as I have been since five, can afford to be without its illuminating torch'
--Page 45

`magnificently idiosyncratic new history of the genre...Supergods is packed with intriguing nuggets of insight, and it will be fascinating to see how the trends it discerns play out...What was it they said about the geeks inheriting the earth?' --The Daily Telegraph

`If this were just Morrison's story, the reminiscences of an original Scots thinker who works in a medium that silly people scorn, it would be worth your time. The sections detailing the writer's relationship with his father are especially touching. What makes this book exceptional is the history of comics that comes with the history of Morrison...As a superhero fan, I found this a diverting read. As a people fan, I found it unputdownable.' --The Scotsman

`Supergods is perhaps the most satisfactory potted history of the American comic book industry I've ever read (and I've read just about all its competitors) while also offering a brilliantly incisive, if very personal, appreciation and analysis of the most important comic books or graphic novels - call 'em what you will - to be published in the past 30 years.' --The Guardian

`Morrison's analysis of how comic books have reflected and influenced mainstream culture is never less than intriguing, and his turn of phrase is often a joy.'
--Daily Telegraph

`It is stunningly good on the utopian dream that Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster kick-started when they invented Superman, and the dark twin that Bob Kane created for the Man of Steel in Batman. As one of the best writers of both characters, Morrison knows what he is talking about...essential without being definitive' --Independent

`authoritative overview of the genre...detailed and thoughtful' --Spectator

`part manifesto, part memoir, part idiosyncratic spiritual/philosophical tract... Morrison knows the genre and loves it deeply, and both that knowledge and that love shine through... autobiographical strand of the book, an often funny and sometimes very moving account of Morrison's life as seen through the lens of his relationship with superheroes, which began in childhood. This is the most interesting and best realised aspect of the book... Supergods is a strange, frustrating, thought-provoking, contentious, and ultimately rather cheering book' --The Irish Times

, `While it begins with an entirely engrossing and detailed history of superheroes and the culture sur¬rounding them, Morrison's own life story creeps into the narrative now and again and if this seems a little self-indulgent, it's also com¬pletely necessary. This isn't just a history, it's an epic, super-charged discourse on why caped crusaders hold such power over our imagina¬tions, what they say about humanity in its noblest and darkest moments. That this is essential reading for superhero fans probably goes without saying, but there's plen¬ty to chew on here for anyone who believes in the transformative power of fiction.' --Leeds Guide

`A unique, inspirational work.' --Oxford Times

`There's probably no one better placed to trace the peaks and valleys of the comic story than Grant Morrison... a fearsomely intelligent analysis of the comics revolution' --The Sunday Business Post