I loved this book. It is part memoir, part (of a selective) history of American comics, part review, and part magical-mystical tract on how to transform the world! One of the secrets, in my opinion, of Grant Morrison's success is that he's never forgotten the magical impact of colour superhero American comics on a young child growing up in the austere black and white backdrop of Glasgow in the sixties. I can relate to this because I was one such boy myself, only a few years older than Morrison. We seem to have had a parallel comics reading 'career' so for me it was an uncannily familiar reading experience. I was introduced to American comics at about the age of seven when I was ill with chicken pox. My father brought home a pile of comics given to him by a colleague at work. My very first comic was a red kryptonite tale that turned Superman into a dragon. What the hell was this? A flying hero, kryptonite, Lois and Jimmy, the secret identity that he kept from his girl friend? And so on. It was as though I'd tapped into an alternate universe. It was too bizarre and too vibrant for anybody to have made up. I occasionally glanced at the sky to see if I might catch a glimpse of Superman on his world patrol! It wasn't just the story. It was everything it implied! There was a magical background, back stories, untold wonders to be experienced, and they could be experienced through the other DC titles. The Flash, Hawkman, the Atom, Green Lantern. There was a cleanness and purity to them reflected in the sublime artwork of the likes of Curt Swan and Carmine Infantino. Over and above them shone the godlike goodness of Superman, a rock steady force that always tried to do the right thing.
Morrison gives us a potted history from the start: the so-called Golden Age, through the Silver Age and then the Dark Age, when comics tried to become more 'relevant' which meant being dark and gritty. Fortunately, writers like Morrison never forgot their initial impact and once again reminded us all of Superman's original appeal, especially in his All-Star Superman series, illustrated by the perfect Zen-like art of Frank Quitely.
Alan Moore was another British writer who invigorated American comics in a similar way, by remembering, in my opinion, their initial impact. Curiously, both Moore and Morrison are practising magicians. I suspect that this is symptomatic of the extraordinary creativity that both gentlemen seem able to tap into. However, whereas Moore seems somewhat embarrassed by his involvement with superheroes and wants to put them behind him, Morrison has plunged into them, almost driven to somehow manifest them in our everyday reality. Indeed, he is under directions as such by higher dimensional electrical angels. Or something. I suspect that these are the 'Supergods' of the title rather than their comic book counterparts.
Morrison has a chapter devoted to his four-part collaboration with Frank Quitely, Flex Mentallo. And quite rightly. This is where it all comes together and in my opinion is the closest that any modern writer has come to producing a Buddhist Mahayana sutra. Like the Mahayana sutras though, they require some familiarity with the language. This is one thing about most of Morrison's work though. The idea that you can just pick up a comic for an escapist read for a few minutes DOES. NOT. APPLY! They can be hard work, requiring multiple readings and possibly a lot of background reading. Hey, you're having your head rewired after all!
Supergods is in fact a lot easier to read than many of his comics. Although, if you're not already familiar with much that he mentions then you might not find it so. However, he does include a list of suggested further reading at the end of the book which might be useful if this is the case.
My only complaint is that even though it's a hardback, the pages were already starting to come loose by the time I approached the end. The physical construction does not seem to respect the contents. Or maybe the contents just refuse to be bound...
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- Batman by Grant Morrison Omnibus Vol. 1Hardcover£4.72 deliveryGet it as soon as Monday, Feb 10Only 3 left in stock.
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- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 October 2011
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 July 2011
Top reviews from other countries
- Andrew MorrisseyReviewed in the United States on 3 March 2016
Amazing information just purchased 16 hours Audible also
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- KieranReviewed in the United States on 13 February 2014
Good start, wandering middle, rubbish finish
