Arkham asylum and doom patrol, famously deconstructed the. San francisco chronicle a personal and erudite history of the medium by one of its most intelligent and articulate practitioners. A groundbreaking psychohistoric mapping of the superhero as a cultural organism. Supergods is your opportunity to join one of the great figures of modern comics on a mindbending journey into the world of the superheroes. Supergods, like its author, celebrated comic book writer grant morrison, is a complicated book. What masked vigilantes, miraculous mutants, and a sun god from smallville can teach us about being human hardcover hardcover january 1, 1994 by aa author. August 10, 2011 comic book writer grant morrison offers up a treat of a treatise on what superheroes.
Theres that thing we say about great professors of history. In 2012 morrison was awarded an mbe for services to. Rolling stone morrison writes with such flair, humor and insight that supergods may be the seasons most winning exploration of pop culture and the creative process. Nor is it some druginduced phantasmagoria from the 60s or 70s. Grant morrison, the comic book writer and author of supergods, rubbed the magic lantern of my memories and reignited my lifelong love affair with comic books.
Grant morrison, mbe born 31 january 1960 is a scottish writer, best known for the complex use of metafiction within his stories. Supergods by grant morrison it may not be the ten commandments, but as a set of moral guidelines for the secular children of an age of reason, the supermen of america creed was a start. Supergods, rather, is a sleekly designed tome delivered to us from the future. He is currently writing batman and the multiversity for dc comics.
Aug 19, 2011 but when he was born in 1960, morrison writes, he joined the continuity, and supergods turns in its second half from fictional superheroes to the reallife superhero grant morrison. From what seem to be almost arbitrary and even laughable often laughable beginnings, the rise of superheroes in comics speaks deeply of the politics and belief systems of our times. But supergods isnt a book that appeals strictly to fanboys. Our world in the age of the superhero by morrison, grant isbn. Grant morrison author grant morrison is one of the most popular and acclaimed contemporary writers of any genre. Ive had mixed reactions to grant morrison over the years. Supergods by grant morrison overdrive rakuten overdrive. What masked vigilantes, miraculous mutants, and a sun god from smallville can teach us about being human by grant morrison 2011, hardcover at the best online prices at ebay. The main message i took away from supergods is that grant morrison needed an editor on this book.
Grant morrison author, john lee narrator, audible studios publisher try audible free. Supergods, by grant morrison, is an impressionistic overview of comic heroes and an attempt to rediscover the magical essence that inspired nearly 75 years worth of superhero storytelling. Ive just begun reading grant morrisons super gods and wanted to share the introduction with any nonreaders or nonbelievers. Supergods what masked vigilantes, miraculous mutants, and a sun god from smallville can teach us about being human by grant morrison. Aug 14, 2011 comic books secret identity revealed in supergods bounding tall buildings but grounded in the times, superheroes provide a snapshot of human anxiety and aspiration. Grant morrison is among a small handful of fiction writers who have most inspired and informed the style of nonfiction writing that i do in my column hero worship. After a few attempts at marvel uk, he started writing zenith for britains 2000 ad magazine. Dec 20, 2011 grant morrison on the death of comics. Supergods by grant morrison, 97808129884, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. From batman to the flash to dr manhattan, supergods looks at every key character, but also takes in unique national strips, and the strange spinoffs and forgotten curios. Arkham asylum, the bestselling original graphic novel of all time. His long list of credits as a comicbook writer include jla, new xmen, seven soldiers, animal man, doom patrol, the invisibles, we3, the filth, and batman.
Hes also an awardwinning playwright and screenwriter. Sep 02, 20 ive just begun reading grant morrison s supergods and wanted to share the introduction with any nonreaders or nonbelievers. Grant morrison, mbe born 31 january 1960 is a scottish comic book writer and playwright. One of the most interesting and best comics writers, grant morrison, has produced a chronicle of comics from their inception in the late 30s to the present day, along the way talking about superheroes and their effect on our culture as well as providing a look into his own turbulent life from quiet teen to superstar writer. What masked vigilantes, miraculous mutants, and a sun god from smallville can teach us about being human, grant morrison sets about unpacking what comic book heroes mean to our. In addition to being a top notch writer, grant morrison is incredibly through. Grant morrison as comic book writer and 70 years of the superhero genre. Being a superherocomics fan i have read a lot of morrisons work and i find it at best hit and miss. He is known for his nonlinear narratives and countercultural leanings in his runs on titles including, but not limited to, dc comics s animal man, doom patrol, batman, jla, action comics, allstar superman, green lantern, the flash, vertigo s the invisibles, and fleetway s 2000 ad. There are dozens, perhaps a hundred pages in the book that analyze key superhero comic book classics watchmen, the dark knight returns, various golden age and silver age classics, so if you haven.
Morrison saw american comics and their heroes as a means of escapse and as a means of stimulating the imagination. And of those fiction writers, he and neil gaiman are the two comic book writers who forever altered the way i looked at superheroes and comics. Jul 01, 2011 supergods makes one point abundantly clear. Jonathan rosss first comic book, turf, will be published in september by titan books. Grant morrison grant morrison is one of comics greatest innovators. Grant morrison s supergods is all that the summary describes and more. This is no primitively rendered golden age superman. What masked vigilantes, miraculous mutants, and a sun god from smallville can teach us about being human is part history of comics, part grant morrisons autobiography, and part grant morrisons opinions on popular comics. When writers brought the superhero gods down to earth and gritty real life as in watchmen, morrison went back to basics. The second half of this engrossing book covers his own comics career while also probing his personal psyche.
Aug 01, 2011 beginning with schuster and seigels adolescent creation of superman in 1938, grant morrison charts the history of the superheroes to their modern, multiplex incarnations. Grant morrison is one of the best comic book writers to have ever held a pen, so naturally i was curious to read his history of the american comics industry. I decided i would plant my flag in the world of dreams, automatic writing, visions and magic. Thats the thrusting thesis of celebrated comics writer grant morrison s debut book, supergods, out tuesday stateside. Superman was conceived as a symbol of strength and individualism for the depressionera middle classperhaps a more compelling portrait of the era than much literature of the time. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. His long list of credits as a comic book writer include jla, new xmen, seven soldiers, animal man, doom patrol, the invisibles, we3, the filth, and batman.
Years after syfy was developing it, usa network has given a straighttoseries order to a brave. In 2011, his experience and insight into the myths and traditions of comics resulted in the release of the new york times bestseller book, supergods, a groundbreaking psychohistoric mapping of the superhero as a cultural organism. Arkham asylum, jla, new xmen, seven soldiers, animal man, doom patrol, the invisibles, we3, and the filth. What masked vigilantes, miraculous mutants, and a sun god from smallville can teach us about being human is part history of comics, part grant morrison s autobiography, and part grant morrison s opinions on popular comics. Morrison places the figures we all know superman, spiderman, the xmen in a broad cultural context, invoking art. Morrison writes with such flair, humor and insight that supergods may be the seasons most winning exploration of pop culture and the creative process. Supergods by grant morrison penguin books australia. Comic books secret identity revealed in supergods bounding tall buildings but grounded in the times, superheroes provide a snapshot of human anxiety and aspiration. Divided into four sections based on the ages of comics golden, silver, dark, and a final he simply terms the renaissance, there is a loose structure to supergods that provides some sense of continuity and forward momentum. Jul 19, 2011 nprs summer high fliers grant morrison is one of the worlds 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. What masked vigilantes, miraculous mutants, and a sun god from smallville can teach us about being human, grant morrison sets about unpacking what comicbook heroes mean to our. What masked vigilantes, miraculous mutants, and a sun god from smallville can teach us about being human grant morrison random house publishing group, jul 19, 2011 social science 480 pages. Like his comics, morrisons prose is swift yet powerful, and its the broader strokes of the supergods narrative that resonate most. The comics writer grant morrison has long been the cerebral enfant terrible of the superhero world.
Rarely operating as agents of actual literature, the superheroes are instead portrayed as foils, projections, and countercultural symbolsideas, the things that stand for things. With a stroke of lightning, the spark of divine inspiration ignited cheap. His long list of credits as a comic book writer include jla, new xmen, seven soldiers. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. According to supergods, superman comics say less about superman than they do about clark kent. In supergods, grant morrison lovingly dissects dogooders and their derringdo. Jun 26, 2012 praise seventy years of superhero history with erudite analysis and autobiography thrown inan account of what its like to plunge your brain into these fictional universes for decades, refusing to come up for air.
He helped me recall being a young boy and placing a dime and two pennies into a vending machine to fetch the latest issue of superman. He is known for his nonlinear narratives and countercultural leanings in his runs on titles including, but not limited to, dc comics s animal man, doom patrol, batman, jla, action comics, allstar superman, green lantern, the flash, vertigo s. Being a superherocomics fan i have read a lot of morrison s work and i find it at best hit and miss. See all books authored by grant morrison, including supergods, and batman. Click download or read online button to get supergods book now. Grant morrison books list of books by author grant morrison. Beginning with schuster and seigels adolescent creation of superman in 1938, grant morrison charts the history of the superheroes to their modern, multiplex incarnations. Grant morrison is one of the most popular and acclaimed contemporary writers of any genre. Like pretty much every superhero comic by englishscottishirish writers during the eighties, it was both. Otherwise, my book agent is keen for me to write some fiction so ill probably try that as soon as ive wrapped up the monthly comic book work early next year. Grant morrisons supergods is all that the summary describes and more.
Its a very short book, only 48 pages long, but one of the best superhero comics ever, and one of the first examples of multicultural. Jun 26, 2012 morrison writes with such flair, humor and insight that supergods may be the seasons most winning exploration of pop culture and the creative process. He has done some of the truly brilliant, seminal superhero stories but he has also written a lot of selfindulgent mediocrity. Morrison has been one of the most successful and innovative comic book writers of the last 2 decades, but what makes this book so much fun is that morrison is also so much morea jetsetting rock star, experimental drug user, chaos magician, alien communicator, all in the service of reminding all of us that we created super heroes to remind. What masked vigilantes, miraculous mutants, and a sun god from smallville can teach us about being human by grant morrison. Troy, from deconstructing comics july 16, 2012 ad, provided some interesting insights into grant morrisons book supergods what masked vigilantes, miraculous mutants, and a sun god from smallville can teach us about being human troy notes that, grant morrison is a decisive subject in comics. Supergods is partly a history and critical analysis of the superhero concept and partly grant morrison s autobiography as an artist. What masked vigilantes, miraculous mutants, and a sun god from smallville can teach us about being human. The book succeeds at being a great history of comic books over the past century, but its an even more convincing exploration of humankind as a whole. In supergods, grant morrison probes superhero myths wired.
Grant morrison allstar superman, new xmen, batman and son, etc was already one of my all time favorite comic book scribes among the likes of frank miller, neil gaiman, and alan moore, but now hes also one of my favorite authors. Ive read books on the history of super heroes before. He is known for his nonlinear narratives and countercultural leanings in his runs on titles including, but not limited to, dc comics s animal man, doom patrol, batman, jla, action comics, allstar superman, green lantern, the flash, vertigo s the. Arkham asylum a serious house on serious earth, and more on. His first published comic book work was gideon stargrave in 1978.