Supergods by Grant Morrison (2011|Random House|EPUB) {DAKU RG|VTS}

Title: Supergods - What Masked Vigilantes, Miraculous Mutants, And A Sun God From Smallville Can Teach Us About Being Human
Author: Grant Morrison
Category: Non-Fiction
Publication Date: July 2011
Publication Details: Supergods LTD, under Spiegel & Grau (a division of Random House Inc.)
ISBN: Hardcover - 978-1-4000-6912-5
Digital - 978-0-679-60346-7

"Supergods" is a terrific and insightful exploration of the history of comics as well as a travelogue of personal growth and reflections by one of the greatest of all modern comics writers, Grant Morrison. Morrison starts from the beginning of the Golden Age (with the publication of Action Comics) and takes us right up to the current era, with personal anecdotes, opinions, and plenty of well-researched information and analysis along the way. All major comics (especially those of Marvel and DC) are examined in detail, as well as their authors and their influence and ideas, and eventually Morrison looks at his own work with the same droll and blunt fascination. At times humorous, shocking, serious, and always intelligent - if you are fan of the industry or simply wish to know more about comics in general, this book is a can't miss, must read work that holds up well to intense scrutiny.



Some small samples of reviews, first the New York Times:
'Mr. Morrison does not show up as a character in his own book until Page 83; this is jarring at first, then increasingly comforting as he reveals himself to be a vulnerable Virgil in the underworld of geek culture. Raised by his parents to follow ΓÇ£nonviolent principles,ΓÇ¥ Mr. Morrison spurns the Boy Scouts as a ΓÇ£paramilitary organization.ΓÇ¥ His mother attends astronomy classes with him and takes him to see ΓÇ£2001: A Space Odyssey.ΓÇ¥

His world is shattered when his parents separate, and he channels his adolescent alienation and unfulfilled libido into rudimentary comics characters that are thinly veiled analogues of his thwarted self, a strategy that will serve him well in his career.'

The Washington Post:
'The early chapters of ΓÇ£SupergodsΓÇ¥ are lovingly crafted odes to the Golden and Silver ages of comics. Take MorrisonΓÇÖs fascinating discussion of the diametrically opposed heroes of the DC Comics universe: Superman and Batman. OneΓÇÖs the ur-human, an immortal sun god. The otherΓÇÖs a creature of the night, a mortal man turned revenge machine. The small-town hero and the big-city outlaw: Morrison nails it when he calls Superman the Beatles and Batman the Stones.'

The Guardian:
'Part history of comics, part memoir, part slightly loopy philosophical work, Supergods is an unusual book. It is also a big book: big on ideas, big on ambition, perhaps too big in terms of length. Even my nearly bottomless interest in, and affection for, comics and those who write and draw them began to ebb a little over nearly 500 pages. That's not to suggest that big is necessarily bad, it's just that it takes a certain amount of commitment to pick this up in the first place, and I suspect that the average reader ΓÇô those not already hooked on comics or aware that Grant Morrison is one of the finest writers, if not the finest writer, working in comics today ΓÇô will find it too much of an ask.

That would be a tremendous shame, because 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 ΓÇô call 'em what you will ΓÇô to be published in the past 30 years.'

The book is in EPUB format, with the cover image and author's photo insert provided. Please seed, and enjoy! :-)