An Update On My Reading of Super Gods by Grant Morrison

Normally I wait until the end of a book to give a review, but I had to give a quick update because of how amazing this book is. I am only 100 pages into the book, and I know that I will reread it. In the foreword Morrison explains that growing up, his world was one threatened by nuclear holocaust and war. Because of this, the comic book pages of super heroes was an inviting escape for him. The early chapters have been about the beginning of super hero comics (the “Golden Age”), and their archetypal places in our history.

Morrison starts the first chapter by elaborating on how Superman put the “action” in Action Comics. He dissects the very first cover (the iconic image of Superman smashing a green car, as men scurry away) and explains that when you saw it, it was something new, exciting and that you couldn’t help but want to know what was going on inside. Then he turns around and talks about Superman’s dark other half: Batman.

Batman’s first appearance was in Detective Comics (#27). Just as Superman lived up to the name of Action Comics, Batman embodied the word detective. Morrison points out how The Dark Knight is drawn as a more static character: perching on gargoyles or studying clues. Superman’s power came from the yellow sun and Batman thrived in the shadows.

The following chapters go over the other early Golden Age characters: Captain Marvel, Wonder Woman, Flash and Green Lantern. He again discusses where the ideas for the characters came from, as well as the mind-set of the country that embraced them so quickly. I feel like these are things that even an a casual comic book fan would enjoy, but it is kind of hard for me to determine, I’m far from a casual fan.