Supergods

What Masked Vigilantes, Miraculous Mutants, and a Sun God from Smallville Can Teach Us About Being Human

By: Grant Morrison

Narrated by: John Lee

From one of the most acclaimed and profound writers in the world of comics comes a thrilling and provocative exploration of humankind's great modern myth: the superhero.

The first superhero comic ever published, Action Comics #1 in 1938, introduced the world to something both unprecedented and timeless: Superman, a caped god for the modern age. In a matter of years, the skies of the imaginary world were filled with strange mutants, aliens, and vigilantes: Batman, Wonder Woman, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, and the X-Men - the list of names is as familiar as our own. In less than a century, they've gone from not existing at all to being everywhere we look: on our movie and television screens, in our videogames and dreams. But what are they trying to tell us?

For Grant Morrison, arguably the greatest of contemporary chroniclers of the superworld, these heroes are powerful archetypes whose ongoing, decades-spanning story arcs reflect and predict the course of human existence: Through them we tell the story of ourselves, our troubled history, and our starry aspirations. In this exhilarating work of a lifetime, Morrison draws on art, science, mythology, and his own astonishing journeys through this shadow universe to provide the first true history of the superhero - why they matter, why they will always be with us, and what they tell us about who we are... and what we may yet become.

"Grant Morrison is one of the great comics writers of all time. I wish I didn't have to compete with someone as good as him."
—Stan Lee

©2011 Grant Morrison (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Morrison is ideally suited to the task of chronicling the glorious rise, fall, rise, fall and rise again of comic-book superheroes.... [T]his is as thorough an account of the superhero phenomenon as readers are likely to find, filled with unexpected insights and savvy pop-psych analysis - not to mention the author’s accounts of his own drug-fueled trips to higher planes of existence, which add a colorful element.... [T]hose who dare enter will find the prose equivalent of a Morrison superhero tale: part perplexing, part weird, fully engrossing." ( Kirkus)

"When Mr. Morrison puts care into his close readings, his prose can soar: a philosophical passage in which he breaks ranks with writers he considers to be 'missionaries who attempted to impose their own values and preconceptions on cultures they considered inferior,' and identifies himself with anthropologists who 'surrendered themselves to foreign cultures' and 'weren’t afraid to go native or look foolish,' is among the book’s most engrossing sections." ( The New York Times)

“With a languid and pontificating tone, John Lee narrates Morrison’s long reflection on the history of comic books…From the birth of Superman to the contemporary comic book landscape, Morrison identifies some of the key moments within the world of comics and identifies how the publishers, mainstream culture, and historical events changed the way people think about comics today. Lee’s British accent and cool attitude work in unison to create an image of Morrison that resonates with his public personality.” ( AudioFile)

Average history of comic books

Make no mistake, this book is an autobiography. The fun part is this book reads almost exactly like the comic books Morrison writes: long, adjective-heavy sentences that are meant to describe and enliven a static scene, this time his written words. You get the sense early on, and he never lets up, that Morrison is writing a philosophical history book with the prose techniques that have made him the successful comic book writer he is. Sadly, it can at times weigh the book down with long periods of prose that say little or advance the "story" to the point where I'd forgotten what the book was about. And then I realized that Morrison was telling the story of comic book history by telling us his own story. His slow creative climb into the business, the influences of drugs, music, fashion and British trends on his life and his career. This isn't a book about Superheroes, this is a book about Grant Morrison's life with superheroes. So, if you're a fan of Morrison and his work, pick it up and make it a favorite. If you're looking for an in-depth history and analysis of superheroes and comic book history, you might want to look elsewhere.

From a Comics Fan

Grant Morrison's Supergods is all that the summary describes and more. Unfortunately that is not always good. Being a Superhero/Comics fan I have read a lot of Morrison's work and I find it at best hit and miss. He has done some of the truly brilliant, seminal superhero stories but he has also written a lot of self-indulgent mediocrity. This book isn't entirely that, but parts of it are ultimately unneccessary. When I read the description I did not expect an autobiographical work but a history nd commentary on comics superheroes. Of course I figured on Morrison talking about himself since he has been so long in the field and has been a powerful influence on it, but there are whole chapters here devoted to his inner growth and inner demons that I did not expect nor was particularly interested in. This does not mean that the book is bad: it does deliver on its promised subject, but it has shortcomings. First of all there is the overly lyrical, arabesque language. Especially from the mouth of the narrator, who rfeads most every passage with a hint of sarcasm, it comes across as presumptuous. Also Morrison's insights are a bit miopic and self-serving. He duels entirely too long on his own work and ignores quality comics done by others. He postulates a theory of cycles of violent, materialistic "punk" comics and esoteric, pacifist "hippie" comics and gives plenty of examples that support his theory but ignores examples that don't. He dismisses important, influential creators because they do not fit into his ideas or because he simply does not like them. An example being "Hellboy" a comic that has been quite popular and influential and does not fit his cycles and is not mentioned at all. One can argue that Hellboy is not a superhero comic but then, the author spends several chapters talking about his own "Invisibles" which is even less so. The book works best, in my opinion, when Morrison is talking about the comics before his time as a professional; and later on when he concentrates on the product of others as well as himself. It is also interesting to hear him talk about events behind the scenes in the major comic companies because it goes directly to the influences for some of the comics stories that have appeared throughout the years. It does not work when he spends chapter after chapter prattling on about his drug addled vacations accross the world or his dubious achievements as a "Chaos Magician". All in all not a bad book and for any die-hard fan of Morrison, highly recommended. He takes you on something of a rollercoaster ride through the life of a famous Comics writer and the way is which his work formed. But for those of you looking for a scholarly account of the history of superheroes think on this: Early on in the book, the author mentions another book: "The Ten Cent Plague" by David Hajdu: A simpler prose book that very effectively describes the Golden Age of Comics and how culture and history influenced them. A book with far less personal commentary. Would that Grant Morrison had taken pointers from non-comics celebrity Hajdu.

Great and phenomenal!

This book is an amazing piece of work and great for any comic fan or reader in general. The way it's laid out is wonderful and you just feel immersed in the book.

An Insider's Look at the Comics Industry

Part Memoir and part examination of the growth of the comic book industry this book is comprehensive. Although, one would have to have an interest in Morrison's specific career to get through this. But he's one of comic's best writers so that shouldn't be an issue for most with an interest in this subject.

No Scottish?

Great book, great narrator. Just bummed Morrison didn’t narrate it himself. Just a small qualm though.

Morrison life view

I enjoyed this pop culture dive. If you’re a comic geek it’s a must read.

Wonderfully entertaining and insightful

As someone with an interest in comics and superheroes but by no means an obsessive, this was a brilliant book. The narrator does a great job in capturing the author's voice and the depth of research, witty reviews and interspersed with personal anecdotes which show a lot of humility. It was a fascinating book that engaged me all the way through. I would recommend this to anyone with even a passing interest in superheroes, comics and their links to pop culture.

Memoir about Morrison and his relationship to comics

Fascinating recollection of comics personal to Morrison, an invaluable listen if you’re a fan. Narrator gives a pleasant performance. The only drawback is that the book is, at this point of writing, now over ten years old. And Morrison writes so closely to the pulse of contemporary society that it would be interesting to read his reflections and further insights of the past decade.

A good history of Comic Books but too much bio. .

As a general history of comic books this is a great book and definitely reccomended. It is a great listen for comic geeks and those of a more literary mindset who want some literary criticism and cultural history of comics. However at times it is greatly hindered by Grant Morrison's biographical information. I admit Grant Morrison is a major player in the development of comics especially the modern era (so it is kind of like John Lassetar giving a history of animation). But he goes into some rather non-constructive autobiographical information like story about his alien abduction and there is also segements where he spends too much time talking about his own projects (and his online critics) that he could have used to discuss other topics. But as a whole there is way more to like in this book especially the more philosophical elements about gods and evolution.

Love the book, wish the narrator was better

Morrison's treatise on superheroes is a fascinating and idiosyncratic recounting of their history and impact, illuminating important creators and characters, with a British -- verging on semi-autobiographical -- perspective. As a fan of comics and of Morrison, I found it a great listen, marred only by the evident lack of research by narrator John Lee. From countless mispronounced names to passages with confusing emphasis, he is the only thing off key in this otherwise gripping audiobook.