Our Gods Wear Spandex - The Secret History of Comic Book Heroes

Description

From occult underground to superhero! Was Superman's arch nemesis Lex Luthor based on Aleister Crowley? Can Captain Marvel be linked to the Sun gods on antiquity? In Our Gods Wear Spandex, Christopher Knowles answers these questions and brings to light many other intriguing links between superheroes and the enchanted world of estoerica. Occult students and comic book fans alike will discover countless fascinating connections, from little known facts such as that DC Comics editor Julius Schwartz started his career as H.P. Lovecraft's agent, to the tantalizingly extensive influence of Madame Blavatsky's Theosophy on the birth of comics, to the mystic roots of Superman. The book also traces the rise of the comic superheroes and how they relate to several cultural trends in the late 19th century, specifically the occult explosion in Western Europe and America. Knowles reveals the four basic superhero archetypes: the Messiah, the Golem, the Amazon, and the Brotherhood, and shows how the occult Bohemian underground of the early 20th century provided the inspiration for the modern comic book hero. With the popularity of occult comics writers like Invisibles' creator Grant Morrison and V for Vendetta creator Alan Moore, the vast ComiCon audience is poised for someone to seriously introduce them to the esoteric mysteries. Chris Knowles is doing just that in this epic book. Chapters include: Ancient of Days, Ascended Masters, God and Gangsters, Mad Scientists and Modern Sorcerers, and many more. From the ghettos of Prague to the halls of Valhalla to the Fortress of Solitude and the aisles of BEA and ComiCon, this is the first book to show the inextricable link between superheroes and the enchanted world of esoterica. Praise Title Page Copyright Acknowledgments Contents I Want To Believe Part I Chapter 1: Look, Up In The Sky Invocation Decline And Fall Chapter 2: Kingdom Come The Hero As Messiah Hollywood Homegrown Heroes Chapter 3: The Cult Of The Superhero Part II Chapter 4: Dawn Of The Gods Sumer And Egypt Greece And Rome People Of The Book The Norse Sagas Chapter 5: An Empire Of The Mind The Fruits Of Empire The Radicals Spiritualism Chapter 6: Secret Sects The Rosicrucians Freemasonry Other Christs Chapter 7: The Victorian Occult Explosion The Coming Race: Edward Bulwer-Lytton And Vril Madame Blavatsky And Theosophy The Golden Dawn Chapter 8: Occult Superstars Friedrich Nietzsche Aleister Crowley Harry Houdini Edgar Cayce Part III Chapter 9: Literary Luminaries Edgar Allan Poe Arthur Conan Doyle Jules Verne H. G. Wells Bram Stoker Chapter 10: The Pulps Hard-Boiled Tarzan Gladiators: The Pulp Superheroes Amazing Stories Weird Tales Chapter 11: Raconteurs Edgar Rice Burroughs Sax Rohmer H. P. Lovecraft Robert E. Howard Dion Fortune Jack Parsons: Rocketman Part IV Chapter 12: Famous Funnies High Adventure Dirty Dealings Founding Fathers Chapter 13: Who Will Save Us? Magic Men Mandrake The Magician Doctor Occult Chapter 14: The Messiahs Superman Captain Marvel Captain Clones Super-Horus: Hawkman And The Falcon Captain America Chapter 15: The Silver Age Science Heroes The Pornography Of Violence Seduction The Code The Silver Age Spider-Man The Silver Surfer Chapter 16: The Golems Batman Dark Knight: The God Of Vengeance Bat-Clones Kirby'S Rage: The Thing And The Hulk Death Dealers Chapter 17: The Amazons Wonder Woman And Others Just Like Her The Complex Elektra Chapter 18: The Brotherhoods Teen Teams: The Legion And The Titans The Fantastic Four The X-Men The Illuminati Chapter 19: Wizards Redux Ibis The Invincible Doctor Fate Doctor Strange Constantine Mad Scientists Part V Chapter 20: The Visionaries Jack Kirby Steve Englehart Alan Moore Neil Gaiman Grant Morrison Mike Mignola Alex Ross Chapter 21: The Dream Lab: Comics And The Future Chapter 22: Conclusion: The Gods Within Us Spirit In The Sky Bibliography Index About The Author About The Illustrator To Our Reader