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

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.;Cover; Praise; Copyright; Contents; I Want to Believe; Part I: Superheros, Reborn; 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: Ancient Mysteries; 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. Cover 1 Praise 2 Copyright 7 Contents 9 I Want to Believe 14 Part I: Superheros, Reborn 18 Chapter 1: Look Up in the Sky 20 Invocation 20 Decline and Fall 21 Chapter 2: Kingdom Come 26 The Hero as Messiah 27 Hollywood Homegrown Heroes 29 Chapter 3: The Cult of the Superhero 32 Part II: Ancient Mysteries 38 Chapter 4: Dawn of the Gods 40 Sumer and Egypt 40 Greece and Rome 43 People of the Book 44 The Norse Sagas 46 Chapter 5: An Empire of the Mind 48 The Fruits of Empire 49 The Radicals 50 Spiritualism 51 Chapter 6: Secret Sects 54 The Rosicrucians 55 Freemasonry 56 Other Christs 58 Chapter 7: The Victorian Occult Explosion 62 The Coming Race: Edward Bulwer-Lytton and Vril 62 Madame Blavatsky and Theosophy 66 The Golden Dawn 69 Chapter 8: Occult Superstars 72 Friedrich Nietzsche 72 Aleister Crowley 74 Harry Houdini 78 Edgar Cayce 79 Part III: Pulp Fiction 80 Chapter 9: Literary Luminaries 82 Edgar Allan Poe 83 Arthur Conan Doyle 84 Jules Verne 86 H.G. Wells 87 Bram Stoker 88 Chapter 10: The Pulps 90 Hard-Boiled 91 Tarzan 92 Gladiators: The Pulp Superheroes 94 Amazing Stories 100 Weird Tales 101 Chapter 11: Raconteurs 104 Edgar Rice Burroughs 104 Sax Rohmer 106 H.P. Lovecraft 108 Robert E. Howard 111 Dion Fortune 113 Jack Parsons: Rocketman 114 Part IV: The New Gods 118 Chapter 12: Famous Funnies 120 High Adventure 122 Dirty Dealings 124 Founding Fathers 125 Chapter 13: Who Will Save Us? 128 Magic Men 129 Mandrake the Magician 131 Doctor Occult 132 Chapter 14: The Messiahs 136 Superman 137 Captain Marval 141 Captain Clones 144 Super-Horus: Hawkman and the Falcon 147 Captain America 148 Chapter 15: The Silver Age Science Heroes 152 The Pornography of Violence 153 Seduction 154 The Code 154 The Silver Age 155 Spider-Man 156 The Silver Surfer 157 Chapter 16: The Golems 160 Batman 163 Dark Knight: The God of Vengeance 165 Bat-Clones 168 Kirby's Rage: The Thing and The Hulk 170 Death Dealers 171 Chapter 17: The Amazons 176 Wonder Woman 177 And Others Just Like Her 181 The Complex Elektra 184 Chapter 18: The Brotherhoods 186 Teen Teams: The Legion and the Titans 189 The Fantastic Four 190 The X-Men 191 Thr Illuminati 194 Chapter 19: Wizards Redux 196 Ibis the Invincible 196 Doctor Fate 197 Doctor Strange 197 Constantine 198 Mad Scientists 200 Part V: Gods and Men 204 Chapter 20: The Visionaries 206 Jack Kirby 207 Steve Englehart 214 Alan Moore 216 Neil Gaiman 219 Grant Morrison 221 Mike Mignola 222 Alex Ross 224 Chapter 21: The Dream Lab: Comics and the Future 230 Chapter 22: Conclusion: The Gods Within Us 234 Spirit in the Sky 238 Bibliography 240 Index 244 About the Author 252 About the Illustrator 254 Backcover 258 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. * Chris Knowles is associate editor and columnist for the five-time Eisner Award-winning Comic Book Artist magazine, as well as a pop culture writer for UK magazine Classic Rock. * Knowles worked with Robert Smigel on The X Presidents graphic novel, based on the popular Saturday Night Live cartoon, and has created designs and artwork for many of the world's top superheroes and fantasy characters. * Features the art of Joe Linsner, creator of the legendary Dawn series, and more recently a collaborator with comics maestro Stan Lee. From the Publisher: 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

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 theenchanted world of esoterica.