Our Gods Wear Spandex Read online

  PRAISE FOR OUR GODS WEAR SPANDEX

  “Magnificent layers of information have been sifted through so we can find the real background of our superheroes.”

  —Ron Turner, Publisher, Last Gasp

  “Amazons and avatars abound in Knowles' excellent history of the myth and magic behind comics.”

  —Trina Robbins, author of Eternally Bad and From Girls

  “A lively and compelling history of mankind's eternal need for heroes and gods and the superhuman figures who answer the call.”

  —Clint Marsh, Wonderella.org and author of The Mentalist's Handbook

  “Our Gods Wear Spandex has convinced me that magic, mysticism, and esoteric knowledge shaped superhero comics from the beginning. As much as any interpreter of the comics, Knowles helps us understand superhero tales as theologies for today's young people.”

  —John Shelton Lawrence, author of The Myth of the American Superhero

  “Joseph Campbell, world-renowned mythologist, challenged the people of the twentieth century to create new myths. Christopher Knowles eloquently demonstrates that these new myths were already there, hiding in the humble pages of the comic book. Amazing, insightful, and timely stuff!”

  —Michelle Belanger, author of The Psychic Vampire Codex

  “Christopher Knowles' Our Gods Wear Spandex is absolutely delicious—as fun and colorful as its title would suggest. It is not, however, just another litany of comic book trivia served to quell the adolescent appetites of basement-dwelling bachelors. It is a profound examination of what is in essence modern mythology—the archetypal characters, fears, hopes, and dreams that battle for truth, justice, and enlightenment in each of us. Our Gods do where spandex, and Knowles has positioned himself as the Joseph Campbell of comic books!”

  —Lon Milo DuQuette, author of The Magick of Aleister Crowley

  “From the ghettos of Prague to the Halls of Valhalla to the Fortress of Solitude and the aisles of Comic-Con, Our Gods Wear Spandex is the first book to fully explain this meta-history of comics. And, finally, Hawkgirl, Black Canary, Phantom Lady, Scarlet Witch, and She-Hulk get well-deserved attention. A MUST READ!”

  —Varla Ventura, author of Sheroes: Bold, Brash (and Absolutely Unabashed) Superwomen

  “I cannot imagine my own childhood without the comforting presence of comic book superheroes. And Christopher Knowles explains why. Carefully probing the genre's mythological, literary, and spiritual origins, Knowles helps us understand what these colorful characters mean and why they have assumed such an essential place in the lives of so many. Our Gods Wear Spandex is more than just a fan's appreciation of superheroes. The “secret history” presented here is a reflection on the eternal human compulsion to transcend the limits of body, mind, and mundane existence. This is an important contribution to the growing scholarship on comic book heroes and their rightful place in cultural history.”

  —Bradford W. Wright, author of Comic Book Nation: The Transformation of Youth Culture in America.

  “Our Gods Wear Spandex belongs on every college student's bookshelf, right next to the copy of the Joseph Campbell book he or she bought and pretended to read. The comic book protagonist has long been overlooked as the contemporary American hero figure. Knowles has written the anthropological companion to Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics.”

  —Bucky Sinister, author of All Blacked Out and Nowhere to Go and King of the Roadkills

  First published in 2007 by

  Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC

  With offices at:

  500 Third Street, Suite 230

  San Francisco, CA 94107

  www.redwheelweiser.com

  Copyright © 2007 by Christopher Knowles.

  Illustrations copyright © 2007 by Joseph Michael Linsner.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC. Reviewers may quote brief passages.

  ISBN-10: 1-57863-406-7

  ISBN-13: 978-1-57863-406-4

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Knowles, Christopher, 1966-

  Our gods wear Spandex : the secret history of comic book heroes / Christopher Knowles.

  p. cm.

  Includes bibliographical references.

  ISBN 1-57863-406-7 (alk. paper)

  1. Comic books, strips, etc.--History and criticism. 2. Heroes in literature.

  3. Myth in literature. 4. Heroes. I. Title.

  PN6714.K56 2007

  741.5'352--dc22

  2007020350

  Cover and text design by Roland “Pete” Friedrich, Charette Communication Design.

  Typeset in Scala, Meanwhile, and Helvetica.

  Cover illustration © 2007 Joseph Michael Linsner.

  Printed in Canada

  TCP

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences--Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials Z39.48-1992 (R1997).

  www.redwheelweiser.com

  www.redwheelweiser.com/newsletter

  Acknowledgments

  First and foremost, I need to acknowledge the wisdom and genius of my personal Bodhisattva, Joseph Michael Linsner. This project took shape in a series of freewheeling phone chats while we were both scribbling our lives away, and it was Joe's mystical listening powers that allowed these ideas and concepts to come to fruition.

  Next, I need to acknowledge the vision, hard work, and nurturing of Brenda Knight, whose rare intuitive gifts helped bring this project to life. A special thanks to everyone at Red Wheel/Weiser for their hard work and forbearance: Jan Johnson, Bonni Hamilton, Jordan Overby, Caroline Pincus, Amber Guetebier, Donna Linden, Rachel Leach, Meg Dunkerley, and Amy Grzybinski.

  Then I'd like to thank the men who help keep me out of the poorhouse: my mentor Chris Fondacaro, the man who taught me that “good enough” is never good enough. The IF was working overtime on this one, sir! And to Tom Marvelli, a consummate professional, who lives up to his name in more ways than one. If Chris and Tom ran the world, we wouldn't need superheroes.

  Then a round and a bag of crisps to my main man Scott Rowley, an editor most writers would swim the Atlantic to work for. A hearty cheers to Ian Fortnam as well. Eternal gratitude to Jon B. Cooke, the most talented man I've ever known, and to John Morrow, who ultimately is to blame for me getting started in the writing racket. Special thanks to Jim McLauchlin and especially Stan the Man, who first taught me the love of language. Excelsior!

  And eternal love and gratitude to my wife, Vicky, for saving my life more times than I can count. And extra love and hugs to the Rooster, Jibbles, and Extra Ponies.

  CONTENTS

  I Want to Believe

  Part I: Superheroes, 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
r />   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: Pulp Fiction

  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: The New Gods

  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: Gods and Men

  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

  I WANT TO BELIEVE

  One of the great American innovations of the twentieth century—besides comic books and superheroes—is the sanctity of childhood. Countless billions are spent making modern childhood a 24/7 Disneyland of indulgence and delight. One could argue that this myth of childhood is the only thing still held sacred in our dehumanized, commercialized society.

  Me, I didn't have much of a childhood. Even by 70s standards, it was pretty awful. America's child worship was going through a particularly Calvinist phase in those days of Rosemary's Baby and The Exorcist, and there were times when my world seemed like a live-action adaptation of Lord of the Flies. And almost from the moment of my birth I was in and out of the hospital with chronic pneumonia and bronchitis.

  Back then, there wasn't much on TV, no video games to speak of, and the less said about 70s toys the better. What did I have to pass the long hours spent convalescing alone? Well, I had comic books. Comics then were cheap and disposable. If your mom gave you a quarter for the afternoon you could either buy a can of soda or a comic book. I usually opted for the latter. I actually taught myself to read at the tender age of three, finally getting the hang of it with an old Superboy comic. In my first few years of elementary school I read The Children's Bible, The Children's Dictionary and the World Book Encyclopedia in their entirety. But it was the lowly comic book that really taught me the love of reading.

  Another constant in my life was religion. On any given weekend, I could be found attending the Jewish temple where my mother worked as an organist on Friday night, Catholic mass with my friends on Saturday night, and sitting through Methodist marathons with my family on Sundays. But as much as I loved the sacred ambience of these holy places, it was the heroes of the comics and not the Bible where I learned morality and fair play and compassion and decency. It was mythic heroes like The Mighty Thor, Doctor Strange, and Captain America that most inspired me and instilled in me that vital sense of wonder.

  I believe that our lives are a rich and complex tapestry, woven together by a web of coincidence. I even believe that trauma can sometimes be beneficial if we use it to our advantage. For instance, a particularly horrible stint in the hospital shortly before I turned five effectively ended my childhood and put me into a perpetual state of hyper-awareness and agitation thereafter. But it was at this time that I saw something in one of my uncle's comic books (Witching Hour #12, to be precise) that changed my life forever.

  That something was a full-page ad announcing the arrival of comics genius Jack Kirby to DC Comics in 1971. Kirby had created a trinity of titles based on a race of super-beings that he called “The New Gods.” Under a banner screaming “THE MAGIC OF KIRBY!” were the covers of the three new comics: The New Gods, The Forever People, and Mister Miracle. My five-year-old brain was entranced by the unabashedly religious character of these new heroes. I wouldn't read any of these books until years later, but that one page in that one comic began a lifelong obsession with the man who is largely responsible for dreaming up the gods and demons that made Marvel Comics the powerhouse it is today.

  I still proudly remember buying my first Jack Kirby comic book (Kamandi #30, “UFO: The Wildest Trip Ever!”), and I am constantly amazed at how many occult, mythological, and esoteric ideas he introduced to young readers like myself. Today, it seems like these new gods came into my life just when I needed them most.

  This book will explain how superheroes have come to fill the role in our modern society that the gods and demigods provided to the ancients. It will catalog the movements and magicians who played a crucial part in the development of social phenomena like the Batman or X-Men films, or of TV shows like Heroes or Smallville. But I want to dedicate this book to the man who more than any other believed in our new gods and has inspired generations of other creators and fans to reach beyond the limitations and pitfalls of human existence. If we as a race ever do achieve our apotheosis, it will be in no small part thanks to the vision and inspiration of Mr. Kirby.

  This one's for you, Jack.

  CHAPTER 1

  LOOK, UP IN THE SKY

  INVOCATION

  Suddenly, superheroes are everywhere. Superman, Batman, and the X-Men rule the box office, with the Spider Man movies alone earning almost $2.5 billion dollars worldwide. Superhero-themed shows like Heroes, The 4400, Smallville, and Kyle XY are major cult hits on TV. All across the world, superheroes can be seen on t-shirts, lunch boxes, backpacks, and bedclothes. The superhero industry is very big business indeed, in many ways bigger than ever.

  The modern superhero came to life in the midst of the Great Depression and at the dawn of the Second World War. Americans were afraid, and superheroes provided
a means of comfort and escape. Superman, the first of the great superheroes, didn't fight robots or space aliens in his early adventures; he fought the villains that people were really worried about at the time: gangsters, corrupt politicians, fascists, and war profiteers. After Pearl Harbor, superheroes became the mascots of the war effort. Comic books enjoyed circulations in the millions during the war, and were essential reading material for G.I.s overseas.

  The story is as old as time; we only call on our gods when we need them. When life is easy, we ignore them. The prophetic books of the Bible are full of wild-eyed visionaries wandering in from the desert and shouting down the people for neglecting Jehovah when the granaries were full. Likewise, we can chart the fortunes of comic-book heroes in American culture by the rise and fall of public confidence and sense of well-being.

  The comics boom brought on by Batmania in the late 1980s, for instance, reflected a feeling of genuine terror in urban America fueled by the crack epidemic and the explosion of gang violence that accompanied it. Comic-book creators responded to headlines in the New York Post and other crime-driven tabloids and set their four-color vigilantes to work against drug gangs, smugglers, and assorted other street thugs. In the happy-go-lucky Clinton years, however, the popularity of superheroes dropped to its lowest ebb. That would all change on September 11, 2001.

  There was a brief moment in time after the World Trade Center towers came crashing down when the world seemed as clear and unambiguous as a superhero comic. Once again, there were good guys and bad guys, villains and victims. The events of 9/11 tapped into a deep-seated need for something or someone to save the civilized world from a faceless, nameless evil that had the power to wreak instant havoc—a kind of destruction previously seen only in comic books or comic-book inspired movies. To fight these invisible demons, we needed gods. And indeed, once again, the comic-book industry rebounded—supplying a confused and terror-driven nation with superheroes who would put things to right.