019: Interview With Christopher Knowles
Chris and Michelle talk with Christopher Knowles, author of Our Gods Wear Spandex, about the place of the Surperhero in modern culture and modern spirituality.
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.
Promo: Playing for Keeps by Mur Lafferty
November 21st, 2007 at 3:38 pm
Hero comes from Heru? Um, no, I don’t think so. Doesn’t it come from Greek, heroes, “sung of?” And the god-name Set into “set” as in “sunset?” Again, no.
The guy has some great ideas, but I think he needs an editor on some of his associational logic.
December 12th, 2007 at 8:35 am
Interesting… have spawned some interesting thoughts. Thank you! That is what I love most about you guys! The new ways of twisting the way we look at life
December 12th, 2007 at 9:32 am
Thanks for another super-awesome podcast!