Comic Book Journal

In the new book “Our Gods Wear Spandex: The Secret History of Comic Book Heroes,” author Christopher Knowles examines the enormous influence religious, occult, magical beliefs and ancient mythology had on the creation of legendary characters like Superman, Batman, Spider-Man and Wolverine. Are superheroes becoming a new religion? What is the relationship between superheroes and the Occult? What influences shaped the modern superhero? Those questions and many others are explored in this 256 page novel. Knowles, a veteran of the comic book industry bases his argument on several paintings and compares them with comic book artwork. My question is why does it matter? The fact is, there are no original stories. Every major work of fiction has borrowed from a work previously. An example in literature is the story of Noah and the flood in the Bible. Literary scholars have traced its possible roots to the epic of Gilgamesh, which involves a great flood destroying civilization also. The majority of adventure fiction borrows from the Illiad and the Odyssey. The word odyssey itself is defined as a “long, adventurous wandering.” Why the parallels to the comic book universe could be interesting, I believe the link to another other work of fiction or mythology, unless explicitly stated by the character or creator is sheer coincidence. Did Siegel borrow elements of Superman from Hercules? Probably. Did he put elements of renaissance painting in his design when visualizing the character? More than likely. So what’s the point? There are no original creations, we always carry some memory of great work we’ve encountered previously when we create something new. We pull these experiences from our unconscious mind from time to time. Writers and artists draw upon past experiences and influences all the time. While this book could be interesting for trivia purposes I don’t think it’s shocking or even a new concept. Some food for thought, I’ve posted a picture of some comic art from the book, then the Last Supper. Is one copied from another? You decide. For more details on the relationship between comic books and literature you may want to check out my samplings of classics illustrated at http://www.comicbookjournal.net/the-value-of-classics-illustrated/.