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

Outdated, with both factual inaccuracies and typos that make reading painful. The conclusions drawn are obvious at best, and at their worst erroneous. Knowles summary of events lacks any depth, and seems to rely solely on a salacious interpretation of history rather than anything else. Absolutely not worth your time reading.

The histories of American comic book heroes and who defined them considers both the social and mythical impact and influences on these heroes, arguing that fantastic characters aren't just entertainment, but deities for modern technological society. From the occult origins of such characters to the attraction magic and the occult has held over all, this analysis earns a place not only on the shelves of New Age libraries, but for any collection strong in social issues, myths, and the needs of modern society.

This book is like a Transformer - MUCH more than meets the eye. First impressions from the title and cover art would lead you to believe it is some sort of parody of comic superheros. Flip thru the pages in a bookstore and you'll note lots of white space, frequent large-text headings each followd by a scant few paragraphs of text, and campy full-page black-and-white full-body character art studies. The overall impression from a cursory thirty-second glance at this book is one of a fluff piece. Then you actually read the Knowles' words and on every page you learn something new and interesting... usually VERY interesting indeed. Between the pages, you start to realize that these seemingly random facts are starting to connect some dots you never even knew existed. By the end of the book, you realize that Knowles is addressing what is truly the most important subject of all - humanity's place in the universe itself. His vantage point is a unique intersection of the myths of yore, the religions of today, and the comic books of yesterday. In a stunning riff on the "theory of relativity", he shows that myths, religions, comic books, superheros and saviors are all manifestations of the exact same thing - the deepest yearnings of the human soul. As a fifty-something man who grew up on Silver Age comics and then let them drop from sight upon reaching college age, Knowles' book has been invaluable to me in providing a starting point on where to reenter the world of modern comic books and having a much greater appreciation of why I should. Knowles is very opinionated, stating what (and especially who) he thinks is right and wrong with comic books today. No problem - I can tell I agree with both his logic and his emotions. Thanks, Chris, for a great re-introduction into a world that truly matters and that I never should have left behind.

This is a great book for anyone interested in comic book mythology! There are some very interesting links between classic mythology, and comic books. It also has lots of great illustrations from Joseph Michael Linsner throughout. Great stuff!

Our Gods Wear Spandex is exactly the kind of book I've been looking for. It connects the dots between two of my favorite things--comic books and the occult. Knowles is an expert in his field, and Joe Linsner's drawings are clever and do much to enhance the text. Once I picked this book up I couldn't put it down.

Well documented & pleasant reading for all comics fan, especially those like me who stopped reading them around 1994. Some "behind the scene" heroes concept came as a surprise ! Joe Linsner's illustrations are by the way hilarious. You'll realize how much comics reading influenced you...and how much comics were influenced by past events... may put souvenirs in perspective... Thanks Christopher.