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Supergods: Our World in the Age of the Superhero
Supergods: Our World in the Age of the Superhero
Grant Morrison | 2012 | Philosophy, Psychology & Social Sciences
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Great history of the comic book superhero (1 more)
Interesting insights and analysis
Magical self autobiographical history of the superhero.
If you're a fan of Grant Morrison'writing or just interested in the history of superheroes then this is a fascinating read. Be warned it gets into some pretty weird territory in terms of the autobiographical side of things, delving into the world of psychedelic chaos magic - take it with a pinch of salt if you will, or dismiss it as the writings of a deranged mad man, but you can't dismiss Morrison's influence on the comic book scene (he's definitely one of the triumvirate of superstars, along side Alan Moore and Neil Gaimen, whose work deserves much more credit than he gets in the mainstream imo) - it's really interesting to know the headspace he was in when coming up with a lot of his ground breaking ideas. Interesting for anyone interested in the creative process.
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) in Movies

Mar 2, 2018 (Updated Mar 2, 2018)  
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)
2003 | Action, Sci-Fi
A career that spanned over forty-five years, included nearly seventy movies, and featured the same accent every single time came to an end with this, Sean Connery's final on-screen appearance, in a would-be blockbuster based on Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill's idiosyncratic comic series. The original heroes of pulp fiction are assembled to battle a mysterious villain with plans for world domination.

Connery had one of his massive spats with the director and virtually disowned the movie, but it's not really as bad as all that. It's not nearly as subtle, dark or clever as the comic book, obviously, and there's a horrendous moment in the second act where the whole thing grinds to a halt, but the effects are never less than competent, and the art direction is good. In the Marvel age of movies this is not without interest, making clear as it does the debt comic book heroes owe to the characters of an earlier age. Inevitably a bit of a disappointment, but not even the worst superhero movie of 2003.
  
Batman the Killing Joke
Batman the Killing Joke
Brian Bolland, Alan Moore | 2008 | Fiction & Poetry
6
7.4 (10 Ratings)
Book Rating
So, [b:The Killing Joke|96358|Batman The Killing Joke|Alan Moore|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1346331835s/96358.jpg|551787].

Commonly cited as one the best Batman stories (after [b:The Dark Knight Returns|59960|Batman The Dark Knight Returns|Frank Miller|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327892039s/59960.jpg|1104159]), The Killing Joke is, in reality, an origin story.

However, rather than being the origin story of a Superhero, this takes the somewhat unusual idea of being that of a villain instead: in this case, how did the most Notorious (and deadly) of Batman's foes - The Joker - come to be how he is?

This also draws parallels between The Joker and Batman himself, depicting them each as, if you will, two sides of the same coin - both have had a very bad day, but each have reacted to it differently (or have they?).

Personally, I feel that the origins of The Joker would have been better left to mystery rather than detailed as in this story; however, that's not denying that this is a good (if short) read in its own right.