![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jeriendhalOur Gods Wear Spandex has the goal of supposedly showing the deep cultural connections between ancient and modern esoteric religions and today's comic book heroes. It's an intriguing idea, and does bear some merit. Are the fantastic adventures of Hercules and Jason in ancient myth so different from Superman's or Batman's tales?
Unfortunately Knowles really overreaches with his premise. While some of his connections are interesting (like classifying dangerously independent heroes outside society's control (ie: Batman) as Golems, in homage to the old Jewish myth of the Golem of Prague, a needed but uncontrollable protector), too many of them are facile and obvious.
There's a good examination of how ancient myth and mysticism intertwine with modern comic (Alan Moore and his obsessions being merely one of them) out there to be written, but this isn't it.
Unfortunately Knowles really overreaches with his premise. While some of his connections are interesting (like classifying dangerously independent heroes outside society's control (ie: Batman) as Golems, in homage to the old Jewish myth of the Golem of Prague, a needed but uncontrollable protector), too many of them are facile and obvious.
There's a good examination of how ancient myth and mysticism intertwine with modern comic (Alan Moore and his obsessions being merely one of them) out there to be written, but this isn't it.
