Supergods is a rather astonishing piece of work that leaves you feeling pretty much as those first readers of Superman in 1938 must have felt: slightly more aware of our place in the universe and cautiously optimistic about the future

Magnificently idiosyncratic new history of the genre... Supergods is packed with intriguing nuggets of insight, and it will be fascinating to see how the trends it discerns play out... What was it they said about the geeks inheriting the earth?

Supergods is perhaps the most satisfactory potted history of the American comic book industry I've ever read (and I've read just about all its competitors) while also offering a brilliantly incisive, if very personal, appreciation and analysis of the most important comic books or graphic novels - call 'em what you will - to be published in the past 30 years

Part manifesto, part memoir, part idiosyncratic spiritual/philosophical tract... Morrison knows the genre and loves it deeply, and both that knowledge and that love shine through... an often funny and sometimes very moving account of Morrison's life as seen through the lens of his relationship with superheroes, which began in childhood

The author shows a deft turn of phrase while appraising his fellow creators...Supergods proves an entertaining introduction to newcomers

It is stunningly good on the utopian dream that Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster kick-started when they invented Superman, and the dark twin that Bob Kane created for the Man of Steel in Batman. As one of the best writers of both characters, Morrison knows what he is talking about...essential without being definitive

It offers the same switchback exhilaration as Morrison's comic books

As a writer for Batman and Superman, Grant Morrison is in the perfect place to analyse the rise and fall of the superhero

Morrison makes a passionate and knowledgeable tour guide through comics' golden age

Whatever your views on Grant's own creative output which I find both dazzling and, on occasions, daunting, no one can deny the man's blistering intelligence and throughout his career he has never ceased from innovation. Each new project makes readers sit up and think and I imagine many of his peers have felt the same way. Similarly this 400-page history of and tribute to this medium's meta - humans will give you much to ponder, and I don't think any true fan of the genre, as I have been since five, can afford to be without its illuminating torch

If this were just Morrison's story, the reminiscences of an original Scots thinker who works in a medium that silly people scorn, it would be worth your time. The sections detailing the writer's relationship with his father are especially touching. What makes this book exceptional is the history of comics that comes with the history of Morrison... As a superhero fan, I found this a diverting read. As a people fan, I found it unputdownable

Authoritative overview of the genre...detailed and thoughtful

Morrison's analysis of how comic books have reflected and influenced mainstream culture is never less than intriguing, and his turn of phrase is often a joy

There is so much to interest and entertain in this book, which is enhanced by over eighty informative illustrations

A wonderfully engaging book

Fascinating book (4 stars)

Wise reopens 12 uncontested lunacy cases from the 1800s, meticulously exploring the details of each and recreating the stories with a page-turning eye for a great narrative

Sarah Wise knows how to grab the reader’s attention with phrases that would have done Bulwer-Lytton proud. But the book’s readability does not disguise its scholarship. This is a valuable contribution to our understanding of nineteenth-century

I thrilled to Sarah Wise’s Inconvenient People, an enthralling study of those who fell foul of Victorian mad-doctors and greedy relatives

It makes for a harrowing read, but much of it is also hilarious, and as gripping as the most lurid Victorian melodramatic novel. Yet again, one closes a book with the impression that beneath the polished mahogany surfaces and shimmering silks of Victorian interiors lurked Hell itself