Reviews
"Ben Saunders gets at the crossover between psychology and superheroes, and at the difficulties it imposes, in his excellent 2011 book about the intersection between religion and superheroes, Do the Gods Wear Capes? " Noah Berlatsky"There have been many scholarly analyses of comic book superheroes recently, most of them thoughtful, some of them misguided. However, arguably the most sophisticated and the most human of these treatments is Ben Saunders' Do the Gods Wear Capes? ' Jack David Eller, Anthropology Review Database, February 2014, There have been many scholarly analyses of comic book superheroes recently, most of them thoughtful, some of them misguided. However, arguably the most sophisticated and the most human of these treatments is Ben Saunders' Do the Gods Wear Capes ?, 'Ben Saunders has done for comics analysis what Alan Moore did for comics literature. Do the Gods Wear Capes? is a provocative, intelligent, and thought-provoking work, and Saunders' insights rise from the page with the same power and grace as those iconic characters he examines. Certainly the best critical work on the meaning and impact of those marquee super-heroes that define the genre and that we encounter in myriad ways every day as has ever been written.', 'Ben Saunders has done for comics analysis what Alan Moore did for comics literature. Do the Gods Wear Capes? is a provocative, intelligent, and thought-provoking work, and Saunders' insights rise from the page with the same power and grace as those iconic characters he examines. Certainly the best critical work on the meaning and impact of those marquee super-heroes that define the genre and that we encounter in myriad ways every day as has ever been written.' - Greg Rucka, novelist and author of Batwoman: Elegy, Whiteout, and Wonder Woman: The Hiketeia, "Ben Saunders gets at the crossover between psychology and superheroes, and at the difficulties it imposes, in his excellent 2011 book about the intersection between religion and superheroes, Do the Gods Wear Capes? " -- Noah Berlatsky "There have been many scholarly analyses of comic book superheroes recently, most of them thoughtful, some of them misguided. However, arguably the most sophisticated and the most human of these treatments is Ben Saunders' Do the Gods Wear Capes ?" -- Jack David Eller, Anthropology Review Database, February 2014, "Ben Saunders gets at the crossover between psychology and superheroes, and at the difficulties it imposes, in his excellent 2011 book about the intersection between religion and superheroes, Do the Gods Wear Capes? " Noah Berlatsky, 'Ben Saunders sets the bar high for himself when he says at the outset that a book about pop superheroes must be a book about spirituality and therefore about love. That might seem to place an unsupportable weight on the shoulders of Superman, Wonderwoman, Spiderman, and Iron man, but in this learned yet entirely accessible essay, Saunders makes both his thesis and his heroes stand up.', "Ben Saunders gets at the crossover between psychology and superheroes, and at the difficulties it imposes, in his excellent 2011 book about the intersection between religion and superheroes, Do the Gods Wear Capes? " -- Noah Berlatsky "There have been many scholarly analyses of comic book superheroes recently, most of them thoughtful, some of them misguided. However, arguably the most sophisticated and the most human of these treatments is Ben Saunders' Do the Gods Wear Capes ?" -- Jack David Eller, Anthropology Review Database, February 2014 [Listed in "Too Many Words: 15 fantastic books to help you learn about comics"] "There's no shortage of books about superheroes and their mythological significance, but this one stands out from the rest. Written by Ben Saunders, who runs the Comics and Cartoon Studies program at the University of Oregon, Do the Gods Wear Capes? makes an enthralling case for superheroes as spiritual entities, and has the sharp analysis of text and pop culture to back it up. With chapters focusing on Superman, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man and Iron Man, this is a great way to see your favorite heroes in a new light." - blastr, 'Ben Saunders sets the bar high for himself when he says at the outset that a book about pop superheroes must be a book about spirituality and therefore about love. That might seem to place an unsupportable weight on the shoulders of Superman, Wonderwoman, Spiderman, and Iron man, but in this learned yet entirely accessible essay, Saunders makes both his thesis and his heroes stand up.' - Stanley Fish, Davidson-Kahn Distinguished University Professor of Humanities and Law, Florida International University, USA, Ben Saunders gets at the crossover between psychology and superheroes, and at the difficulties it imposes, in his excellent 2011 book about the intersection between religion and superheroes, Do the Gods Wear Capes?
