The Power of the Paranormal (and Extraordinary)Mutants and Mystics: Science Fiction, Superhero Comics, and the Paranormal. By Jeffrey J. Kripal. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012. Pp. xvi+370.Authors of the Impossible: The Paranormal and the Sacred. By Jeffrey J. Kripal. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2010. Pp. xiii+332.

Abstract

Review Essay: The Power of the Paranormal (and Extra-Ordinary) Ann Taves, University of California at Santa Barbara Mutants and Mystics: Science Fiction, Superhero Comics, and the Paranormal. By Jeffrey J. Kripal. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012. Pp. xvi + 370. Authors of the Impossible: The Paranormal and the Sacred. By Jeffrey J. Kripal. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2010. Pp. xiii + 332. “Secret Talk.” By Jeffrey J. Kripal. Unpublished journal. Jeffrey Kripal’s Mutants and Mystics [MM] is the dazzling companion to his path-breaking book, Authors of the Impossible [AOI]. The two volumes, which were originally conceived as one, have different content and structures, but related foci and a common underlying thesis that grounds the making of reality in the constant feedback loop between “consciousness and culture.” Where AOI focused on theorists (Frederic Myers, Charles Fort, Jacques Vallee, and Bertrand Meheust) whose research on paranormal phenomena has been neglected by scholars of religion, MM focuses on paranormal themes in superhero comic books and science fiction. AOI is a conventional looking book that devotes chapters to each of the four theorists. MM, which explores mythic themes in superhero comic books and science fiction, looks and feels very different. The book’s chapters are devoted to the seven basic tropes (or “mythemes”) that authors and artists combine to generate what Kripal refers to as a mythic “Super-Story.” The book’s design reflects its content. Not only is the cover a stunning explosion of color,