THE RISE OF REAL-LIFE SUPERHEROES AND THE FALL OF EVERYTHING ELSE

A timely and surprising new book by pop culture and tech writer Peter Nowak.

Just when it seemed like superheroes couldn't get any bigger, along comes ‘Black Panther' with a Best Picture nomination and ‘Avengers: Endgame' with a billion-dollar box office debut. In 2019, superheroes don't just dominate pop culture – they are pop culture. It shouldn't be too shocking then that superheroes are becoming real. As in really real. Hundreds if not thousands of men and women around the world are putting on masks and costumes and hitting the streets to fight crime and help the helpless. They aren't just the basement-dwelling nerds they might have been in the past – they come from all walks of life, and their numbers are growing around the world thanks to a confluence of factors: the rise of comic book culture in mainstream media, a growing disillusionment with authority, the enabling effects of the internet, and an appetite for fame and notoriety without repercussion. Many admit their activities are a form of self-therapy, a way to feel powerful in a world where it's easy to feel powerless. Many also want to inspire others to do the same: to shake society from its collective apathy. To some, real-life superheroes may seem like quirky outliers or dangerous vigilantes but, as Nowak shows, they are also archetypes; their job is to remind us of the better part of human nature.
The Rise of Real-Life Superheroes looks at the origins and spread of this real-life superhero phenomenon, what it says about the people involved, and most importantly, how it reflects on culture and society at large. This book isn't about people who are trying to save the world, but rather those who want to inspire a better one. Life-long comic book fan and veteran journalist Peter Nowak goes to the source, meeting with real-life superheroes around the world to get their stories, tracing the rise of the phenomenon, investigating its meaning and its significance for the future of society.
PETER NOWAK is a journalist with more than twenty years' experience working at top media outlets in several countries. Nowak's first book, Sex, Bombs and Burgers: How War, Porn and Fast Food Shaped Modern Technology, was published in seven countries and spent several weeks on the bestseller list in Canada. Humans 3.0: The Upgrading of the Species, his second book, was published in five countries. The Rise of Real-Life Superheroes lies at the nexus of his knowledge and interests: journalism, culture, heroism, and futurism.