Tour stories from San Francisco based indie-pop group Loquat sound a lot more like a haphazard family vacation with a tight budget than a trip to perform in cities around the U.S.

“We crash in the crappiest places and eat the crappiest food,” admits vocalist Kylee Swenson, an editor at Remix Magazine by day who scrapes together her vacation days to take to the road.

She affectionately refers to one of the digs of choice as “The Crime Scene Inn” for its seedy demeanor. The group has a roadie to help lug the gear – also known as a friend who won’t demand a high wage or complain much.

And to get from point A to point B, they class it up with a 15-seater van, where Swenson’s bandmates take turns sleeping so their equipment doesn’t get targeted by thugs.

Swenson skirts that duty, being the lone woman on board, but that’s about the extent of the kid glove treatment. “I’ve learned to thicken my skin a bit. These guys are tough on me,” she says.

Even the band’s sound has toughened up in recent years, since the release of their first full-length studio album in 2005, “It’s Yours to Keep.” That’s due in part to the two turbulent years that preceded their sophomore effort,”Secrets of the Sea,” released this fall on Talking House Records. The result is a bit of a biting undertone, without straying too far from the qualities that made their earlier music work, a mix of harmonies, electronically enhanced beats, and the tambour of Swenson’s Chrissie Hynde-esque vocals.

“My way of dealing with a lot of things is to basically write a song,” she says, which is how subject matters including the mortality of friends and loved ones snuck their way into so many of the band’s latest songs.

Swenson penned “In My Sleep” after the death of a longtime friend from a heroin overdose, when she kept encountering a presence in her kitchen. Swenson’s mother is a conduit for ghosts, she says, and it utterly unafraid of the supernatural. But Swenson didn’t feel she was up to the task. “I can’t handle it,” she says. “I can talk to you in my sleep.”

In the same way, “Sit Sideways” is a musical memorial to the father of a friend who recently passed away. “How do you console a friend when it’s, like, a parent?” The solution: rent two houseboats and party for three days straight. “My mom was not thrilled with that,” Swenson says. “Sometimes you need a distraction of some kind.”

But then she pauses. “I don’t want to lump myself in as ‘Loquat is the band that talks about dead people’” she laughs.

Swenson grew up in Orno, Minnesota, but the harsh climate took its toll. “I’d taken one too many insane winters scraping the shit out of the windshield,” she says, and even had to serve some detention for being late on account of the weather. So after graduation she headed for Santa Clara University, an hour south of San Francisco, to major in English and German.

Swenson spent three months post-college living in Germany and working as a maid. “While it was pretty crappy, it was insanely fun,” she says, with plenty of time to bike, play tennis, and party all night between changing dirty sheets and cleaning up after strangers.

Now she calls San Francisco home.

Viewers first glimpsed the gorgeous Simmons, 25, two years ago in her recurring role as Hillary on ABC’s “Kyle XY,” a Sunday night sci-fi/ teen drama hybrid that takes the angst of feeling out of place during those formative years to a whole new level.

And if her star should ever burn out, she’ll always have her dreams of becoming a gourmet chef. After all, the family has their own top secret recipe for scalloped potatoes said to inspire mythical-type cravings.

At five Simmons landed her first commercial role after her first audition. Three years later she landed a part in the 1990 TV movie version of Stephen King’s “It” as a tricycle riding tot and the first victim.

“It was actually not too scary being a child on a horror movie set,” Simmons said. “I did all my scenes without Tim Curry (who played the infamous Clown). The director just told me how to react and he told me where to look.”

Careful editing makes it look like Simmons appeared on-set with Curry, but eighteen years later she’s still thankful that it wasn’t the case. “I’m scared of clowns still to this day!”

From the start, Simmons idolized child star du jour Shirley Temple.

“When I was little, no matter what restaurant I went to, I always ordered a Shirley Temple,” Simmons says. “(As a child) I wanted more than anything to have a drink named after me. I thought that that meant that you really made it as an actress.”

Simmons also worshipped funny girls Carol Burnett, Kate Hudson and Reese Witherspoon. But Temple held her longtime awe. “I always wanted to be just like her as a child, she was such an amazing triple threat, and I always thought that she just lit up the screen when she was on it,” Simmons says.

The native of White Rock, British Columbia, a suburb of Vancouver, had plenty of chances to strike out into science fiction.

“I just kind of fell into the genre,” she says. “A lot of sci-fi projects are filmed here in Vancouver, so it has just been pure luck that I was able to audition for so many of them.”

The experience helped establish Simmons as a scream queen. “I love any chance I get to scream and run away from some monster.”

With puberty came the opportunity to play a host of sexy, funny teen roles. Her credits include roles like Carol in 2007’s “Good Luck Chuck,” Ashley Freund in “Final Destination 3″ and Hot teenage girl in “2gether: The Series.”

Even at 25, Simmons is still regularly cast in roles that require her to shave off nearly a decade.

Harkening back to her high school days isn’t difficult. “I feel more like a teenager some days than I do an adult,” she says. “I love doing high school scenes … I had some of my best times in high school.”

Her longest stint to date is as part of “Kyle XY,” spending nearly four years with the cast and crew of the ABC hit. “The cast is so connected with each other and everyone is so sweet and talented,” Simmons said. “It really makes going to work everyday such a delight.”

That bonding extends to Simmon’s character Hillary, who’s had the opportunity to mature during the run. “I’m really beginning to love her,” she said.

“At first she was always wanting to be the center of attention, she was boy crazy and wasn’t the best friend in the world,” Simmons says. “But now, she has really grown up and has discovered herself a lot more.”

Simmons and the cast will start filming season three soon, though the actress is tight-lipped about any upcoming plot points. “I can’t give you any hints, because the writers don’t even tell us what’s going to happen,” she says.

On the silver screen, Simmons is looking forward to an upcoming role in Hollywood Brats, a comedic portrait of real-life celebutantes and starlet train wrecks directed by Terry Ingram and slated for release next year, where she’ll play Lindsay Lohan.

The film has been touted as strictly based on documents from the public record in the hopes of dodging the potential lawsuit this kind of undertaking attracts.

To brush up on her best LiLo impression, Simmons studied the starlet’s body language and cinematic résumé.

She’s no dead-ringer for Lohan, and she knows it. “I know I don’t look identical to her, or sound just like her, but my job was to act like her as much as I could and get the story across.”

When she’s not on set, Simmons keeps her body ripped with Crossfit training, a mix of gymnastics, Olympic weight lifting and sprinting with her personal trainer at Vancouver’s Studio 55. “My trainer, Nathan, works my butt off,” she said.

Down time is reserved for her other loves: spending time with her beloved four-year-old Yorkie Talula, playing Rock Band on Xbox 360 and cooking.

“I am a big foody,” Simmons admits, “and I am most relaxed when I’m cooking.”

Friends and family are already fans of the hobby, reaping the rewards after a day spent slaving away in the kitchen.

Recent culinary creations include fish delicacies and one of her favorites, Simmons Scalloped Potatoes, concocted from the family’s secret recipe. “Once you taste our Simmons Scalloped Potatoes you can’t stop eating them.”

On the web – visit Chelan Simmons on www.myspace.com/chelansimmons or the soon-to-be launched www.chelansimmons.com . “I always love hearing from my fans after a show has aired … it’s so sweet to hear what they thought of the show that night. My fans are the ones that keep me reaching for the stars.”

On “Live at The Bass Performance Hall,” Lindsey Buckingham’s first live solo release, the guitar god who got his first taste of fame in Fleetwood Mac more than 30 years ago proves that he hasn’t lost any verve during his years on the road.

With manic energy, Buckingham jubilantly works the stage, his usual furious guitar work at the center of a searing spotlight for a career-spanning set-list that includes some FM tracks and a few from his 2006 release, Under the Skin.

But his slowed down versions of the 80s-tastic hits “Trouble” and “Go Insane” are a pleasant, and for the most part mellow, surprise.

The first, paired with “Not Too Late” from his latest release, and a few others make for a more composed beginning — just Buckingham and his dizzying plucking that at times sound as if there must be a second guitarist lurking just stage right. But by show’s end, the only indication that he may have toned it down here is the length of time it takes the dripping wet musician to shed the leather jacket and don a sweat-soaked T-shirt.

“Go Insane” gives Buckingham a moment to catch his breath, and rest his voice between grunting, growling, and, yes, sometimes even a few barks thrown in (”Holiday Road”).

A few Buckingham-penned Fleetwood Mac tunes have been thrown in for good measure.

This live cut of “Big Love” bears a striking resemblance to the rendition turned out more than ten years during a recorded reunion tour, another example of his ability to contemporize a song that originally held more hallmarks of its time.

Call me a purist, but the solo-tour rendition of “Tusk” doesn’t feel right without the rest of Fleetwood Mac, especially a bug-eyed, maniacally laughing Mick Fleetwood.

Same goes for “Go Your Own Way,” which can only muster half the emotional charge without the exchanging energy and what some fans would deduce are meaningful glances with Stevie Nicks.

That’s not to say that his backing band is unworthy. Though the other musicians don’t make an appearance until “Second Hands News,” four songs in, Taku Hirano stands out with vibrant hand percussion

The CD/DVD set are nearly identical. For the concert, “Tusk” is the sole track that differs from the audio companion. But the disc also holds the “Not Too Late” documentary, a musical montage that glimpses scenes from his studio and home, including playful scenes with his wife. Die-hard fans will gobble it up, but for most it’s a forgettable nugget.

The Kooks’ sophomore effort, Konk, is an enjoyable romp through driving guitar riffs and accent-laden vocals that builds on their debut while showing growth and the desire for exploration.

Jangly chords give the album the same bouncy just-here-to-have-a-good-time feel indicative of their debut, Inside In/ Inside Out. Although it’s clear the band has matured since their first time in the studio, tracks that shift from more serious sentiments to the, you’ll forgive me for this, kooky “Mr. Maker” and the brashly sexy “Do You Wanna” make it clear that they’re still exploring their sound.

Although they’ve garnered comparisons to some of the classic and arguably most influential classic rockers, their youth and contemporary sound is more reminiscent of the Strokes and the Libertines than the Beatles or the Kinks.

The influence of their predecessors is clear, in their sound as well as in their penchant for giving the greats a nod of appreciation in a name. The Kooks, who take their moniker from a David Bowie song, recorded their sophomore effort at Ray Davies’ Konk Studios in London, christening the album in its honor.

Guitarist Hugh Harris brings crisp riffs to the table, while lead vocalist and lyricist Luke Pritchard switches between a heavily-accented, toned-down style to reaching for more vocal range. Both make it easy to ignore lyrics that are so repetitive (”Love it All”) they take up just three lines in the liner notes. That recurring theme does help propel “Do You Wanna,” as it flips between “Do you wanna make love to me?” to the reassured “I know you want to make love to me.”

At times, these Brits sound like a jam band messing around in the studio and having a blast with their buddies. “Tick of Time” spends about thirty seconds on a false start before diving into the reggae-inspired tune.

But surely, transferring the rapture and verve of musicians who palpably love what they do isn’t a bad thing. The infectious energy permeates most of the tunes with an unabashed feel-good quality.

Ever since Deschanel’s character belted out a bathtub rendition of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” in 2003’s “Elf,” there’s been no question that the girl’s got some pipes.

And She & Him is an extension of those classic vocal chords, best tuned to a familiar song from yesteryear.

Deschanel has the creamy vocal quality of an old-time crooner, at times hidden away by a playful soprano. “I Was Made For You” sounds like it was pulled right out of the surf’s-up 60s. The nasal vocals fit the feel of the tune, but don’t quite showcase Deschanel at her best.

By “Take it Back,” Deschanel is in her full glory, shining again on the “You Really Got a Hold on Me.”

But at times Deschanel sounds like she’s stumbling in the studio. The opening for “I Thought I Saw Your Face Today” is what might imagine to be reminiscent of those first demos she recorded in private, at her computer desk.

Rabid Beatles fans should not compare the duo’s take on “I Should Have Known Better” to the more urgent original. It’s audible that the pair is having a good time playing around with their laid-back, Hawaiian-themed cover, that sounds, but I just couldn’t relax long enough to savor the slowed-down version.

The production on the album’s debut track, “Sentimental Heart” is a little lackluster, but by no means sets the tone for the rest of the tracks.

The stripped-down backing doesn’t do the duo credit, but later tracks help exemplify Ward’s deft hand with layering, and introducing simple sounds for an archetypal feel.

Quick hits:

Genre: Indie rock/Pop
Label: Merge Records
Release date: March 18, 2008

Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars

But on the cusp of 30, she knew it was the only way to go. “All or nothing,” Wu said in a recent interview. “And it scares the crap out of me, probably almost every day.”

Switching from classical to rock wasn’t that difficult for Wu, a self-proclaimed “black sheep in the orchestra,” who grew up listening to rock instead of reserving all her time for the diligent study of traditional composers.

“I don’t try to sound classical at all,” she says. “I try to sound less nerdy, really.”

The now-31-year-old Santa Monica resident grew up playing the old masters, a violinist from the age of three who remembers the excitement of her first youth orchestra.

But even as she excelled, landing her first professional gig at the age of 17 in the orchestra pit at the Pittsburgh Opera, something was pulling her towards a less traditional path.

“I was listening to Jane’s Addiction. I was listening to Led Zeppelin,” she said. “As soon as I was old enough to really develop a strong interest in Metallica and hearing strings on Led Zeppelin, that really took over my focus.”

Wu spent time playing with the St. Louis Symphony before getting her biggest job, as a full-time tenured violinist at the Houston Symphony.

“Tenure is basically the job for life, unless the orchestra disappeared, so it was really something to give up,” Wu said. Three months paid vacation couldn’t keep her from uprooting last April and moving on to California for a career in the record business.

“It was really scary, but I’m sure now that it was the right thing.”

Of course some people thought she was “completely nuts,” for walking away from the coveted seat. “Especially players who were still striving for that job,” she says.

“My parents were supportive but skeptical, because they, maybe as all parents do, want you to have a stable situation. Maybe they’re afraid I’m going to start calling them for money again.”

Since her arrival Wu has enjoyed her first breaks playing studio sessions and, most recently, signing on for a world tour with Leonard Cohen, who’s been on sabbatical from the live show circuit for some 15 years.

“That was an amazing experience,” she said just after the audition for the songwriting legend. “It seems like everyone’s done a cover of his. He was really nice and had a certain intensity. By the end of each song I was just amazed.”

So far, Wu has wracked up gigs on American Idol, America’s Got Talent, and playing back-up for the Foo Fighters on Grammy night. That last one was courtesy of showcasing furious bowing skill in a YouTube video contest.

“The Grammys was a blast!” Wu said. “We got to rehearse with the Foo Fighters and hang out with them. It was really cool.”

The talented violinist has also done some string plucking for both Beyonce and Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child fame and for Nickelodeon’s The Naked Brothers Band.

“It’s a different language,” Wu said, of switching from the somber orchestral pieces to rock ‘n roll rhythms. Part of that is being thrust into the role of accompaniment for a lead vocalist. “If there’s already a rock band there, you should enhance that and not get in the way,” she said.

For now she’s flying solo, with no back-up plan.

“I’m sure that I imagined that I could practice and audition again for an orchestra,” she says. “You just don’t know where your next call comes from. It’s tough. Ultimately I want to be producing and writing and arranging the strings and be the force behind it,” she says.

Though there will always be the allure of the stage lights. “I really do love that.”

Not just about the experience of surviving sexual assault; that’s really just skimming the surface. Milne has also penned an unflinching portrait of molestation by her father, an honest look at dealing with herpes, homelessness and alcoholism all before turning 18, and the comedy that ensued from working as a sex toy tester.

In her first book, “Sexography: One woman’s journey from ignorance to bliss,” Milne has recorded both the hilarious and harrowing visions of her sexual self, with a frank tone and unpitying wit. No excuses.

“I didn’t really go into it going, ‘Oh boy, I wonder what everybody’s going to think,’” Mline said. Though by the end, a surprising turn of events with her dad admittedly gave her pause. “There was a small part of me towards the end (wondering), ‘Well, are people going to think I’m a fraud because I reconciled with my father?’” she said. “I have my reasons for choosing that path.”

Working to salvage that relationship meant explaining some parts of her book that was about to hit the shelves.

“I wanted to make it clear to him: I didn’t write anything to hurt him,” she said. “I didn’t write anything to hurt anybody.”

Several characters in Sexography are faithfully depicted down to using the real names, she said. But for anyone she’d fallen out of contact with, Milne opted for pseudonyms. “Unless they jumped up and down and said, ‘Hey, that’s me!’ no one would know,” she said.

Besides, the journey was hers to tell. Writing the book was draining and cathartic, as Milne dove into memories starting with the childhood comfort in her own naked form, and the long years spent trying to reclaim that feeling.

“I didn’t really entirely know what was going to come out of me until I sat down to write this,” Milne said. “I spoke to my therapist a lot when I was writing.”

Recording the scene of the first time Milne was raped, after taking a ride home with a stranger during her early teen years, was easily the hardest part of penning Sexography. “I had never written so vividly about that experience, ever,” she said, fighting back tears. “Not in journals not in articles. I mean, I’d reference it…but I never really detailed in quite that way.”

But she credits that intricate record for helping to put some demons to rest, and ending more than a decade of nightmares brought on by that night. “It was almost like I had to get everything out of me and onto paper in order to be able to release it,” she said.

The scene is a disturbing portrait of the assault, made all the more horrifying by Milne’s internal dialogue. It’s hard to remain distant from the rape while reading the victim’s thoughts. And that’s just as it should be.

“I think the only thing that was a comfort to me was, you know, I made it through once, so I can make it through,” she said. “You know, I felt so alone when I went through this, maybe telling people what I went through will make them feel less alone. Having that drive was what made it easier to work through, which I realize sounds utterly cliché.”

Although it may leave readers with a taste of the nauseated feeling of being violated, or at the very least squirming in their seats, the rawness of even the most painful memories is what makes the book work, from those heavy moments, to the lighter side.

Early explorations, including discovering the difference between boys and Ken dolls and practice make-out sessions with Milne acting as a stand-in for Rick Schroder, are written in a playful tone. And a scene where Milne tries to Create A Mate, casting her then-husband’s penis in “buddy batter” goop for a personalized dildo, is laugh-out-loud funny.

“That was a lot of fun,” Milne said. “I loved writing about some of my mishaps that happened with testing out sex toys. Or when my friend and I happened upon my step-mom’s vibrator. People often overlook those kinds of experiences as not necessarily what ends up being a part of what helps them shape their sexuality. Oftentime, it’s those little moments that really make the big difference.”

Next up is a study of the spiritual kind. “In a way, it’s kind of the sequel to Sexography,” Milne said, a look at the spirituality that helped her to transcend “all that other junk.”

Sexography: One woman’s journey from ignorance to bliss by Carly Milne, is available for $24.95, by Phoenix Books.

The soft-spoken fashion designer has been quietly working in a Pennsylvania warehouse for the past 15 years, creating garments for Philadelphia socialites including Governor Ed Rendell’s wife, Midge and actresses Brooke Shields, Julie Anne Emery, Hilary Swank and some that were worn by the stars of “Friends.”

“But we couldn’t get any credit,” she said, meandering about her showroom in the Philadelphia suburb of Manayunk.

That made it difficult to use celebrity status to skyrocket a career. While some big-name houses could sway the loyalties of celebrities with free dinners, gifts and clothing, Hian was just trying to get noticed.

But that changed this year with a short, crème taffeta number with hand-embroidered gold chain detail, dubbed the “It” dress of the season.

“For some reason, I don’t know why, so many people asked for that dress,” said Hian.

The bubble-skirted dress struck a chord in the industry, and requests came pouring in to borrow the sample for photo shoots. Hian’s team created an extra sample so the piece could meet the demand. Songstress Carrie Underwood even sported the dress for a TV appearance and photo shoot in Entertainment Weekly.

“I couldn’t believe my eyes when I turned on the TV and, in a blink, saw Carrie Underwood wearing my dress,” said Hian.

Soon, the garment got a larger-than-life billing on actress Taylor Momsen, plastering billboards, buses and buildings in New York City in an ad for the new drama Gossip Girl.

The high-profile dress was also selected for an upcoming L’Oreal marketing campaign, and has been a hot seller in boutiques that sell Hian’s designs. “It just keeps sort of continuing,” she said. “We’ve received endless calls and e-mails.”

Each “It” dress can take up to 70 hours to create, from shaping the pattern, to cutting the fabric, stitching the seams and applying the meticulous hand-embroidered gold chain to the bodice, which can take about six hours alone.

An exclusive store in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, even purchased a few copies, but with the stipulation that their samples had to be long. “They’re very stylish, maybe more than we are,” Hian said of the famously conservative culture. “But whatever it is, it’s long.”

Chatting from her studio recently, Hian was dressed comfortably in a black and crème top from the latest line, a leather jacket crisscrossed with zippers from 2001, and jeans, which could be a future endeavor.

“I love this jacket,” she says, zipping and unzipping a sleeve as she speaks. “I could practically sleep in it.”

Metallic accents have long been a favored choice for Hian’s work, as well as the soft curves and flowing geometric shapes that are present in many of her creations. For their soft fluidity, Hian favors silk and jersey above all other fabrics. Texture is also an important aspect of Hian’s designs, adding her own distinctive flair to classic silhouettes with soft, curved lines, geometric shapes and embellishing pieces with handcrafted cording, embroidery or hand-sewn gold chain.

“It’s really hard sometimes to find what you see in your head,” Hian said, but dying fabrics and hand embroidering designs helps make the finished product as close as possible to her original idea.

As a child, Hian didn’t harbor other career aspirations. The Philadelphia-born daughter of a fashion photographer and classical musician knew by the time she was five years-old that she loved thinking up outfits and sketching them on paper. Some of her earliest works, a child’s scribbling in greens and purples, still adorn a wall in her showroom.

The rest of the space is filled with racks of her latest designs, some of which can also be found in Hian’s personal closet. With each new piece, Hian strives to create an emotionally-charged garment, and a graphic depiction of Hian’s personality.

At her studio, Hian’s office is in slight disarray as she rifles through bags of small fabric squares, working on ideas for next year’s fall collection. New ideas begin life as quickly-jotted sketches on scraps of paper. They seem to pop into Hian’s head at all hours, sometimes forming while she sleeps; her career is, undoubtedly, a 24/7 job.

“I’m a working person. I love to work, ‘cause it’s not like work,” she says.

“My French was so-so, not great,” said Hian. “They only seem to know ‘bye-bye’ and ‘Hollywood star,’” she joked. “It’s not easy, but I really like it.”

Hian’s next move will likely be to New York City, where she hopes to open a shop by 2008. Expanding her collection is also on Hian’s to-do list, with aspirations for active wear, accessories, jeans and a men’s line.

“Being a designer, you want to design everything,” she said.

Written like a geek’s guide to history and its relation to the comic book, an index makes it easy to find favorite characters; and clever formatting means there is no necessity to read from cover to cover or reference previous chapters to understand current themes.

For the most die-hard fan, Knowles carefully laid out his research and thought on the relationship between the two groups for literary consumption. His knowledge is on par with his experience in the industry, with more than 20 years spent in the comic book industry as author for The X Presidents graphic novel, based on the populat Saturday Night Live cartoon, and others.

Short sections on gods of the Norse, Egyptian, and Greek mythologies, brief histories of several alternative religious movements and biographies of occult celebrities and sci-fi authors, including Harry Houdini and the “profit” Jules Verne, populate the first half of the book. Providing the basis for later forays into the history of famous superhero characters.

Indeed, Knowles uses about half his text as the set-up for later descriptions of hand-picked comic heroes and draws enough parallels to make some compelling arguments. Plucked from the pages of DC and Marvel, heroes and villains are cast in a new light with religious undertones and occult influences for their creation.

Some examples? Fantastic Four’s Ben Grimm is nearly a literal translation of the clay Golems of Jewish legend, down to the rocky exterior. Superman, the quintessential hero, was a Christ-like figure, Knowles argues, an only son sent from the heavens to save the human race.

While Knowles works hard to prove his theory that superheroes and villains are descended from religious Messiahs and impacted by the fears and beliefs running rampant in contemporary society, he never takes the extra step to elevate ComiCon, an annual comic book conference, into a gathering of the faithful to this newfound religion.

He also touches upon the most high profile and high-impact heroes. Spider-man, Superman, Captain Marvel, Wonder Woman, Batman, the X-Men and the Fantastic Four, the text may have been able to give a fuller look into the comic-book universe by sacrificing sections on histories and mythologies to give other comic heroes their own space. Not to be left out, Knowles also includes a section on comic book visionaries, including his own favorite Jack Kirby. Kirby introduced unabashedly religious heroes in 1971 under the DC Comics title The New Gods. He introduced occult, mythological and esoteric themes to young readers through the comic book medium.

About halfway through the text comes the real meat of the story. With a smattering of the famous and infamous heroes told through a brief history of their rise and fall, their relative god-like attributes and, in many cases, pop culture influences on their characterization.

It’s here that readers learn how the man of steel fought gangsters and other real-life villains in his earliest tales beginning in 1938; quickly working towards some small sense of comfort for Americans suffering through the Great Depression and later World War II. And that X-Men tapped into angst-ridden feelings of alienation instead of the more traditional format of heroes saving lesser humans and being championed for their abilities.

The text is peppered with comedic illustrations by Joseph Michael Linsner. Including a blonde-haired English version of John Constantine being strangled by Keanu Reeves and a film reel where Knowles delineates how Hollywood hacks created an unfaithful film adaptation and killed a possible franchise.

Even to a reader who doe not harbor memories of a misspent youth spent devouring the latest pulp stories or comic books, it’s clear that Knowles has done his research. But with this book, only the most rabid comic geeks are likely to wade through the history lessons to get to know their favorite superheroes better.

Our Gods Wear Spandex: The Secret History of Comic Book Heroes by Christopher Knowles
Illustrations by Joseph Michael Linsner
Publisher: Weiser Books
$19.95, paperback