Book summary

Physics professor James Kakalios has made his complex topic accessible to freshman students at the University of Minnesota with his seminar, "Everything I Know About Science I Learned from Reading Comic Books." Now he distills the essence of that class into this humorous pop-science book, laying out the physical principles that might explain the powers of America's favorite superheroes and supervillains. For example, taking it as a given that Superman is so strong because Krypton's gravity was much stronger than Earth's, Kakalios calculates just what the composition of Krypton would have to be to allow Superman to leap earthly buildings in a single bound. Other topics covered include how much food the Flash would need to consume to fuel his superspeed, and the true cause of the death of Spider-Man's first girlfriend, Gwen Stacy.

Media reviews

"This terrific book demonstrates a number of important points. First, a subject that everyone 'knows' is difficult and boring can, in the hands of a master teacher, be both exciting and fun. Second, it's a myth that only people particularly adept at mathematics can understand and enjoy physics. Third, superhero comic books have socially redeeming qualities....That all of this is accomplished with enough humor to make you laugh aloud is an added bonus." (starred review)