Book 30 was Supergods by Grant Morrison. It was like his comics, sometimes brilliant and often self-indulgent and annoying. I didn't highlight the annoying bits:
"With a keen sense of ironic symmetry, the comics arrived as ballast alongside the US service personnel whose missiles threatened my very existence. As early R&B and rock ’n’ roll records sailed into Liverpool to inspire the Mersey generation of musicians, so American comics hit in the west of Scotland, courtesy of the military-industrial complex, to inflame the imaginations and change the lives of kids like me."
"We live in the stories we tell ourselves. In a secular, scientific rational culture lacking in any convincing spiritual leadership, superhero stories speak loudly and boldly to our greatest fears, deepest longings, and highest aspirations. They’re not afraid to be hopeful, not embarrassed to be optimistic, and utterly fearless in the dark."
"(It was O’Neil who came up with my favorite description of comic-book dialogue and captions: “headlines written by a poet.”)"
"Then, as if handing me the keys to the jet pack, my dad bought me a typewriter and taped a message to the inside of its case: “Son—the world is waiting to hear from you."
"he favored long, horizontal panels that re-created how the cinema screen looks from the audience’s point of view. The artists who were able to adapt to this new trend were masters of scale and perspective, and they framed their shots like the directors of Hollywood spectaculars and science fiction blockbusters"
"Here in the twenty-first century we’re surrounded by proof that we tend to live our stories. As I brought this section to a close, one last synchronicity directed my attention to an article in New Scientist’s February 12, 2011, issue about the work of William Casebeer of the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), based in Arlington, Virginia. Casebeer, a neurobiologist, goes so far as to suggest that certain narratives are as addictive as cocaine, commenting on the effects a compelling yarn might have upon the minds of enemy soldiers or suicide bombers. He is convinced that we should be investigating the military potential of stories, by creating “counter-narrative strategies” engineered to undermine or oppose the religious or political storylines that inspire war, oppression, and greed."