Super Hero’s Journey

The second book in Abrams’ Marvel Arts line, featuring the work of beloved Mutts creator Patrick McDonnell and the greatest super heroes of the Marvel Universe


“The miracle is not to fly in the air, or to walk on the water, but to walk on the earth.” —Thich Nhat Hanh


The Super Hero’s Journey is unlike anything you have ever read. Imbued with the creativity, artwork, and heart of Patrick McDonnell, the beloved creator of the comic strip Mutts, this all-new graphic novel features classic Marvel super heroes including the Fantastic Four, the Incredible Hulk, Captain America, Black Panther, and Spider-Man, and is the synthesis of McDonnell’s positive, inspirational sensibility and Marvel’s blockbuster brand. Using the Marvel Universe as avatars, McDonnell muses on how comics changed his life and inspired him to become a cartoonist, instilling a moral sensibility that he carries through his work and his life.


We begin with the Watcher—a being who exists outside the planes of space and time, who sees every moment that has happened, will happen, or is happening throughout the cosmos—as he observes Earth and the inner burdens of the Marvel super heroes. As the Watcher observes the villainous plans of Dr. Doom, who is harnessing the power of the Negative Zone and slowly spreading its negativity across our planet and destroying the human spirit, Mr. Fantastic is led on a meta journey that takes him through the pages of classic comic books and across scenes familiar and unexpected, including the Commercial Zone, which is filled with advertisements for “stuff” and wonders of the imagination only to deliver disappointment and false promises. Ultimately, our heroes discover a zen solution in an unexpected fashion—one that aligns this book with the inspiring messages of McDonnell’s other beloved and award-winning books—leaving readers with a renewed sense of love, hope, and redemption.


“If the stars should appear but one night every thousand years, how man would marvel and stare.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson


Visually striking—The Super Hero’s Journey includes panels from classic Marvel comics as a tribute by McDonnell to the stories he grew up reading, and to his heroes—Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Steve Ditko, creators of the Marvel Universe—alongside inspirational quotes from Eckhart Tolle, Thoreau, and others, all of which deliver upon the promise of the Marvel Arts line to tell stories where “nothing is impossible and anything can happen.”