I really enjoyed this read. McCallum did a great job balancing science and entertainment, and I personally appreciated the TMNT and Howard the Duck chapters—it’s always about Superman usually.

This was an unexpectedly funny and interesting read. It presented itself in a semi-non-fiction format and with all of the facts and figures, I sometimes forgot we were talking about fictional comic book characters. The authors did their research FOR SURE, and I learned so much about not only the DC/Marvel/offshoot characters and their stories, but also about the insane amount of science experiments the world (looking at you Germany and Russia) have done on humans in regards to all things sex and the human abilities. I left this book feeling smarter and beware anyone who is on the receiving end of my newfound knowledge and fun facts.

Thank you Diana McCallum, BenBella Books | Smart Pop, and NetGalley for the ARC!

It would seem that as long as superheroes have existed in our imaginations some have sought to imagine just which super feats they might get up to between the sheets. Now, in "Sex Lives of Superheroes", Diana McCallum has written a graphic and deeply penetrating analysis of the topic. Written for and from the perspective of fourteen year old boys of all ages and genders this book focuses primarily on questions of "mechanics" as it explores a number of wonky and often unlikely "what if" scenarios. Although, the book skips both a more nuanced approach and anything truly sordid it is a lot of fun and will get the average hardcore comics fan suitably hot and bothered,

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, BenBella Books, for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Really interesting read! Was on NetGalley in the comics/ manga/graphic novel section but was not any of those things but rather a traditional nonfiction book. I really enjoyed the subject matter so had no issues getting through it. Would definitely recommend as this goes over the science of each of these questions fantastically. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

The chapters are all quick, well written and wildly informative. This book was something I never knew we needed.

So. If you've ever wondered if the Thing has a thing or if Wolverine’s healing factor can keep his swimmers immortal, this book is for you. It's hilarious, a little awkward, and full of strange insights.

McCallum marries legitimate science with comic book canon, and comedy and it mostly works. Some chapters are genuinely funny. Others veer into actual science lessons, which are surprisingly informative.

That said, the humor can get repetitive, and not every essay lands. A little hit-or-miss, but when it’s good, it’s a blast.

Thanks to NetGalley and BenBella Books for this advanced e-copy.

When you take this premise (the title clearly gives away the content of this book) some people could have made it very crass, or very heavy on the science and therefore quite boring. However, Diana McCallum found the perfect balance between humour and sex education.
This book is divided in five parts and it explores the questions so many comic book readers have asked at some point in their comic book journey.
Is the Flash the fastest man in bed too and should I feel bad for Iris and every partner of every speedster? Or, is the Thing's thing gone and does his sex life sucks?
Can Mr. Fantastic make his member fantastic? (The short answer: yes, the long answer is: well, that's actually disappointing and I feel bad for Sue.)

In between questions and the in depth exploration of every superhero plight, power and dating history, we get amazing 'sexual interludes' where Diana explores some wacky moments in the sex life of our heroes. For example, did you know Nightcrawler dated his sister for a while? Actually adoptive sister, but they were raised together soooo. Or, did you know Superman almost made a porn tape once with Big Barda? Hey, how about the time the Human Torch had sex dreams about his sister?
I was laughing so hard while being horrified at all these examples chosen as sexual interludes. And that's the biggest strength of this book, Diana's talent to choose the perfect examples and questions was superb. So much so that if she ever releases a sequel I'll read it immediately. The writing style is so fun. It's casual and lighthearted while actually teaching so much about sex, statistics and even Sex Ed history.
It was so refreshing to read, there was so much information while keeping it nerdy for all comic book readers.

I can't say how much I enjoyed reading this book. I wish it was longer. I do wish we could have explored some other characters outside DC and Marvel, I believe the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were the only exception of it.
However, that can easily be fixed with a second volume.
If you ever felt as curious as Brodie in Mallrats please pick up this book, you won't regret it.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. These opinions are completely my own.

I was right in thinkink The Sex Lives of Superheros would be a unique, yet fun read. What I did not expect was the level of passion my friends had about the Flashes sexual abilities. The debate was intense and tempers flared.

Other then that the book is fun and entertaining

Honestly, I requested this book because I thought it would-be entertaining to look at the personal lives of some of my favorite MCU/DC superheroes. But this book wasn't even close to what I expected. There were scientific facts and explanations for everything; regardless of the comic book version that came out to prove otherwise.

Some examples are; how Spider-Man killed his wife, MJ through sex. Claiming that he gave her cancer. They also had a theory why Batman/Bruce Wayne prefers to date bad girls, like Catwoman. Then they went into scientific facts.and had experts around the world explaining why the Hulk refuses to have sex, because he's afraid that he'd Hulk-out when his blood pressure got too high: ending up hurting his partner.

These are a few facts I gathered after reading this book. Sorry, but it wasn't for me.

*I was given a complimentary copy of this book via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

“Sex Lives of Superheroes” by Diana Mccallum was the balm to my soul I didn’t know I needed. It’s been a terrible winter politically and hiding into these quirky, outrageously imaginative questions about superhero’s sex lives has made me lighter, and more able to deal with waking up again. I’d read a chapter every night and quietly laugh and laugh and then I’d tell everyone around me what I read, the next morning.

It’s a smart mix of biology and imagination that verges on laughing out loud most of the time. Of course I want to know how vampires have sex, how The Hulk does it, how fast The Flash can be, if it’s possible for Superman to do it with human women (and how), how long a penis stretches if you have super-elastic powers, if The Rock has “it” at all, and if Spiderman’s sperm is radioactive. And more. Yes. Please tell us. With science.

Who has the best orgasm? (Spoiler alert: it’s Mystique). Why is Wonder Woman tied up so often (BDSM much?)? Do dolphins want to have sex with you (at least some of the time)? Why don’t we ever see Teenage Ninja Turtles getting some action (it’s for a good reason)? And more!!!!!!!!!

I really recommend it to all nerds and superhero fans!
Thanks to NetGalley for the e-arc!

Book Review: Sex Lives of Superheroes by Diana McCallum

Diana McCallum's Sex Lives of Superheroes is an entertaining deep dive into an unconventional topic that blends humor with surprisingly robust scientific research. The book strikes an impressive balance between witty side commentary and fascinating factual analysis, making it as engaging as it is informative.

As I read, I laughed, I learned, and yes, I occasionally cringed—sometimes all in the same chapter. McCallum leaves no question unanswered (and answers a few I hadn’t even thought to ask), exploring her subject matter with both curiosity and precision.

That said, there were moments where the scientific details became a bit too dense, and I found myself skimming through some of the more technical explanations. However, these instances were rare and didn’t detract from the overall enjoyment of the book.

If you’re looking for a read that is equal parts hilarious, insightful, and surprising, Sex Lives of Superheroes won’t disappoint

“batman doesn’t like guns because he shoots blanks” actually made me pee from laughter. this book was so much fun, you’ll enjoy it if you like deadpool type humor. soooo funny.

Entertaining, hilarious, and full of excellent explainers for why Mr. Fantastic's near-infinitely stretched penis wouldn't be much fun to have sex with, whether the Hulk can even have sex safely, and much much more.

Not something you think you'd ever see but interesting nonetheless. I like the bridging of real to unreal by using real-world research to explain certain biological characteristics that a superhero might have. This book was classified as a graphic novel which isn't right. But an interesting book though.

NetGalley ARC Educator 550974

I requested this book because of the title and was quite surprised. I did not think of how our favorite supers have sex or what the result of it would be. I guess in my head some of the births were like Zeus' kids springing from his head.

I enjoyed this book immensely and can now answer questions if anyone has them. I won't spoil it, I will say that all adult superhero fans should read this book. Especially if they have questions.

I had read some reviews and they sparked my interest in reading this book.
As many say, this book is hilarious, but also very interesting. I am a comic reader and superhero fan, and I would be lying if I said I have never wondered about anything this book says, and like many people, I didn't dare to ask.
I found this to be a very informative book. I love that everything it says is backed up with scientific foundations. The book is too good to put down, you get more and more interested with each word you read, so you can get to know your favorite superheroes more intimately and what happens in the bedroom.
Do I recommend this book? Yes
To whom? I really don't know how to recommend this book. It's not for everyone really.
If you want to know hard sexual facts about your favorite superheroes, read this book. You'll have so much fun.

Everything you wanted to know about the sex life of your favourite superhero but were too afraid to ask (and a few things that you probably didn't want to know).


This book is exactly what you expect, but you can also learn from it a lot about human relationships and sex. I was really suprised by some facts. 

Every chapter focuses on a different case, like Can Supergirl have a child with a human? Or can Reed Richards enlarge his little guy? but they are all treated as a serious question and analyzed with real life science (and a lot of puns).

I especially enjoyed the "Mind over Mattress" part, focusing more on the psychological questions (the Batman chapter is def my fav). Also, there are these quick interludes about weird stories from real comic books. Did you know that Superman actually married Supergirl? Or that he almost starred in an adult movie? Yeah, me neither. 

It's a great book for all comic book nerds and people who just like deep dives into weird subjects.

Thank you, Diana McCallum and NetGalley, for the ARC. I leave this review voluntarily and happily. Also, thank you publishers for your hard work!

I dare say this was definitely funny as he'll and terrifying in some ways. By terrifying, I don't mean horror. I mean, i found out so many facts I didn't need to know about animals due to superheros having their abilities and such. If you're interested in the sex lives of superheros and maybe some villains and you want to know a lot of facts about penises look no further! This goes very into detail about reproduction and all sorts of twisted things you would possibly want to know. Some will have you laughing, others making you want to throw the book because ewwww! Why would we want to know such things and, of course, for our smutty lovers? This definitely fits that it you may be having.

Spiderman, Wolverine, Superman, Loki, there are so many heroes and some non heroes throughout this book, and we definitely get to learn the nitty gritty things. Perhaps a bit more than we are asking for. If you want to know how some of them are even able to get down and dirty and do things like a normal human being, then you're in the right place. This book is for you and I dare say be prepared.

I enjoyed this book even with how much it went into detail at times. It's a great book for those interested in finding out what goes on behind the closed doors of superheros homes and I will say this i won't look at spider, turtles or a lot of these heros the same ever again.

Taking cue from a fellow reviewer, this book was definitely a lot more fun than I thought it would be.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This was such a specific topic, but I will admit that this book was a lot of fun. I’m giving it three stars on the basis of some initially very well researched pieces, but I did find that as the book went on that it got rather repetitive.

There were definitely some chapters in here that were incredibly entertaining. The one on vampires and Howard the Duck were particular stand-outs, and there were jokes throughout. I found myself laughing on and off in the book, and it was great. It was incredibly scientific in places, which made it a great read in that it didn’t feel so much salacious as entertaining.

I did think it could have been a little more entertaining, particularly towards the end, but it was a fun book, and I’m keen to see an eventual sequel.