X-Men and Relevancy

Hello multi-verse,
Apologies for the late post. Sometimes the internet is not on your side. This weekend has been full of holiday/Comic con goodness. So let's get on with it eh?

Reviews
X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills
I had heard that this is considered one of the definitive X-Men stories from the Comic Book Queers. In fact this story was so big at the time that Marvel put it out as an individual graphic novel rather than as part of the regular book. This is common now but back in the early 80s it was unheard of. It's been a little difficult for me to track down but I'm so glad I got to read it in this beautiful hard cover edition. The art is great and there are some striking images. This story involves a group led by Rev. Stryker called the Purifiers. Using christian fundamentalism, the Purifiers are hunting down and killing Mutants in cold blood, meanwhile using the media to push their anti-mutant agenda. I was ready to be impressed but the first few pages took my breath away. Claremont does an amazing job of bringing home how Stryker twists religion to suit his own prejudices. The key themes of the X-Men book plays out in this story and I loved it. Anyone who argues that superhero comics are just for kids needs to read this.

Downsize This!
I picked this up back in 2002 when Moore-mania was just gearing up. Shockingly its been sitting on the TBR pile for about 6 years now. It's actually very interesting to read this with 10 years of hindsight. In this book Moore discusses the concerns of a pre-911 world: OJ Simpson, corporate downsizing, and immigration. Reading this book I constantly struggled to find relevancy. This book did not age well. I also think that it is clear that Moore is not a writer of any subtlety or complexity. In this current world I think he is more suited to be a blog/column writer and taken in small bites.

Shoutout
I don't usually do this here but I felt compelled to share this excellent writeup. It changed my perspective on the importance of the romance genre. Check it out here.

What's In My Bag
Graphic Novels
Starman Omnibus Vol. 1
Animal Man Vol. 1

Comic
The Goon

Magazine
Vanity Fair

Comic Pull List:Dynamo 5 #15, Green Lantern #33, Jokers Asylum Two Face #1, Trinity #9, Wolverine #67.

Check Out Count: A lot of coveted books.

Have a great week! Book Slave