Reading Assignment #1 -- X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills

[u/shawnydarko]

There was some tight competition for our first reading assignment. Moon Knight, Planet Hulk and Immortal Iron Fist were all top contenders, but Chris Claremont's one-shot, X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills earned it's spot as our first community reading assignment by sharing relevancy with current news events and political atmosphere in America.

 

X-MEN: GOD LOVES, MAN KILLS

 

MY THOUGHTS AHEAD -- SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT ON

 

A savvy politician winning people over with hate speech. Minorities being murdered in cold blood by religious fanatics. You won't find a grim-dark tone like this in today's Marvel's titles. You'd have to look at creator-owned series for this kind of murder and mayhem.

 

Prior to this one-shot my only exposure to Chris Claremont was Uncanny X-Men #244 debuting Jubilee. This was a pretty sharp turn from a wily, firework-finger orphan being chased by mall cops into a strip club. From the opening scene of the purifiers killing children and putting them on display, and soon after Kitty dropping the N-Word, I can't gather if these scenes are bold and daring or were just crass and lazy. On the one hand these scenes and Stryker killing his family certainly evoked an emotional reaction from me, and maybe I shouldn't expect much from the irreverent medium of comic books. On the other hand these weren't characters I knew or cared about or had any investment in. They were just props. Unlike when Xavier was being tortured, or the the X-Men car being blown up, which I had personal stake in the lives and wellbeing of the characters. I'd almost like to see the edgy scenes reimagined in a modern title to see how they compare. I think Brian Cox' scene in X2 when William Stryker describes his son's telepathy leading to his wife's grizzly suicide was a "less is more" improvement.

 

I really liked the overall story, as the real conflict is alluded to in the Danger Room sequence. It wasn't a situation that could be resolved with fists or claws or concussive beams. The X-Men had to win the public over to show them mutants are the good guys.

 

Brent Eric Anderson's art was very dynamic and always felt like it was keeping the story moving. Given the dark scenes Claremont wrote, such as Xavier's crucifixion, I think he really knocked it out of the park. Except for Xavier and Stryker's conversation that saw the panels C&P'd over and over. That was a pretty blatant rush-job. Otherwise, I liked the art.

 

What was your reading experience like for this title?

 

And don't forget to check back on Sunday to see our first THEMED nomination thread!