At
some point I am going to need to spend some time on how connected everything
is. In the futuristic dystopias that are built by environmental abuse social
inequality plays a role, social inequality allows much of the environmental
abuse to occur, and it is a breeding ground for the issues that make addiction
possible. So, at some point I will talk about that, and it won't be so much
about comics.
The
other thing worth pointing out is that it was actually X-Men: God Loves, Man
Kills or The Movement, I suspect because the X-Men one could be hard
to find. I did not notice the "or" until after I had read one and
ordered the other. I believe I would have read both anyway.
Lazarus, Vol. 1: Family, written by Greg Rucka, art and letters by
Michael Lark with Stefano Gaudiano and Brian Level, colors by Santi Arcas, Recommended!
Scalped Vol. 1: Indian Country, written by Jason Aaron, art by R.M.
Guéra. Not recommended.
X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills, written by Chris Claremont, art by Brent
Anderson, Recommended!
The Movement, Vol. 1: Class Warfare, written by Gail
Simone, art by Freddie E. Williams II, colors by Chris Sotomayor, and letters
by Carlos M. Mangual, Okay.
March (Book One), written by John Robert Lewis and Andrew Aydin,
art by Nate Powell, Recommended!
Anyway,
it was fine to do extra reading here, because I was the most prepared. I had
already read the first issue of Lazarus in December, as well as March,
and read Scalped in April, ahead of schedule, so it could go with my
Native American Heritage reading. Also, it's fair to say that if you have seen
the second X-Men movie that God Loves, Man Kills will not be completely
unfamiliar.
I
kind of hated Scalped. It is foul and violent and sordid. I understand why
that would seem appropriate. I also acknowledge that it was feeling less so at
the end of the first volume. Some of that may have been getting past the
initial shock, but I think Aaron also came on heavier at the beginning to pull
you in. Still, especially after seeing that Gina is dead (not because of the
name, but because she seemed the most sympathetic) I don't think there is
anything to pull me back. (She looked dead anyway. Comics being comics, I could
be wrong.)
I
have a lot of love for Gail Simone, which made me want to like The Movement
more, but it felt kind of unfocused and that was frustrating. That doesn't even
mean it was bad, I have just read better.
God Loves, Man Kills was really bold, and effective in its
storytelling. There was an artist change due to some contract issues, and that
led to an action-filled set-piece with Magneto being scrapped that was gong to
be the introduction. As cool as that could have been, I don't think anything
could have affected me like the opening they did use, where two black children
are hunted down, murdered, and left hanging from a swing set as a warning to
other mutants. Yes, there are parallels in the mutant story to stories of other
prejudices and oppressions, and there should be, and they work. That's not to
say that some of the things that happen with Dr. Xavier's brainwashing don't
seem a little over the top, they do, but overall there is real emotion and
drama.
Lazarus is great. Again, it's a time when you are dealing with some very
venal people, but you can sympathize with Forever, and hope for her even as you
wonder how things could possibly turn out.
I
know I keep coming back to whether human elements are present or lacking. It's
important to me. Just as it can be something easily overlooked in superhero
comics, or in speculative fiction, it can be helpful in what we know of real
life too. We know John Lewis for his Civil Rights work, and his government
work, but March is a chance to see him as a child and a young man, to
see the fears and courage of everyone in the movement, and it's valuable.
I
am putting links to previous related posts below, but also as all of these were
volumes, and not merely issues, every single one has a review on Goodreads.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment