God Loves, Man Kills was printed in 1982, and is officially listed as
Marvel Graphic Novel #5. It is been out of print for about 19 years. It is a
graphic novel featuring the
X-men,
Marvel Comics famous team of mutant superheroes.
Rumored to be the
basis of the new
X-men movie sequel, this
graphic novel is hailed as one of
Chris Claremont's definitive works as a comic book writer.
Overview
The plot deals with the anti-mutant crusade of televangelist
William Stryker, whose followers back up his
sermons with murderous
violence. Stryker is an
extremist who believes
with all his heart that
Charles Xavier is the
anti-Christ, and his sermons are eerily similar to those actually heard in the
real world. The opening pages of the book feature scenes in which
two mutant children are ruthlessly gunned down by Stryker's
zealots. Far from glorifying
violence, the murders give a
haunting tone to the book. It is far too realistic and sadly,
plausible, to be dismissed as a simple comic book. Under
attack, both politically and physically, the
X-Men face a
difficult choice: stay true to Xavier's vision of
peaceful co-existence with humans, or join forces with their usual
nemesis,
Magneto, and give credit to his call for
violent revolution.
As the
murderous villain presented himself as a
man of God, many incorrectly saw this graphic novel as being an attack on
religion. It is instead an
indictment of those who use religion as a
justification for
hatred. The
grimness of this book provides a thinly veiled commentary on
intolerance in all its forms, genetic, religious or racist. The villains that faced the X-men in "God Loves, Man Kills" are far too common in the real world. The uncomfortable parallels that it draws make the reader think about the same
prejudices that exist between men. In dealing with these topics, the story transcends its
medium and serves as both a commentary and a
criticism on how we treat one another.