Marvel Graphic Novel #5: X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills (Marvel Graphic Novel (1982))

I picked this up after reading several online recommendations that it was the quintessential X-Men storyline and I must say I wholeheartedly agree. A fair warning, this is not a long story, nor is it a story-arc or anthology; the book is only 1cm thick or so and doesn't take long to read. However, it is an exceedingly well written, well paced and beautifully coloured story that is as relevant now as it was when it was written.If you're a fan of the X-Men, this is a must buy. It's a great place to start in the X-Men universe as well, if you're new to graphic novels, and is a great introduction to all the characters. A little familiarity won't hurt but it's definitely not necessary to enjoy the story, which is almost entirely self-contained. This is also that rare graphic novel that I would recommend to non-superhero fans or those who have never picked up a comic book before, the story carries it through perfectly and has a core message that anyone would enjoy. 10/10, look forward to reading it again many times in the coming years!

This wasn't Marvel's first Graphic Novel (I think that was Starlin's excellent "The Death of Captain Marvel") but this was the first mainstream comic I saw taking on discrimination, and especially discrimination from the religious right, head on.Claremont used the extra space well, not just to tell this story but to broaden out his characters in ways that are still playing out almost 40 years later. This was the first story to show Magneto working with the X-Men, and to give him a motivation beyond wanting to rule the world.Magneto is constantly understated here, and he also gets to say the line that sums up the sad lesson at the heart of the book, when he learns what it is that drives the "Purifiers" in their crusade to eliminate mutants: "Once more, genocide in the name of god. A story as old as the race."

God Loves, Man kills has an excellent story dealing with civil rights issues; the extremes some people are will to go to achieve there goals; the dangers of extremism in politics; and how loss can effect peoples beliefs. This the comic that the 2003 X-Men film was based on and i think that the film faithful to the story of the comic with updates for a audience 20 years on.

I enjoyed this a lot. It's worth reading the interview with Chris Claremont at the end where he talks about the novel. For its time its quite a daring piece of writing and, of its time, may have forced some adult readers to re-evaluate their notion of what a comic is capable of communicating.

I always found the second X-men film to be better than the first, though I love both. The less said about the third the better. The charatcer of William Stryker comes from this comic, but he is a Reverend. The comics version is very chilling and a great story and lovely artwork make a brilliant read. I recommend this to any fans of the old school X-men comics. Chris Claremont truly was a genius!

An amazing story arc which felt so realistic as it portrayed similar real world issues that happens both in the past and even in modern days

It's really cool to see the story from the X2 film as it was originally. It's always cool when Magneto isn't the baddie as well, but helping the Xmen

Great comic and reading on a kindle (phone samsung s8)