Foreskin Man #1: Dr. Mutilator Kindle & comiXology

This is a review of all three comics combined.

I have a large collection of (mostly European Bande Dessinee) comics and while this lot is in the American/British vein, which is not my favorite, it sounded nutty enough to warrant a look. My take on this has no bias over the circumcision issue though -- I have no skin in the game. I will begin by looking at the pupported racism claims.

The first comic has a mainstream white doctor who is rather brutal and turns into a kind of monster just before attempting a circumcision. The second has some rabbis who are rather sinister looking, preparing for a bris. The third comic has a bunch of thuggish africans who are about to circumcise a boy and clitorectomize a girl, both of whom have been cruelly abducted and imprisomed. All three groups are equally evil and cruel.

So you see this comic chooses representatives of different circumcising societies. All critics of these comics that I have seen concentrate on the jewish aspect. In standard comic tradition, all bad guys are exaggeratedly thuggish, in this one the jews fairs no worse than the others. I do not see any anti-semitism here. The Jewish women are sweet things -- only the circumcizers are evil. In fact, the Africans are brutish tribesmen in huts who could have walked straight out of a Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan movie of the 40s. If there is any racism here, the blacks get the worst treatment, being rendered in outrageous stereotypes. You just have to drop all your piety and let your sense of humor loose. Most of the negative reviews here are not proper reviews by anyone who understands comics. Lighten up, guys. Ok, enough. What did I think of the comics as comics?

Well, they did not reach great heights. They were so short that the stories really had no time to develop before they were over. The stories were pretty much what you'd expect, and in fact I could have pretty well have written them myself (always a bad sign...). But there were some funny things -- like how the defenders from the Institute of Genital Integrity were called "intactivists" -- had to pay that one! There's really nothing to talk about on the story side. Coloring was vibrant, drawings mostly ok. A couple of tiny heads (er, craniums -- there were no naughty bits) that were too small for the body. The rich potential for word play was not exploited much at all. Doubtless you noticed my little effort in the first paragraph of this review, and maybe I'll work in another by the end... If they make any more in the series, the authors should develop that aspect. Anyway, the comics were inexpensive, so nothing to complain about.

But evaluating these as comic literature is not the point. It's just the nutty idea that is important, and I enjoyed that very much. I would like it if they produced some longer, more involved stories. I'm happy I bought them. Already I have impressed quite a few friends with how up-to-the-minute I am, including Jewish friends who couldn't see what the flap was about, by having these little comics. Oh, I ordered them directly from Indy Planet, which I got to from the Foreskinman website. The purchase went fine and I got them pretty quickly. Peace out.

This comic series, which is up to three issues by now, is the wacky, mock-heroic tale of Foreskin Man, the alter ego of Matthew Hastwick, the curator of the hilariously conceived Museum of Genital Integrity in San Diego, who uses his super powers to save children from genital mutilation (i.e. circumcision). The good guys in these comics are buff and the gals buxom. The bad guys are over-the-top caricatures. The artwork is excellent, the adventures silly, and the point unmistakeable: involuntary genital modification is bad. Luckily for innocent children, Foreskin Man (and Vulva Girl) swoop in at the last minute to save children from circumcision. It's not meant to advance the position in any serious, discursive way; at no point does the author put forth any of the very substantial arguments against circumcision. The comics were meant to simply get people talking about the issues, I suppose, and drive home his viewpoint in an unmistakeable, simplistic and entertaining way. To that end, they've succeeded. These comics are a scream.

One thing they are not is anti-Semitic, despite the media furor generated by organized jewry. In addition to American doctors and African (presumably Moslem) tribesmen, the author employs rabbis as the villains in one issue. Apparently the ultra sensitive representatives of the Chosen Ones failed to notice that other groups besides Jews were attacked here and that the author's point is that he doesn't like circumcision, not that he doesn't like Jews.

Harsh reviews

the first and 3rd volumes have nothing upon nothing, about them that is even REMOTELY Antisemantic.

Im sorry for artificialy inflating its rating, as I dont really think it deserves 5 stars,

it does fail to address scientific questions.

but the antisemetism is EXAGGERATED to say the least.

A single Evil mohel, and "its anti semantic"

what? is the first volume anti doctor.

I dont see NAACP Rushing out screaming the 3rd volume bashes africans.

Circumcision is an american cultural blind spot, and one we need to overcome.

My parents treated me like a defective machine when I raised my voice about the issue, and demanded they defray the surgery I need to reconstruct my penis.

more on the actual product

the names tacky... and yes he is blue eyed blond haired and muscular, but so does sailor moon.

The comic does exaggerate some things to the point of making it a farce with little educational value.

but antisemantic?

hate literature?

no.

its just a expression of the hope of all intactivists, that someday we'll live in a world that recognizes each persons right to their own body.

If I have any inkling of antisematic feelings it comes from this practice, not the other way around.

and I really want peace with the jews, I read the old testament at an early age, and so developed strong feeligns towards them.

I hope others will be more accurate in their reviews.

Circumcision destroys sexual pleasure and is more damaging than the most common form of FGM. As a man circumcised as an adolescent and who has experienced both, I know with 100% certainty that this is the case. All sexual pleasure comes from the prepuce, and circumcision was adopted by the West for the same reasons FGM was done in Victorian times--to control male sexuality by killing sexual pleasure.

The idiots whining about this being anti-semitic are morons. How could anyone not be anti- a cult which genitally mutilates its boys--and that goes for Islam and any sect of Christianity too.

MGM = FGM. Fact. Anyone who supports circumcision is a nutter.

Shallow plot, short book, transparent characters, blatant propoganda.

On the other hand, I will be contacting the Museum of Genital Integrity to secure the rights for my modern, dark, gritty, christopher nolan-esque movie reboot of foreskin man, so I guess I owe them at least three stars for creating the character that will soon make me millions of dollars at some obscure indie film festival you're probably never heard of.