It's possible the article was a direct inspiration, it's more than likely pulp science fiction tropes from the 30s and 40s, the same thing Binder spoke of in the article, was the cause. Jack Kirby had a knowledge of those. It seems likely Slan by AE van Vogt could have lodged in Kirby's cranium and the X-Men specifically started as his take on those ideas.
"Fans are slans!" The book Children of the Atom was also probably influential. The idea was definitely out there in the sci-fi aware world. I was being sort of tongue in cheek until I saw the visual overlap between the article and Trask's propaganda images in X-Men #14. That's maybe the best argument for direct inspiration?
Thanks for the shout out! 😊
Sorry that I just now saw the notification, but I do appreciate it.
Thanks for the shout out! This post is fascinating!
It's possible the article was a direct inspiration, it's more than likely pulp science fiction tropes from the 30s and 40s, the same thing Binder spoke of in the article, was the cause. Jack Kirby had a knowledge of those. It seems likely Slan by AE van Vogt could have lodged in Kirby's cranium and the X-Men specifically started as his take on those ideas.
"Fans are slans!" The book Children of the Atom was also probably influential. The idea was definitely out there in the sci-fi aware world. I was being sort of tongue in cheek until I saw the visual overlap between the article and Trask's propaganda images in X-Men #14. That's maybe the best argument for direct inspiration?
Itʻs true! The imagery is eerily similar.