Quirky and characterful, this comic is full of lots of very enjoyable gems. There are several highly original and inventive concepts on show. While the plot was a bit slim and the characterisations a bit two dimensional, the underlying conspiracy has gotten me hooked for the next volume.

Pretty Deadly was like a very beautiful, very very symbolic dream, where you wake up thinking that it was very poignant, if you could only work out how it applied to real life.

The action scenes were excellent, and the plot and characters hooked you in, and I can't wait to read the next volume where they will hopefully be more fleshed out and I can work out what the hell is actually going on.

I found this installment slightly harder to follow than the last one. The plot didn't seem quite as cohesive. However, it was just as full of great action, suspense, amusing pop culture references, and moral dilemmas as the first.
It did seem for most of the book like the prevalence of super powered individuals had irreparably damaged the world, but luckily there was a spark of hope at the end.

In many ways this is an absolutely fantastic book. I loved the the characters, especially Bane, he's such a cutie. The art was great. The story and the writing kept me wanting to read more. But over all it just wasn't my thing, it seemed a bit pointless. So if this is your thing, definitely read it, but if over the top DC villains screwing around isn't for you, probably read it any way!

This book is amazingly powerful, and Luxemburg's understanding is both acute and dauntingly thorough understanding.

The first piece included in this compilation is Reform or Revolution, a scathing critique of reformists who believe that capitalism can become 'nicer'. The astounding fact about this work is that the reformist arguments that Luxemburg so ruthlessly tore to shreds over a hundred years ago are the very same arguments that get made today: that capitalism can provide for all of humanity if only there were more, or perhaps less, regulations; that socialism can be brought about through parliamentary democracy; that tariffs, shareholdings, cooperatives, or the middle class are signs that society is heading towards socialism. Luxemburd destroys these arguments and more, and proves that capitalism has never, and can never, provide for all of humanity, and must be overthrown by a workers' revolution.

The second and last piece, The Mass Strike, is particularly pertinent given the current political situation in France. During Luxemburg's lifetime in Germany a so-called Socialist government had been elected and entrenched in the political bureaucracy. Unions had likewise become mechanical and bureaucratic, and strike rates and struggle were down. Luxemburg understood that the mass strikes that occurred in conjunction with the 1905 Russian Revolution were not leading the revolution, but conversely that the revolutionary atmosphere enabled the mass strikes to occur. The truth of this assertion is evident is France today: as I write this, huge demonstrations led by students and young workers have opened the doors for CGT, France's most left wing union body, to begin calling for generalised strikes, a situation not imaginable in recent years, especially given that a supposedly left wing government is in power. Her discussions of the interplay between economic and political struggles (the union movement in France is currently only making economic demands - how long before their demands become political?), and between socialist and union organisations are also pertinent today. There has never been a better time to read this essay.

The introduction to the collection by Helen Scot is also enthralling and tragic, and adds to the must-read status of this book.

This collection of essays covers a wide range of topics, but each is explored in great depth.

Ben Hillier looks at the origin of the Australian Greens and the contradictions which have plagued them from even before their official founding (including an indefensible anti-immigration policy) . Diane Fields looks at the racism inherent reasons the liberal left gave for the military intervention into Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory. Sandra Bloodworth explores the radical Marxist history of fighting the oppression of women and sexual minorities, from Marx and Engels through to the Russian Revolution. Mick Armstrong discusses the confusion of the far left in Britain and Australia in the 1990s and how that lead to the formation of Socialist Alternative, now Australia's largest far left organisation. Finally, Rick Kuhn outlines the responsibility of socialists to be active participants of propaganda groups and mass parties, and argues against intellectuals such as Noam Chomsky that all that is necessary to change the world is to write about "the truth".

This is an indispensable resource for anyone trying to come to grips with the root causes of the abject failure of capitalism to meet the needs of the vast majority of humanity. If you still hold hopes that mass unemployment, world hunger, exploitation and oppression can be solved by tighter regulations and reforms of the current system, this book will dash hopes. By using the European project as a case study, Carchedi uses cold, hard maths to show that the capitalist economic system is deeply and fundamentally flawed. He proves beyond doubt that under capitalism financial crises are a mathematic inevitability, that under capitalism it is mathematically impossible for 'developing' countries to catch up to technological leaders, and that under capitalism environmental destruction is a mathematical certainty.

He offers a vision for a new Europe and a new world based on solidarity, egalitarianism, and self-determination, and free from the horrors of capitalism.

A fascinating read, providing stories of inspiring revolutionaries building from humble beginnings into mass parties. Armstrong teaches revolutionaries of today the lessons that those of the past had to learn through trial and error - both where they went right, and where they tragically went wrong. This is a must-read for anyone who wants to destroy capitalism!

Engels clearly lays out the history of class society and the development of modern capitalism from the beginnings of surplus value under feudalism, and the history and development of socialist philosophies leading up to Marxism.

Most interesting is the fact that even in the early 1800s capitalism was going through boom bust cycles of over production and mass unemployment.

One day the madness and anarchy of capitalism will end. Let's hope it's soon.