One word: Amazing. That could be the end of the review, but I'll continue . . .

Shannon Larratt, creator of Body Modification E-zine (BME) and the man who makes ModCon possible, has published a ModCon book previous to this venture. The review of that book can be found on this site, and while that book was also very nice (featuring a Video CD even), this book takes all that was good from the first effort and adds so much more. Before going into detail, I do want to get the one bad thing out of the way: editing. The edition being reviewed here is a first printing, and is still somewhat in need of editing . . . there are several typos and a left out word. The good news is that none of this takes away from the book, and hopefully in future printings this won't even be an issue at all.

Where to start? The presentation of this book is very nice -- paperback cover, some color pages, and many wonderful high resolution images. Most of the images are captioned, with either the names of those pictured or explanations of the mods. A very professional look to the book overall.

With this book being distributed to bookstores, the material covered will definitely bring a reaction from the general public. The pictures are in-your-face with extensive looks at extreme genital mods from subincision all the way to nullification and urethral reroutes. This is not a piercing and tattooing book, but for those into extreme mods.

While many who might see this book in a store might be frightened, those who have interest in the subject matter will find this to be one of the best books ever published on hard modification. Shannon Larratt includes his narration throughout the book, but also has added interviews. These interviews are a great read, discussions with amputees, eunuchs and more. While the first ModCon book was a nice pictorial look at extreme modification, this book brings so much more to the table. Read about how a eunuch or amputee got interested in these modifications, rather than just seeing their mods.

The main question surrounding this book has already been touched on to a small degree here . . . with a much larger mainstream exposure for this book, how will its contents be accepted by the public? Presentation of material does make a difference in how well something is received, and in the case of this book the approach is one that gets straight down to business. The pictures are graphic, the longest interview contains some S&M descriptions that could scare/shock, and the discussion of these mods is direct and to the point. Much of the text, however, brings to light the emotions behind the modifications. The look at one's motives helps point out that the people shown in this book are intelligent, and have a valid purpose behind their decisions. This second ModCon book represents the modified community more clearly, pointing out that it is not a teen fad but extends to all ages, and presents all the modifications in a mature professional matter. So the answer to the question? The book will push away those who only look and do not read, but for those open-minded enough to read, the emotion and inspiration of these modified people will come through loud and clear.

Shannon Larratt has done a fine job in bringing together a book unlike any this reviewer has seen. While Modern Primitives covered a fair amount of modification, this book has given much more detail to the extremes of the modification world. One word: Amazing.

Want a tattoo magazine? There are plenty out there. Want something that covers piercing, branding, and other mods not heavily covered by tattoo mags? Here's an option: a glorified tattoo magazine. That's not necessarily a completely bad thing, but in this case Xtreme Body Mod magazine has missed the target they seemed to be shooting for.

As already mentioned, tattoo work is covered by a decent sized group of publications, and this magazine is supposed to go beyond that. They don't do it by much, as the "Pro-files" cover -- almost exclusively -- tattoo artists, with the exception of piercer/branding artist Nathan Bauer. While there is a nice section on Pat Fish, as well as several other talented tattoo artists, why not devote this space to artists who perform the more "extreme" mods the magazine says it targets? A section on CM Hurt, Blair, Keith Alexander, etc would be much more appropriate than sticking with tattoo artists. While some nice art is showcased through these sections, it is material that should be left to magazines who have already established themselves in this category.

A further look shows a total of seventeen pages devoted to the "Skin Tight" section. This section is meant for convention and show coverage. More tattoo magazine ground covered? Mostly, yes. There are a few snips regarding implants, and a small side article on ModCon in this section, but the ModCon article appears to be information gathered from the ModCon webpage and the interesting mods mentioned in the main section are not discussed enough. Beyond this, there are the standard Q&A and Letter to the Editor sections, which are rather bare-bone, as to be expected from the premier issue of any magazine.

Then there are sections discussing celebrities and their mods. This is a whole new area of criticism for this magazine. They claim to not know what tattoos Tommy Lee has on his chest, but they show a set of pictures displaying Lee's chest (he only has "Mayhem" across his stomach in the photo) and his tribal backpiece. How can a magazine show pictures of an individual's artwork and claim they don't know what that person has? In other interesting newsbits, the magazine claims Christina Aguilera and Brittany Spears have pierced nipples...can we get this confirmed?

Moving on to the little bit of actual "extreme" stuff covered...suspension and play piercing and do-it-yourself tattoos. The tattoo article is something that belongs in a tattoo mag. It discusses prison tattoos and homemade tattoo equipment, but doesn't go into detail, unfortunately. The interview questions mainly deal with design ideas, and the man interviewed said he deals with the pain by getting "plenty drunk". The play piercing and suspension articles both make more of a mainstream shock spectacle of the rituals, rather than really discussing anything of much interest. The suspension article too often uses the metaphor of being "hooked like a slab of meat" rather than explaining the experience for what it is.

It is very nice to see an attempt at a magazine focusing on the more extreme side of modification, but that is all it is: an attempt. The tattoo coverage should be left behind, with a larger focus on extreme mods. This magazine could turn into something good if it takes the right direction. Right now though, it is a magazine that only seems to seek attention and shock value. The use of shock metaphors and the use of the term mutilation on a few occasions give this magazine a feel of being written by someone on the outside looking in, rather than someone with a real love for the modified body -- someone who wants to show the rest of the world the beauty of modification rather than try to shock the mainstream.