Mindless Decade: Finding a Finder

February 25th, 2018

MIndless Decade: Ultimate Classic!

I often find myself being drawn into arguments where I know almost every example of the thing I’m defending is bad yet still feel compelled to argue for what I believe to a worthy principle.

“Text section in comic books” is one example. People can tell me that they’re often bad (they are!) or that good comics writers aren’t always good prose writers (they aren’t!) but no matter how many pointed examples they come up with I’ll still find myself determined to argue that they’re closing off possibilities we can’t afford to lose.

Carla Speed McNeil’s Finder provides a good, if typically atypical, counterargument.  Every time I read the comics sections I find my brain racing in a million new directions, lost, determined to find answers to questions I’m struggling to formulate.  Every time I read McNeil’s annotations I find myself presented with answers to a whole other set of questions, all of which are equally mysterious to me.

This shouldn’t work.

It does.

Finder is two different comics every time I read it.  Given the themes of the ‘Talisman’ story and my attempt to pick them up and run with them in this old post that I’ve chosen to call back up for Mindless Decade, that only seems fitting….

GHOST STORIES

He did not want to compose another Quixote —which is easy— but the Quixote itself. Needless to say, he never contemplated a mechanical transcription of the original; he did not propose to copy it. His admirable intention was to produce a few pages which would coincide—word for word and line for line—with those of Miguel de Cervantes.

“My intent is no more than astonishing,” he wrote me the 30th of September, 1934, from Bayonne. “The final term in a theological or metaphysical demonstration—the objective world, God, causality, the forms of the universe—is no less previous and common than my famed novel. The only difference is that the philosophers publish the intermediary stages of their labor in pleasant volumes and I have resolved to do away with those stages.” In truth, not one worksheet remains to bear witness to his years of effort.

(J.L. Borges – ‘Pierre Menard Author of the Quixote’)

You find yourself bored and lost in your local comics shop on a crisp Thursday afternoon.  You’ve exhausted all your usual favourites, or at least, you’re pretty sure that you’re not paying that amount for that hardcover collection today.  Thankfully whoever does the ordering for your local shop has anticipated your boredom, and has made sure that one of Carla Speed McNeil’s Finder comics is waiting there on the shelf for you.

You’ve read a lot about Finder and — your friend Cat’s admonition that you “like music that’s fun to read about instead of music that’s fun to listen to” still fresh in your ears — you have to admit that this counts for a lot for you.

The specific Finder comic that’s in front of you is Talisman:

You seem to remember that this is a particularly well-regarded volume. What was it Douglas Wolk said about it in his Reading Comics? Ah yes:

McNeil didn’t entirely hit her stride until the fourth Finder volume, Talisman, and it’s not a coincidence that it’s her most tightly focused story: it’s about a girl who falls in love with a book, loses it, and becomes a writer in her attempts to find it again.

Well, imagine that–a storyteller inspired by other people’s stories!

Imagine that indeed. As you flick through the comic itself, this praise starts to seem like a warning.  The book’s opening dedication, in particular, starts the sirens ringing:

Still, you’ve been meaning to read Finder for a long time now — Warren Ellis said it was “a densely imagined walk in the clouds, a piece where the destination isn’t always as important as the journey“, and much as Ellis is prone to hyperbole, that still sounds good to you — so you decide to give it a chance.  Sometimes it’s better to take a wrong turn than not to, you decide, thinking with some frustration of your inability to get lost in your home town these days.

Later on, while having drinks with your girlfriend, you’ll raise the topic of whether the book’s dedication isn’t a little bit cringey.  “Not really, why?” she’ll say, and you’ll fail to make your case because you’re suddenly aware of the fact that at age twenty nine you are still as cryptically self-conscious as a young teenager.

Thinking about talismanic books from your childhood, you start to think of the first book that mattered to you as a physical object. Typically, it wasn’t actually your book at all, but rather your friend’s copy of Lord of the Rings that you read until the binding burst.  You tried to tape it back together and make it presentable, letting your own crappy handiwork overpower whatever world-building ambitions Tolkien might have had in mind. This was your first taste of your own power over books, and maybe even your first taste of deconstructionist criticism too.  You felt bad about it at the time, and your pal’s cheerful response (“I finally get the hardbound copy of Lord of the Rings I always wanted”) failed to convince.

When the topic is raised at a wedding some twenty two years later, a small amount of bitterness will directed at you for this act of vandalism. Ah well, fair is fair. None of us will ever pay off the combined debts of our history.

It strikes you that this is one of the more interesting aspects of the comic you find yourself reading – its insistence on the significance of physical objects in a world in which they are obsolete. It’s a silly conceit, of course, but just because you’re bringing the meaning in with you doesn’t mean that it’s not real.

Everything’s in the cloud now, or that’s the idea – copies of copies roaming as far as your bank balance and ingenuity will take them – but you’re not ashamed to be in thrall to tactile pleasures, and only slightly ashamed of your fondness for ordering and reordering books, cds, dvds and whatever other bits of bric a brac get in your way.

You are no doubt being sentimental about all of this, but then, so is the protagonist of Finder: Talisman, right?

Right.

Still, here’s a thing – one of your pals went on record to say that you can own a book, while talking about the affordances of such objects versus those of their electronic counterparts.  Actually, he went on further, to say that “you can own a book’s contents by owning its physical substance; the physical substance of a book cannot be separated from the information it contains.”

And yet this is exactly what you get in Finder: Talisman, where the book the protagonist fell in love with when read to her by her mother’s wandering boyfriend doesn’t match up to the elusive physical object.  You know this feeling; after all, you’ve been there yourself, albeit metaphorically rather than literally. You know that to read is to make your own date-stamped copy of something, and that this is separate-but-related to your love of so called “real” books. You know that the version of Lord of the Rings you physically took apart wasn’t the one you mentally took apart years later, and that neither of them quite add up to the version of Tolkien’s book that currently exists in your head.

Thinking of all of this, you think of Borges again, as people with your sort of literary damage are want to do in such situations:

The earth we live on is a mistake, a parody devoid of authority. Mirrors and paternity are abominable things, for they multiply this earth.

(Jorge Luis Borges – Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius)

Every time you think you can see to the end of this story, you realise that you’re just catching strange glimpses of the start in an awkwardly positioned mirror. The idea of living free of such multiplications is ridiculous, of course, so perhaps you’re better off just accepting the fact that the world has worked upon you from the moment you arrived in it. Maybe, just occasionally, you could find some strange freedom in returning the favour.

Well, imagine that–a storyteller inspired by other people’s stories!

Ah, well – no need to imagine that anymore!  You are the kid with the book everywhere and you always will be, but you now know that this isn’t just a twee call to introspection.  Instead, it’s an admission of incompleteness, an acknowledgement that you are always going to be found raiding through other people’s intellectual property in the hope of finding some sort of soul…

***

Finding a Finder part 1 – Sex/Violence/Other

Finding a Finder part 3 – No Roads Lead Home

84 Responses to “Mindless Decade: Finding a Finder”

  1. plok Says:

    I re-read these Finder posts on a pretty regular basis, honestly, and I’d like to see more of them: there’s no bottom to Finder, so why should there be a bottom to thoughts about Finder? It’s a mindblowing thing that Carla has made here, it’s pretty much the artistic successor to Cerebus. Minus the you-know.

  2. plok Says:

    Andrew take note.

  3. Illogical Volume Says:

    *coughs awkwardly and hopes no one who’s invested in the subject remembers that he still hasn’t read past the second volume of Cerebus*

  4. Daviderype Says:

    That means you’ll see some supplemental features and have access to additional channels where you can pick up visibility, without having to put to rights nous of some confused, manual migration process. https://googlec5.com

  5. JamesGexia Says:

    https://over-the-counter-drug.com/# best over the counter nausea medicine

  6. Amioidkj Says:

    amoxicillin in india https://amoxil.science/
    amoxicillin 500mg capsules price

  7. Thomasautom Says:

    https://zithromax.science/# where to get zithromax

  8. Zithromax Says:

    buy zithromax no prescription https://zithromax.science/
    zithromax z-pak price without insurance

  9. RonaldBer Says:

    Some trends of drugs. Everything what you want to know about pills.
    https://stromectolst.com/# ivermectin 2mg
    earch our drug database. safe and effective drugs are available.

  10. Stromectol Says:

    Top 100 Searched Drugs. Generic Name.
    buy stromectol uk
    Get information now. Generic Name.

  11. Kevininfob Says:

    Everything what you want to know about pills. safe and effective drugs are available.
    https://stromectolst.com/# purchase ivermectin
    Commonly Used Drugs Charts. safe and effective drugs are available.

  12. Jamesindut Says:

    Best and news about drug. Read information now.
    stromectol for humans
    Long-Term Effects. Commonly Used Drugs Charts.

  13. Stromectol Says:

    drug information and news for professionals and consumers. Get here.
    ivermectin 10 mg
    Everything what you want to know about pills. Top 100 Searched Drugs.

  14. RonaldBer Says:

    Read information now. safe and effective drugs are available.
    ivermectin 6
    Learn about the side effects, dosages, and interactions. Generic Name.

  15. Stromectol Says:

    Drug information. Comprehensive side effect and adverse reaction information.
    https://stromectolst.com/
    Top 100 Searched Drugs. Everything what you want to know about pills.

  16. Zacharyadeve Says:

    All trends of medicament. Drug information.
    https://stromectolst.com/# buy stromectol canada
    Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe. Read information now.

  17. Kevininfob Says:

    safe and effective drugs are available. Drug information.
    stromectol canada
    Commonly Used Drugs Charts. Learn about the side effects, dosages, and interactions.

  18. RonaldBer Says:

    Some trends of drugs. Read now.
    ivermectin buy online
    All trends of medicament. What side effects can this medication cause?

  19. Kevininfob Says:

    Medicament prescribing information. safe and effective drugs are available.
    purchase oral ivermectin
    Everything about medicine. Comprehensive side effect and adverse reaction information.

  20. Kevininfob Says:

    Prescription Drug Information, Interactions & Side. earch our drug database.
    stromectol for humans
    Actual trends of drug. earch our drug database.

  21. Kevininfob Says:

    Read here. Get here.
    ivermectin 3mg
    Read here. Everything what you want to know about pills.

  22. Zacharyadeve Says:

    Everything information about medication. Read now.
    stromectol 6 mg tablet
    Medscape Drugs & Diseases. earch our drug database.

  23. RonaldBer Says:

    drug information and news for professionals and consumers. Drug information.
    stromectol pills
    Commonly Used Drugs Charts. What side effects can this medication cause?

  24. Kevininfob Says:

    Everything about medicine. Read information now.
    stromectol 3 mg price
    Definitive journal of drugs and therapeutics. Get here.

  25. DavidTrumn Says:

    Medscape Drugs & Diseases. What side effects can this medication cause?
    how can i get cheap mobic price
    Everything about medicine. Everything what you want to know about pills.

  26. Donaldtaf Says:

    Read information now. Long-Term Effects.
    https://lisinopril.science/# lisinopril 15mg
    Long-Term Effects. Read now.

  27. WillieWem Says:

    safe and effective drugs are available. Comprehensive side effect and adverse reaction information.
    rx 535 lisinopril 40 mg
    Generic Name. Long-Term Effects.

  28. DavidTrumn Says:

    safe and effective drugs are available. Best and news about drug.
    lisinopril cost us
    Get information now. Generic Name.

  29. JamesHog Says:

    Top 100 Searched Drugs. Actual trends of drug.
    can i order cheap nexium without a prescription
    п»їMedicament prescribing information. Get information now.

  30. Donaldtaf Says:

    Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe. Get information now.
    can i order mobic without insurance
    Get warning information here. All trends of medicament.

  31. WillieWem Says:

    Get information now. Get here.
    https://levaquin.science/# can you get levaquin no prescription
    All trends of medicament. Drugs information sheet.

  32. Jameskex Says:

    Read information now. Long-Term Effects. buying avodart tablets
    Learn about the side effects, dosages, and interactions. Get warning information here.

  33. Donaldtaf Says:

    Everything about medicine. Prescription Drug Information, Interactions & Side. https://avodart.science/# where to get cheap avodart without rx
    Medicament prescribing information. Get here.

  34. DavidTrumn Says:

    п»їMedicament prescribing information. Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe.
    https://levaquin.science/# cost of cheap levaquin without rx
    Learn about the side effects, dosages, and interactions. drug information and news for professionals and consumers.

  35. Jikudpol Says:

    Some trends of drugs. Some trends of drugs.
    https://avodart.science/ where to buy cheap avodart without a prescription
    All trends of medicament. Read information now.

  36. WillieWem Says:

    Read information now. Get warning information here.
    https://levaquin.science/# can i get generic levaquin without a prescription
    Read now. Best and news about drug.

  37. JamesHog Says:

    Commonly Used Drugs Charts. Medscape Drugs & Diseases.
    https://levaquin.science/# buy cheap levaquin
    Some trends of drugs. Drug information.

  38. DennisAbrat Says:

    Drug information. Everything what you want to know about pills. https://amoxicillins.online/ purchase amoxicillin 500 mg
    Definitive journal of drugs and therapeutics. Some trends of drugs.

  39. Donaldboove Says:

    Cautions. What side effects can this medication cause?
    can i get cheap propecia online
    Read information now. Drug information.

  40. DavidRew Says:

    Generic Name. drug information and news for professionals and consumers.
    https://finasteridest.com/ order cheap propecia without dr prescription
    Get information now. Medscape Drugs & Diseases.

  41. Nipolikuk Says:

    Definitive journal of drugs and therapeutics. Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe.
    https://amoxicillins.com/ amoxicillin capsule 500mg price
    Actual trends of drug. Get here.

  42. Aaronzek Says:

    earch our drug database. safe and effective drugs are available.
    zithromax for sale usa
    п»їMedicament prescribing information. Definitive journal of drugs and therapeutics.

  43. DennisAbrat Says:

    Generic Name. Long-Term Effects.
    [url=https://azithromycins.com/]can i buy zithromax over the counter in canada[/url]
    Everything information about medication. Comprehensive side effect and adverse reaction information.

  44. DavidRew Says:

    Some trends of drugs. Medscape Drugs & Diseases.
    https://clomiphenes.com cost of clomid without prescription
    Commonly Used Drugs Charts. Get warning information here.

  45. JamesGumma Says:

    Everything about medicine. Read information now.
    zithromax for sale us
    Read information now. Cautions.

  46. DennisAbrat Says:

    Some trends of drugs. Prescription Drug Information, Interactions & Side.
    where buy clomid pills
    Best and news about drug. Generic Name.

  47. JamesGumma Says:

    п»їMedicament prescribing information. Cautions. buy amoxicillin over the counter uk
    Everything what you want to know about pills. Read information now.

  48. DavidRew Says:

    Comprehensive side effect and adverse reaction information. Medicament prescribing information.
    where to buy generic clomid without rx
    Read information now. Everything information about medication.

  49. Donaldboove Says:

    Read information now. Top 100 Searched Drugs.
    can i purchase generic propecia without a prescription
    Comprehensive side effect and adverse reaction information. Commonly Used Drugs Charts.

  50. Aaronzek Says:

    Learn about the side effects, dosages, and interactions. Prescription Drug Information, Interactions & Side.
    https://finasteridest.com/ can you buy cheap propecia for sale
    safe and effective drugs are available. Top 100 Searched Drugs.

  51. JamesGumma Says:

    Get here. Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe.
    zithromax online no prescription
    п»їMedicament prescribing information. Some trends of drugs.

  52. DavidRew Says:

    All trends of medicament. What side effects can this medication cause? amoxicillin 500 mg without a prescription
    Everything what you want to know about pills. Commonly Used Drugs Charts.

  53. DennisAbrat Says:

    Read information now. earch our drug database.
    average cost of generic zithromax
    Everything what you want to know about pills. п»їMedicament prescribing information.

  54. MichaelSox Says:

    Read now. drug information and news for professionals and consumers.
    canadian pharmacy sildenafil
    Read information now. п»їMedicament prescribing information.

  55. Jeffreyweerm Says:

    Some trends of drugs. Comprehensive side effect and adverse reaction information.
    cheap canadian pharmacy
    What side effects can this medication cause? Top 100 Searched Drugs.

  56. EdgarFloal Says:

    Read information now. Top 100 Searched Drugs.
    buy prescription drugs without doctor
    Everything information about medication. Best and news about drug.

  57. Victorkah Says:

    Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe. Some trends of drugs.
    canadianpharmacymeds com
    Best and news about drug. Definitive journal of drugs and therapeutics.

  58. Jeffreyweerm Says:

    Prescription Drug Information, Interactions & Side. Long-Term Effects.
    canadian pharmacy sarasota
    Get here. Learn about the side effects, dosages, and interactions.

  59. Robertrar Says:

    Prescription Drug Information, Interactions & Side. safe and effective drugs are available.
    canadian online pharmacy
    Prescription Drug Information, Interactions & Side. Drugs information sheet.

  60. EdgarFloal Says:

    Drugs information sheet. earch our drug database.
    https://canadianfast.com/# canadian drugstore online
    Everything about medicine. Read information now.

  61. Jeffreyweerm Says:

    earch our drug database. Top 100 Searched Drugs.
    safe reliable canadian pharmacy
    Cautions. Cautions.

  62. PillsSild Says:

    Everything about medicine. Everything information about medication.
    https://viagrapillsild.com/
    Drug information. Everything what you want to know about pills.

  63. Charlesmucky Says:

    Read information now. Get warning information here.
    how to buy viagra in shanghai
    Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe. Get information now.

  64. BradleyExces Says:

    Drug information. Read here.
    viagra lowers blood pressure
    All trends of medicament. Commonly Used Drugs Charts.

  65. BradleyExces Says:

    Everything what you want to know about pills. Prescription Drug Information, Interactions & Side.
    https://viagrapillsild.com/# generic viagra europe
    Read information now. drug information and news for professionals and consumers.

  66. Charlesmucky Says:

    earch our drug database. Top 100 Searched Drugs.
    sildenafil pill cost
    Get warning information here. Best and news about drug.

  67. Sammyletle Says:

    Everything what you want to know about pills. п»їMedicament prescribing information.
    if you have insurance how much does viagra cost
    Prescription Drug Information, Interactions & Side. earch our drug database.

  68. MorrisEroge Says:

    Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe. Everything what you want to know about pills.
    https://tadalafil1st.online/# tadalafil 20mg canada
    Medscape Drugs & Diseases. Some trends of drugs.

  69. RobertLeply Says:

    Top 100 Searched Drugs. Everything information about medication.
    tadalafil generic us
    Top 100 Searched Drugs. drug information and news for professionals and consumers.

  70. Willissip Says:

    Actual trends of drug. Comprehensive side effect and adverse reaction information.
    buy tadalafil 5mg online
    Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe. Definitive journal of drugs and therapeutics.

  71. AlbertDor Says:

    Everything about medicine. Get information now.
    cost of tadalafil in india
    п»їMedicament prescribing information. Get here.

  72. Tadalafil Says:

    What side effects can this medication cause? Generic Name.
    https://tadalafil1st.com/
    Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe. Everything information about medication.

  73. Sammyletle Says:

    Read information now. earch our drug database.
    cialis with dapoxetine for sale
    Read now. All trends of medicament.

  74. RobertLeply Says:

    safe and effective drugs are available. Everything what you want to know about pills.
    cialis 5mg no perscription
    Long-Term Effects. Best and news about drug.

  75. Willissip Says:

    Prescription Drug Information, Interactions & Side. Get information now.
    buy tadalafil 20mg uk
    Get warning information here. Cautions.

  76. AlbertDor Says:

    Everything information about medication. Prescription Drug Information, Interactions & Side.
    tadalafil generic in usa
    Learn about the side effects, dosages, and interactions. All trends of medicament.

  77. MorrisEroge Says:

    Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe. Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe.
    where to buy tadalafil 20mg
    Best and news about drug. Drug information.

  78. RobertLeply Says:

    What side effects can this medication cause? Everything about medicine.
    where can i get tadalafil
    All trends of medicament. Prescription Drug Information, Interactions & Side.

  79. Willissip Says:

    drug information and news for professionals and consumers. Top 100 Searched Drugs.
    price comparison tadalafil
    Read here. Everything about medicine.

  80. Sammyletle Says:

    Get information now. Read information now.
    tadalafil online no prescription
    What side effects can this medication cause? Some trends of drugs.

  81. MichaelFieva Says:

    Cautions. Commonly Used Drugs Charts.
    https://amoxila.store/ ampicillin amoxicillin
    safe and effective drugs are available. Some trends of drugs.

  82. MichaelFieva Says:

    Read information now. Top 100 Searched Drugs.

    where can i buy zithromax in canada
    All trends of medicament. Read here.

  83. 밤부트위터 Says:

    Good day!! I know this is somewhat off topic but I was “밤부트위터” wondering which blog platform that allow posting nudes and videos? because in other website can’t post pics and vids. if you want to see my pics kindly visit my timeline and webpage ;) ,

  84. 해외스포츠중계 Says:

    You need to be a part of a contest for one of the most useful sites
    해외스포츠중계 online. I most certainly will recommend this site!

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.