Mindless Ones

• Hooray, David Uzumeri is back on the Batrob annotations horse. Oh, look, he’s even done some for issue 4! As I said over in the FBB comments, his thoughts perfectly complement ours in that he goes in for much more solid, sensible speculation and fact based approach than we do. Oh, and you should read the comments section – my new favourite fan theory lurks in those depths. (z)

• Wow, it’s a strange thing indeed to disagree with Jog quite so strongly! I normally nod along to his reviews, sometimes cracking a smile at the odd epiphany. Not this time. This time I found myself wondering whether we were reading the same comic (Batrob issue 3). The very idea that Quitely’s action scenes were occasionally difficult to parse, or that they were too slow? Crazy times. Quitely manages the almost impossible feat of making feel movement within (and less extraordinarily between) frames. I can probably count the other artists working within the genre that can do that on maybe three fingers. (z)

• If you didn’t already know, recorded music is over. Bill Drummond tells it like it is, and even if his diagnosis doesn’t prompt you to start you own choir of wailing neanderthals, the musical history he relates, the mirror he holds up to modern consumer culture and the questions it all raises are very interesting and meaty indeed. This podcast will only take up 25 mins of your time – do listen to it. (amy)

• Incredibly, even though I read comics, I really like art, design, photography, etc, so from now on, with each aggregator, I’m going to include links to somewhere you can find some pretty pictures, esp image blogs. Sure, they’re just freeze-frames from DVDs, but think of it as found art. Anyway, you can never go wrong with anything remotely goatmendes-like. (amy)

• And finally from me, if you haven’t already heard it you must check out this Brian Eno interview conducted by Alan Moore. Two of the most interesting guys on the planet having a nice chat. Brilliant. And it’s bit like comics because I gather Mr. Moore has written a comic called Spawn in the past. In the eighties or something. There was a smiley face I think. (amy)

I saw Crank 2 the other day.  I have never seen a film like it in my life, although admittedly I haven’t seen the first Crank film.  This trailer makes it look far less ridiculous than it actually is:

So anyway, Crank 2 is now the yardstick with which I measure all things.  With that in mind,

let’s look at some recent comics…

We’ve come a long way since this massively offensive ad….

A weekly strip by Fraser Geesin

The book Dream Date by Tim Leopard and Fraser Geesin is available from Running Water Press or from Amazon.

• Thanks to Andrew (whose hyperposts are becoming increasingly symphonic) for this one – Ghostwatch. Kind of the missing link between Nigel Kneale and Dead Set, and a key point in deciding my tastes in, well, almost everything really. Telly gets a lot of stick, because, very often, it’s shit and it stinks, but sometimes it turns on itself in a glorious burst of auto-deconstruction while simultaneously fulfilling its remit of balls-on-walls entertainment. It may be impossible to separate this artefact from its time and place or to appreciate the shock of watching these scared and screaming children’s TV presenters, but this should remain essential viewing while we welcome in the autumn spooky season.

• Another scary story, this time from Mindless Superfriend Keiron Gillen and artisitic collaborator & 2000AD star PJ Holden. Gillen is disparaging about it on his blog, but he shouldn’t – it’s smart, nasty and a truly huge four pages. It’s basically a Future Shock by any other name, though better than any of those seen for a while, and maybe the fact of it says something about the transatlantic difference in how comics are done – UK writers and artists get schooled in the art of the short story one way or another (whether under Tharg or underground), and learn how to get their endings in on time, make them count. The increasingly thin  Wednesday Comic meanderings, and the endless bathetic mundane collapses of Strange Tales (not counting Mizuno in that) suggest it’s a lesson that’s more difficult to learn when an artist is used to having all the space they want… (b)

• MF Doom and Madlib collaborated on the truly amazing ‘Madvillainy’ album a few years ago. One of the best synergistic team-ups in hip-hop history. I still can’t get enough of ‘All Caps’ and it’s Kirby inspired video. A semi-oldie but goodie! (tbmd)

• ‘The Sound of Drowning’ is a comic produced and published by Paul O’Connell. It’s a deliciously dark and idiosyncratic work that meshes Raymond Carver, David Lynch, Kurt Vonnegut and Spike Milligan into a brilliant comic. It’s funny, strange, brilliantly written  and defiantly singular. And stylish as all hell. His latest work is a ‘reworking’ of some Ladybird children’s book illustrations – check it out here – and while you’re there take a look round the website. O’Connell has generously archived tonnes of his work there, including his ace collaborations with Lawrence Elwick. Treats! (tbmd)

• Did you know that there are semi-private strands of continuity running through Grant Morrison’s work? Wanna know how DC One Million and All Star Superman tie together? Zibarro’s blog, The Gold In Us Will Survive In You, unearths all those half-overlooked connections and throws them into the light of day, making it essential reading for geeky fans of Grant Morrison’s superhero work. I know we like to bemoan continuity around here, but like all superhero genre addicts we do understand its charms. The fact is that most of us Mindless don’t so much want it done away with as relegated in importance: continuity as flavour rather than substance, which, as it turns out appears to be exactly what Morrison is doing with his very own take on superhero history.The bad news: Zibarro seems to have given up on the blog, which is a real bloody shame. (z)

• Fuck you, Hitler! Sean Collins’s review remains the most interesting critical response to Inglourious Basterds that I’ve read. It tackles the thorny political issues but shows how Tarantino’s irreverent take on a very real and very horrific moment in history can be read as joyous and cathartic rather than troublesome and irresponsible. Collins’s conclusions aren’t entirely unproblematic, but the film appears to have affected him in pretty much the same way that it affected me so I’m on his side goddammit!(z)

• Do you ever feel like you’re not annoying enough people?  Watch a bunch of this lady’s expert lessons on how to be a performance artist and soon you can annoy even your closest friends! (gl)

• That last link was drawn to our attention by Robert Popper’s blog.  Robert was one of the people behind Look Around You and his site’s always good for a chuckle. (gl)

• Daniel Kitson’s stand up is nice and good.  The guy’s a charming misanthrop.  He done a podcast of his 2005 Edinburgh show. (gl)

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Congratulations to Mr Bobsy Mindless and Mrs Bobsy Mindless. May the speedforce be with you.

Love, the Mindless Ones.

xxx

A weekly strip by Fraser Geesin

SUPER BIG POSTER SIZED CUT OUT ‘N’ KEEP GIVEAWAY SPECIAL!

The book Dream Date by Tim Leopard and Fraser Geesin is available from Running Water Press or from Amazon.