Mindless Ones

Cindy & Biscuit are back with the conclusion to ‘The Bad Girl’. After last issues devastating cliffhanger, we catch up with the plucky pair as they continue their epic struggle with the mysterious witch girl that’s been haunting the woods, and Cindy’s life…

It’s 56 pages of mayhem, as C&B battle for their life in the strangest environment yet. Wherever it is, it’s not the woods any more, that’s for sure…it’s somewhere darker, weirder and potentially deadly!

Buy your copy at the Milk The Cat shop  HERE.

Cindy & Biscuit have been nominated twice for the British Comic Awards, and count among their fans Brandon Graham, James Stokoe, Kieron Gillen and Si Spurrier. The TCJ described his work as “immediately appealing, chunky cartooning (with an) ever-present desire to peek round the darker corners of the psych” and Forbidden Planet Blog state that “Cindy & Biscuit is a spectacular comic, full of incredible action, powerful emotions, wonderful storytelling”.

Here’s some nice pictures for your peepers to sweeten the deal:

Welcome to Diane… #23

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He is no longer the pretext for a story: the story itself renders him homage. He can neither be destroyed nor accept modifications. He requires more of others than of himself. He is never completely invisible. His likeness can be seen through his face. His science is more precious than the word. It is not possible to guess it – and no one can doubt its power.

We hope you’re enjoying listening to Diane as much as we are making it. If you’ve got a few moments spare to show us your support we would really appreciate it if you could like, rate or share the podcast among your #skwad. Five-star iTunes reviews are the purest, freest gold of the internet, so write one for us and we will all be rich…

You can subscribe to Diane on iTunes (US or UK), or follow us on Twitter and Tumblr. Brand new episodes of Diane appear on Wednesdays on Libsyn and of course you can also listen and comment right here on Mindless Ones dot com.

Next episode: We investigate a veil through which you might not see.

MY CAR IS UGLY BUT THEN, I’M UGLY TOO

Welcome gentle listenoids to the latest greatest, tightest, freshest, sprucest, fittest, cutest, sweetest, sickest, foulest, slickest, toughest, ice-road truckest edition of SILENCE! the comics lifestyle magazine show challenge. With your hosts the Burke & Hare of the podcasting world, Gary Lactus & The Beast Must Die. 

Look, I know that was below par, but sometimes…sometimes I wonder if there isn’t more to life than writing podcast blurbs y’know? For so many years I thought I’d found my true vocation, my life’s work but now…well. Now I wonder – what else is out there? What am I missing? What could I have been?

<ITEM> Bit of the old ‘how’s yer admin’? Don’t mind if I do sir! I’ll have a dash of Sponsorship with it if I might be so bold? And maybe a sprinkle of self-promotion to sweeten the deal.

<ITEM> The boys unveil their new raft of spin-off podcasts. The SILENCE! empire starts here.

<ITEM> Reviewniverse, Reviewniverse we all want to know howdoyouverse? Treats yielded include Mégalex form Alejandro Jodorowsky, Moebius’ World of Edena and District 14. I know what you’re thinking – “LA-DI-DA Mr fancypants, where are my Spiderman comics? Not here, as TBMD admits his #gaimanshame and talks about Books of Magic, Summer Magic and U2. Then it’s Patsy Walker Hellcat, Rachel Pollack’s Doom Patrol, and the Vertigo Visions one-shots Dr Occult and The Phantom Stranger.

<ITEM> Top culinary tips in SILENCE! Because my Mouth is Full of Delicious Food

Then it’s a saucy bumsqueeze for all and then home for a bath and bed.

Welcome to Diane… #22

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The now deceased emperor casually asked Zheng: What is the place of the ruler of mankind, should he unify heaven and earth, should he move the ghosts and spirits, like in the Xiangjing with many binding rules, how shall I govern?

We are having a blast doing Diane and we hope you’re enjoying our efforts, tardy as they may sometimes be… ;-)

If you have a few seconds to spare we would LOVE IT if you could like, rate, share review us etc depending on your preferences – we get good #numbers out of iTunes reviews so if you could write something nice or give us the old 5ive stars that would be wonderful – do this and we will be your best friend/boyfriend.

Moreover, we will happily marry you if you subscribe to Diane on iTunes (US or UK), or follow us on Twitter and Tumblr. Join the family by checking out brand new episodes of Diane on Libsyn and the website men in ancient time called Mindless Ones dot com.
Next episode: No lie – say ‘Hi’ to the bad guys!

IT IS TIME… IT IS TIME…  IT IS TIME FOR STORMY WEATHER

IF YOU’VE GOT A PEN IN YOUR HAND YOU’VE JUST GOTTA DRAW THE MOST IMPORTANT GLANDS

On the 5th of November 2016 at 11.50AM at the Thought Bubble comics festival in Leeds, something happened that would change the course of human civilization forever. An event that would give the free citizens of Earth to fight against the coming oppressors. This event was, of course, SILENCE! To Astonish!

The aptly named Cinema Of War played host to this titanic team-up between Gary Lactus, The Beast Must Die and Al Kennedy from House To Astonish. They were extremely lucky enough to enjoy the company of John Allison, Ryan North, Brenden Fletcher and Emi Lenox. Bless them all, they really had to put up with some nonsense!

LOOK AT THIS FABULOUS GALLERY OF VISUAL AIDS!

Got Your Nose, Douglas Noble, self published 2016

“Who is this bastard and why is he lying to me?!” – this was the first instruction given to me by my favourite English Lit lecturer, a guide for how to approach any given novel, no – check the expiration date, still seems good to go – any given text.  Shame that it falls apart only when you apply it back to the source, eh?

After all, who the fuck was this man and what did he have to gain from carving out space for that idea?  Only his whole fucking career.

Still, if I can’t pretend that this question will keep a roof over my head, I can still carry a jagged little fragment of it around in my back pocket, not so much an offensive weapon as a talisman to ward off the sly lies of authors, always so keen to have you see things their way.  So it goes with cartoonist Douglas Noble, whose New Lies in Every Line has had me bewitched and bewildered for a full year now.

I met Douglas at this year’s Thought Bubble festival, and spotting a sucker, he drew me in with his carnival barker’s knowledge of how to see into the heart of the audience, to know not just what they want to see but what they need to see.  He promised me that he was moving away from narrative and further into the realm of pure theme, and having glanced briefly at Got Your Nose, I believed him.

What can I say, I’ll always be a sucker for a Scottish accent in a distant land!

Written and drawn by Ramzee, tones by Liz Greenfield, cover art by Abigail Dela Cruz (self published, 2016) 

Here’s how you know this is good before you even so much as look at the cover: it was the only self-published comic to be nominated for the Young People’s Comics Award this year, and it lost.  I’m not saying that this automatically makes it the best comic on the list, but… face it, it probably does.

Anyway, it’s worth checking this perception for yourself, looking past the soft, friendly cover (above) and into ZORSE itself, which somehow manages to live up to this charming initial impression while also channelling the frustration of Ramzee’s phenomenal turn on the Diversity panel at SMASH in London earlier this year, that feeling that you’re dealing with someone who is sick of people who… well, let’s not mess around, people who look like me (white, male, middle class, probably with a beard and glasses) being heard to the exception of all others.

More than this: the feeling that you’re dealing with someone who is ready to seize every opportunity to get those voices out there.

Three hundred words on Morbius, commissioned by Thrills. Remember, you too can have a blog post on the subject of your choosing, for a penny a word, only at Thought Bubble…

You get two doctorates, do they call you Morbius the Living Doctor? No they don’t. And it’s not even as if Doctor Morbius is a bad supervillain name. It’s a good one. Better than “the living vampire” anyway. “Living” is the shittest possible adjective to have. Well, maybe better than “dead”, but it’s the most unremarkable one.

But that’s life for you. I’m not even a vampire. I didn’t get bitten by anyone, and I won’t turn you into a vampire if I bite you. I did a medical experiment. It’s not “Morbius the living martyr to medical science” is it? Not “Morbius the victim of a terrible tragedy”. Morbius the living vampire.

Just because I happen to need blood, and have a skin condition that means I can’t go out in the sunlight. And OK, I *was* once possessed by a demon called Bloodthirst. But really, obsessing on this vampire thing… If after an experiment I needed to eat a lot of lettuce, would I be called “Morbius the Living Vegetarian”? No, I wouldn’t. It’d still be Dr Michael Morbius, PhD, MD. I’d have a bit of fucking respect, wouldn’t I?

But nooo… it’s all “you’re a vampire” and “desist, foul fiend!” and fights with Spider-Man every time I need a snack. It’s discrimination, pure and simple. Show me some respect, call me “Doctor Morbius”.

This has been a public service announcement on behalf of the Haemophagic American Anti-Discrimination League. If you are a California voter, please support Prop 8 (banning of crosses, garlic, and holy water on public property) in the elections on Tuesday. Thank you for your support.