Mindless Ones

Keen as we are to take what comfort we can in these dark hours, the Mindless Ones will be at Thought Bubble 2024 in Harrogate this weekend. We’ll be at tables B3-4 in DSTLRY Hall on Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th November, providing maps to places that may or may not exist to weary travellers.

Here’s one:

A bloom of ungodly beauty in a world of holy tragedy, Leckie / Bone Chanter will be with us this weekend. Keepers of sweet secrets and keen-eyed sailors already know about Wraithlands, “a dark fantasy tabletop roleplaying game set on the cursed celtic island of Nullona, a mist-sodden conquered land of giant beasts, desperate villages, haunted bogs and daemonic landowners.” It’s a gorgeous premise, play-tested by legends from near and far, and brought to life by the gnarly whin of Leckie’s prose and art Paul Jon Milne (remember him?) that hints at ragged wounds and muck-damp landscapes yet to be uncovered.

The version of Wraithlands on sale this weekend is 161 page paperback.

As you can see, it’s a handsome volume. Perhaps even more handsome than the horde of Mindless Men who will be behind the table flogging it this weekend.

Because we are nothing if not enthusiasts for ritual, the Mindless Ones will be at Thought Bubble 2024 in Harrogate this weekend. We’ll be at tables B3-4 in DSTLRY Hall on Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th November, trading gnomic wisdom for earthy security.

A living totem of a masculinity untroubled by hate, Dan Cox has been a fixture of the Mindless Ones table for many years now. His stimulating musk and warm embrace have kept us going through some brutal hangovers over the years, and his comics might just get you through the dark of the year if you’re lucky.

We’ve interviewed Dan alongside his Hitsville UK collaborator John Riordan at least twice previously, and I’ve written at length about Hitsville at length here. If that last sentence seems familiar, that’s probably because I used a version of it while hyping up John’s work yesterday.

But enough of the past! What will Dan have with him this year?

As the author of two (excellent) Pocket Chillers it pains me to admit that “Jeff” is the best in the series, but who could argue with “Jeff” after meeting it in the street? A collaboration with the mighty Fraser Geesin, “Jeff” agitates the reader’s imagination by carefully controlling what they see, prompting them to ask why the fuck everyone else in the story is reacting like that. Geesin’s mastery of character acting makes sure that Cox’s ingenious concept feels plausible, like something that might just keep going in your own room when you put the comic down – trust me, once you read the thing, there will be no thought more horrible.

Described by Cox as “an experimental zine,” Weird Kids Like McCoy doesn’t have a lot in common with “Jeff” on first glance. “‘You’re trapped in a horrible house, a terrible relationship, an awful job. Maybe remembering the comics you liked as a kid will help” – this prompt calls to mind comics in the vein of Enigma and Flex Mentallo, and the Weird Kids itself makes good on that promise, but this is no retread of past metafictions. A close reading of the book will reveal a layer of formal play subtly in line with the techniques of “Jeff”, further marking out Cox as one of the most exciting and experimental comics makers around at the moment.

Rounding out Cox’s offerings will be some classy tote bags, and free material from “Pagans Against AI“.

On a table full of such aggrieved, conversational and idiosyncratic works, I can’t think of anything more fitting.

As you might have gathered if you’ve been looking at the site over the past couple of days, the Mindless Ones will be at Thought Bubble 2024 in Harrogate this weekend. We’ll be at tables B3-4 in DSTLRY Hall on Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th November, trading our handmade dreams for the purest product of the imagination we know of – your money.

Dan White won’t be with us at tables B3-4 this year. You see, the artist formerly known as The Beast Must Die is a real boy now. Oni press published Cindy and Biscuit last year, and since then he’s been a true fancy man, with his own fancy pants, and trousers too. If he takes a break from swigging Dom Pérignon at all this weekend, our good friend will be sitting… all the way over at table B2, DSTLRY Hall.

Despite the fact that he’s sitting one table away from us, and is therefore our mortal enemy, Dan is one of the best cartoonists around. Cindy and Biscuit: We Love Trouble showcases the range of skills Dan has built up over the years. As an action cartoonist, his compositions are genuinely propulsive. As a horror artist, his comics have reliably made me feel unexpectedly vulnerable in my own home. And as a storyteller, Dan can make you laugh just by the way he draws Biscuit’s cute dog face, or make you feel a world of unseen hurt with a couple of stray lines.

In addition to his Cindy and Biscuit wares, Dan will also be selling his new collection of Freaky Deakies, which showcases his lovingly coloured late night doodles, a real testament to both his raw visual imagination and his carefully honed craft.

Rounding out Dan’s offerings way up there in the giddy heights of table B2 is a collection of his single page Insomnia comics.

Like Terminus, Insomnia first ran on Mindless Ones dot com way back in the day. Like that comic, it’s a real masterclass in precision, but where Terminus was drawn in the playful, unsettling style that Dan would fully develop in Cindy and Biscuit, Insomnia made use of a series of painterly effects to get across is haunted absurdity. I can’t wait to see how this print edition looks, and if you’ve never read these strips before, I fully recommend that you give them a try.

In a heartwarming display of brotherhood, Dan will be putting his bucket of fizz down and putting his The Beast Must Die mask back on for the SILENCE! to Astonish panel at 2pm on Saturday 16th November in Panel Room 2.

The Beast will be joined in this endeavour by his trusty co-hosts, Gary Lactus and “Affronted” Al Kennedy, and by special guests Chrissy Williams, Ram V, David Brothers and Stephanie Phillips. Expect odd questions, inexplicable challenges, and totally unexpected and double plus special guests in this, the ninth occurrence of comicdom’s most pointless and shambolic panel show.

Thanks to our inability to arrange a piss-up in a brewery somewhere smack bang in the middle of the nation, the Mindless Ones will be at Thought Bubble 2024 in Harrogate this weekend. We’ll be at tables B3-4 in DSTLRY Hall on Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th November, trading our dazzling wares for coins, card transactions and wry smiles.

An angel in a pack of foul wretches, John Riordan will be with us once again this year. Why, he’s even made his own map to show where he’ll be sitting! It’s better formatted than the one we’ve used in our other posts, but we won’t hold that against him. Unloved creatures that we are, we can all still appreciate a little taste of the light.

We’ve interviewed John alongside his Hitsville UK collaborator Dan Cox at least twice previously, and I’ve written at length about Hitsville here. John’s a charming lad, as you can tell from his efforts to elevate the discourse that follows…

1. Who are you and why are you lying to us?

I am the Spectre of John Riordan, comic artist, catastrophist and William Blake nut. You may know him from his cult collaboration with Dan Cox, Hitsville UK and his solo work ‘Oh God what is happening and is it somehow my fault?’ I am lying because that’s what Spectres do.

2. What’s the best thing you’ll be selling at Thought Bubble 2024?

In a radical break with recent tradition I have a new comic. I’ll be selling LOS, the first instalment of my long gestated, labour-of-love comic based on the life of William Blake. It’s a 32-page, full-colour combination of pencil, ink, watercolour and digital trickery, and incorporates some Blake-style prints that I did on a replica 18th century printing press. As you do.

3. What are you looking forward to picking up at the convention?

I’m looking forward to picking up new stuff from my fellow Mindless Ones Fraser Geesin, Paul Jon Milne and that weird David Allison guy (do I get to call myself an honorary Mindless One these days? Surely I’ve put in the hours). Other than that, not sure really. One of the things that I really like about Thought Bubble is that I’ll inevitably discover wonderful new comics that I had no idea existed and filly my suitcase with them. Although I expect what I’m most likely to pick up is Covid. Ah well…

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Initiation into the Mindless involves an unplugged fridge, a draft of human piss, and a shroud of uncut darkness. Whether John has committed to this ritual is knowledge only our fellow adepts may share.]

4. …

I notice there is no question 4.

‘what Demon

Hath form’d this abominable void

This soul-shudd’ring vacuum? —Some said

“It is Urizen”’

Others said it was Illogical Volume. Next!

5. What sweetens your dreams?

Music, friendship, art, weird humans unable to resist following their own fascinations and making strange new things as a result.

6. What sours your nightmares?

Climate catastrophe, fascism, financialised capitalism, narcissism masquerading as power, power masquerading as religion, peanut butter.

7. Who will star in the inevitable Disney adaptation of your work and why will it be Gary Barlow’s giant son? 

How tall is Gary Barlow’s son? I’ve not looked. Presumably all that tax avoidance went into buying him protein shakes? If you put Mark Owen on Barlow Jr’s shoulders would they be the height of two average men? Blake was relatively short, but he had a bit of a thing about giants, so Toby Jones to play Blake and Gary Barlow’s son can play ’The Giant Albion’, and erm, Dexter Fletcher to play John’s Spectre. Er, that is, me. Lies lies lies.

Due to an obscure sentence passed by an unflinching god, the Mindless Ones will be at Thought Bubble 2024 in Harrogate this weekend. We’ll be at tables B3-4 in DSTLRY Hall on Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th November, trading hard drawn comics for hard earned cash, and shouting at tech bros whether any are present or not.

Scourge of Scotland’s east coast, the mighty Paul Jon Milne will be with us throughout the weekend. Paul is the sort of talent that comics have always attracted – a genius that can do anything except admit to its own existence. If the following interview leaves you with a desire to hear more from the man himself, we’ve blethered to him before here. If you want to check out his work – as all tortured aesthetes and muscle magic aficionados should – you can either pop round to Harrogate this weekend or visit his online shop.

Perverts who enjoy writing about comics are directed to my post on Paul’s “superheroes on the dole” comic Guts Power.

Anyway, enough of my shite. Let’s hear from the man himself!

1. Who are you and how did you get here?

I am Paul Jon Milne (He/Him) and I’ve been making comics and Art Stuff for ages, in Edinburgh and sometimes in Fife. Done all sorts of drawings for things. Drew some pics with a pal for a short film that had Gail Porter in it, a lifetime ago. Only saw it recently, via youtube. Was not mentioned in the credits. This is my ‘career’ in general.

2. What will you be bringing with you to Thought Bubble 2024?

Limit Formation Inertial! A comic about a wee lad who gets home from a space adventure, with consequences!!! 

These Aren’t My Brutes! A collection of fan-art pics I made this summer, now scanned in, printed and monetised.

Creep Heap 2025! A collection of drawings and comics from this year, mostly never seen before!!! Unless it doesn’t show up in time from the printer in which case no-one’ll see any of it.

Torse! Comic from 2023 about a training dummy. Nominated for ‘best art’ at The Selkie Awards (see question 4)!!!

3. What are you looking forward to at the convention?

Seeing pals! Avoiding the eyes of customers! Shivering and shaking as I try to handle money, hoping to god someone else can do everything for me as I try to become as small as possible behind the table. Also looking forward to sighting someone in fancy dress as Cole Cash, The Grifter.

4. We hear your Torso has been nominated for a prestigious award. How did that happen and what does it mean for the future of Scottish beefcakes?

I saw a tweet advertising a new awards thing and entered it as I am a very arrogant man. Doubt I’ll win but it’s nice to imagine I could. I’m hoping if I win it’ll lead to all the Scottish gym bozos reading Torse and seeing that being radicalised by a culture of joyless body fascism is a bad scene, and make being a musclebound oaf fun again.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: we were hoping to provoke Paul into discussing his own reputable Torso, rather than the (excellent) comic book Torse, but modesty and good taste have lead us elsewhere and who are we to deny those fine characteristics when they present themselves in this blighted world?]

5. What has been holding back despair when the inevitable disgust with all things comics creeps in during the dark of night?

Nothing, really!!! ‘LOL’! Been watching all the Alien and Predator films, though. I have the same opinions as everyone else about all of them except now I prefer Predator 2 to Predator 1, and Alien 3 (extendo edition) to Aliens. Dunno if this is ‘holding back despair’ but it’s certainly making me an interesting contrarian with a raised eyebrow and smug smile, ready for Discourse.

6. Which is the best Marvel vs. Capcom game and why? 

Difficult to answer!!! In theory it’s Marvel vs. Capcom 2 as it has one million characters, crucially including Cable and Marrow of the X-Men, and (yawn) Technical and Involved Gameplay. However, it also has shitey 3D backgrounds.

Was recently reacquainted with Marvel vs. Capcom 1 and while it has a tiny wee roster, it also has lovely 2D backgrounds and the ability to go two slightly different versions of the Hulk at once. It’s slightly less hectic than 2 for the most part and I feel more like I know what I’m doing. Also the end boss is Onslaught which seems a terrible idea but I’m very glad he’s there being legitimised by Capcom, one in the eye for the “LOL 90s amirite” crowd.

So MvC 1 is the best one. Maybe.

All I know is Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite is dog shit as it has no X-Men and stinks of ‘movie synergy’. No! No.

Comics?!?!?

For the first time since the last time, the Mindless Ones will be at Thought Bubble 2024 in Harrogate this weekend. We’ll be at tables B3-4 in DSTLRY Hall on Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th November, trading comics for cash and WNDRNG WHT YRTS.

Some handsome bastard called David Allison will be there flogging zines and comics in the hope of attracting the right crowd. His first big new release of the weekend is An Intervention, his second Pocket Chiller.

An Intervention is a tale of random encounters, submerged responsibility, and concrete angels. Like a chimp attempting to make fire by hooting at some twigs, David has made a crude trailer for the comic, which you can watch below.

David’s other new release is The Grave and The Good, a Choose Your Own Adventure zine.

Here’s how David is trying to entice the unsuspecting this time out: “You wake up with the taste of earth in your mouth. Everything else about you is cold and damp, but you sense that you were on the verge of learning something horrible and true about the world. The only question is, can you dig deep into this feeling and survive?”

David will have copies of his previous Pocket Chiller, The Candidate, for sale at the weekend. If he gets his act together, he will also have a range of zines and mini-comics with him, including: Uncle Frank, Cut-Out Witch, and Mini-Witch (all illustrated by Shaky Ghost); Beyond Whiles (adapted from the work of Alasdair Gray); BARRY, or “The Robot”; and Grave Tidings, an eight page comic made of reprocessed art from The Grave and The Good.

In a startling turn of events, the Mindless Ones will be at Thought Bubble 2024 in Harrogate this weekend. We’ll be at tables B3-4 in DSTLRY Hall on Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th November, trading comics for hard cash and pre-chewed vowels.

It wouldn’t be a Mindless meet-up without big massive genius Gary Lactus aka Fraser Geesin in the mix, so we’re all delighted to know that we’ll be able to look upon the face of bad backs this weekend. This time out Fraser will be debuting the latest issue of Pricks, his ongoing collaboration with Laurie Rowan.

Here’s a Mindless micro-review of the latest issue, just to get yr receptors tingling:

Ever feel everything closing in as you flop about in next door’s bins trying to find a new accessory? Ever wonder what’s happened to your brand, and how you were convinced to have it burned into your flesh in the first place? Ever find yourself not mad but laughing, actually? If so, congratulations, Pricks #4 is the comic for you! If not, amazing, Pricks #4 has experienced all those things so you don’t have to! 

The previous three issues of Fraser Geesin and Laurie Rowan’s Pricks established a tone and a set of characters, none of them particularly stable. Just when you think you’ve got a grip on what’s going on with Darren – hunched in a slum property, dressed in only a rubber glove for warmth – Pricks finds a new shape to squeeze him into. This is high, horrible absurdity that will appeal to fans of Michael Kupperman and Steve Aylett, made all the more potent by the way Geesin’s art grounds even the book’s wildest gags in the everyday.

Pricks looks and smells every bit as routinely abhorrent as the modern world. What a miracle, then, that it’s also the funniest comic of the year.

Alongside all four issues of Pricks, Fraser will be selling the following hand crafted wonders this weekend: his ace autobio comic The Cleaner; Ikea-themed anthology Komisk; prints depicting Ikea Products From Hell; his collaboration with big pimpin’ Andre Whickey, Tales From 500 Songs; the Pocket Chillers Speckle and Ash and Jeff (the latter with Dan Cox); and Journey To The Surface of the Earth issues #1-2.

As if all that wasn’t enough, Fraser will be stripping off his civilian identity and going full Gary Lactus at the SILENCE! to Astonish panel at 2pm on Saturday 16th November in Panel Room 2.

Goodie Lactus will be joined in this endeavour by his trusty co-hosts, The Beast Must Die and “Affable” Al Kennedy, and by special guests Chrissy Williams, Ram V, David Brothers and Stephanie Phillips. Expect odd questions, inexplicable challenges, and totally unexpected and double plus special guests in this, the ninth occurrence of comicdom’s most pointless and shambolic panel show.

Here’s the recording of SILENCE! To Astonish from Thought Bubble 2023. Gary Lactus, The Beast Must Die and Al Kennedy put Al Ewing, Rachel Stott, Lucy Sullivan and Not Caspar Wijngaard to the test. 

If you’re in Harrogate for Thought Bubble this weekend, why not stop by to say hello to Mindless Men at tables 27b-28, Comixology Originals Hall?

THIS IS A TEST!  Those who are in attendance but who do not want to stop by our table must submit their answer as to why in the form of an essay.  2000 words on the button.  Those who fail will be subject to sanctions so foul they would make Darkseid wince.

This goes double for SILENCE! to Astonish Live, which will be held from 15:30-16:15 at ROOM 2 on Saturday 13th November, and will feature special guests Al Ewing, Becky Cloonan, Hannah Berry and Rachel Stott alongside your usual hosts Al Kennedy, Gary Lactus and The Beast Must Die.

Anyway, if you want to stop by our table, here’s who’ll be lurking there and what they’ll have in store for you…

DAN WHITE AKA THE BEAST MUST DIE

You read it here first, but from tomorrow onward you can carry it around with you like an unusually lush grudge.  We’re talking words, we’re talking pictures, we’re talking a series of gag comics that might curdle the very milk in your eye – that’s right people, we’re talking about the new hardcover collection of Terminus.

As discussed on SILENCE!: Inside the Wanker’s Studio, Dan’s reworked some of these old strips to tighten up early episodes, which have been bound in a beautiful package by the legendary Comic Printing UK.

Dan’s also returned to comics’ favourite double act with Cindy and Biscuit: Year One, a newspaper format comic detailing the early days of our heroes in a series of neat, Bill Watterson-inflected adventures.

Here’s what Broken Fontier’s Andy Oliver, who you still worship as a god despite prior warnings, had to say about it:

With previous Cindy and Biscuit editions all available digitally, Cindy and Biscuit: Year One is a perfect print edition entry point into their world and is entirely accessible for new readers. This time White has adopted a Sunday Comics broadsheet format to take us back to an earlier point in Cindy’s life when she was not much older than a toddler and her relationship with Biscuit was just beginning. As such, these six stories are mostly far more light-hearted in approach, stripped of much of the ever lurking melancholy to be found in her (chronologically) later misadventures and paced more to build up to punchline endings (small excerpts of strips only here!). For those more versed the Cindy and Biscuit universe, though, the foundations for what is to come are very much in evidence in a one-shot that both parodies and celebrates the whole “Year One” comics publishing stunt.

One day the whole world will want to hold this comic.  You can do so tomorrow – what a treat!

FRASER GEESIN AKA GARY LACTUS 

In his top secret alter-ego of Big Massive Genius Fraser Geesin, Gary Lactus has created Purple Hate Balloon in collaboration with Laurie Rowan.

Since I am still obliged to crawl to Andy Oliver as the whole town of Bedford Falls was obliged to crawl to Potter, I will once again quote from his Broken Frontier review:

Purple Hate Balloon is the story of Roger and his pet Susan, the first of a breed of new genetically engineered floating animals known as Labralloons who feed on anger. Given this, Roger has had a valve fitted to his head to let off the excess pressure of being in a state of perpetual rage to satiate Susan’s hunger. Susan’s soothing flatulence on digesting anger though is manifested in the comforting aromas of fabric conditioners, freshly baked bread, and satsumas at Christmas, providing a sense of catharsis for those around her…

You can certainly look for social commentary in Geesin and Rowan’s story, or even project some on it if you want. I’m sure there are parallels and analogies to be drawn. Or you could just absorb it at face value as a self-contained tale with a darkly comedic appeal that is both sublime and delicious in its delivery. This is also some of Geesin’s very best cartooning to date with often cramped panels and slightly distorted characters adding to that skewed sense of a world like ours that has gone off-kilter.

Fraser’s art has been getting better and better over the past few years, and this looks to continue that trend in a suitably ludicrous style.

Best to find out about the fuss and ruckus before it finds out about you!

ANDREW HICKEY AKA ANDRE WHICKEY 

Fresh from his appearance on BBC’s Top Gear, Andrew will be in town to podcast live into the faces of friends and enemies alike.

Know him.  Love him.  Fear him.  Support him on Patreon.

In an effort to avoid becoming so bland that he stopped registering on the average taste bud during lockdown, Illogical Volume (stop writing about yourself in the third person! – ed)  has kept himself busy making comics and zines.  The following three projects will be making their Thought Bubble debut this weekend…

Not Because of the People 

Four stories about abandoned places and the people who live there.  Walk around a series of landscapes that may or may not seem familiar, maybe even real.  You are not alone.

Previews available here, here, here and here.

Future Crimes #1

If the plague era has taught us anything, it’s that the power of raw delusion should not be underestimated. Future Crimes #1 proves that anything can be a holiday from yourself. Building a new bookshelf can be an erotic adventure.  Being grilled by your boss can be a gateway to conspiracy.  Actually going on holiday can be a dull day staring at yourself in the bathroom mirror.  Believe.

Bad Poetry

Like good poetry, bad poetry knows no boundaries. Unlike good poetry, bad poetry doesn’t really have any sense of what it’s doing.

One for the true aesthetes in the audience, we’re sure.

DAN COX AND JOHN RIORDAN AKA THE HITSVILLE BOYS

Fresh from their adventures through heaven and hell, Dan and John are back in the building to flog Hitsville UK, the cult musical-pop-art-soap-opera comic book collected in 240 pages of psychedelic colour.

Follow a carnival of angel-voiced grotesques, monster-hunters, imaginary robots, hip-hop agitators, faded 80s starlets, 60s throwbacks, drug-addled producers and demonic accountants as they try to hit the big time.

“Like comics and music? Then get Hitsville UK” – Stuart Maconie, BBC 6 Music

John will also have copies of his gorgeous illustrated guide to Music’s Cult Artists on sale if you really feel like treating yourself this weekend.