Mindless Ones

Back in August we talked to John Higgins John Higgins at the monthly Cartoon County meeting. Look! There he is with his creation, Razorjack!

We interviewed John a while back and now you can hear a pretty much unedited 1 hour conversation with the man in the company of Dez Skinn, David Lloyd and a host of other sequential storytellers.  The talk ranges from 70s head comics to superheroes, blue line colouring to computer colouring,  self publishing and Spider-Man’s underpants.

[audio:https://mindlessones.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/john-higgins.mp3]
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Carry on for relevant images relating to this interview

A weekly strip by Fraser Geesin

Andrew and Steven in

KNIGHTS OF THE REALM

Part 11

[audio:https://mindlessones.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/goodbyeelton.mp3]

Look Ma! I want brains….!

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‘thing is, i know we at mindless ones don’t really feel the need to justify these things or to bother kicking the argument about the way they might at, say, funnybook babylon, but i think the answer to the question ‘does bruce wayne work in cosmic scenarios? – in this PARTICULAR cosmic scenario?’ and the conversation one could have around it is probably an interesting one.

for geeks.’

But that’s okay, we know a few. And this is their home

I’m not going to talk much about zombies, I’m afraid. Zombies aren’t the problem.

Post credits Walking Dead opens on Andrew Lincoln’s Sheriff’s Deputy chomping on hamburgers with his partner, Shane, played by Jon Bernthal, and shooting the shit about their marriages. Both men badmouth their wives, Shane makes some huge and rather unpleasant generalisations about women, and Lincoln goes on to describe his wife as cruel and a bad mother. What Darabont seems to be going for is Tarantino, what he comes up with is charmless dialogue peppered with misogyny. Unfortunately the show goes on like that.

All the female characters are either shit-talked, absent, evil zombies/bad mothers, and/or reckless. Men? They’re gun wielding, authoritarian, tough and very much in charge. There’s a scene late on where Shane tells off his wife for wanting to help other people, accuses her of jeopardizing the life of their child, and not only does she come round to his way of thinking, she also decides that this is in fact a very sexy moment*.

Whether the show continues in this vein or not remains to be seen. There’s a lot of room for it to paint a picture of women as human beings. It’s also worth bearing in mind that while Lincoln describes his wife as a bad mother, the possibility that he will be plagued by guilt for being absent when the zombies came leaves the door open for a more thorough examination of masculinity and the male role. So at this very early stage I’m willing to give Walking Dead the benefit of the doubt, but the fact that there is precisely one scene where the show demonstrates what could be construed as a positive view of women doesn’t bode well.

There’s no doubt that Darabont can direct, the plot is strong, and the show does understand what’s nasty about zombies, but we’ve come to expect compelling dialogue and a nuanced approach to gender politics from our quality US dramas. So far Walking Dead exhibits little of either.

*ADDENDUM: It’s been noted in the comments that I have mistaken Rick’s family for Shane’s (thanks, Basque). While I’m embarrassed by my lack of perceptiveness I have to say that adding infidelity to the list of sins committed by women doesn’t exactly weaken my case.

A weekly strip by Fraser Geesin

Andrew and Steven in

KNIGHTS OF THE REALM

Part 10

Ever wondered about the creative process behind The Amusing Brothers?  Check out the commentary track to this chapter!

[audio:https://mindlessones.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/paulmcartneystory.mp3]

OR: Riding The Bulletproof Coffin With Shaky Kane & David Hine!

When it comes to comics, The Bulletproof Coffin has annihilated the competition in 2010. This is fitting, because The Bulletproof Coffin is all about the creepy, destructive power of your (my?) favourite medium.  Like the vehicle of the book’s title, comics are a fun thing to bury yourself in, but whatever way you look at it you’re still getting buried, right?

For those who came in late… well, if you’re allergic to plot synopses (which is to say: if you’re a reasonably functional human being!), go read the first issue for free then come back.  If overexposure to the Internet has left you with a high tolerance for such nonsense, then the book’s about Steve Neuman, a “void contractor” who stumbles onto an idiot’s bounty of comics, toys and collectible crap in a dead man’s house.  As per an arrangement he has with his boss, he takes this stuff home, and the ever porous borders between real life and fantasy start to let stuff filter through just like you’d expect they would.

All of this seems a little simplistic when described, but this is a far more precise and specific piece of work than I’ve made it sound. It’s all about points of impact – between the gnarled, blocky shapes Kane sets up on the page, between one unsavoury colour and another and between pulp fantasy and pulped reality. Like so:

You want more of that, dontcha punk? Well, go ahead & get clicking, cos there’s more Golden Nugget goodness if you’re willing to dig for it!

What follows is probably incredibly obvious to anyone who’s been reading Morrison’s recent Batman and DC stuff and is familiar with Morrison’s obsessions generally, but I think someone needs to get this down and explain everything already. Here goes.

Back in June, Cartoon County had a visit from Sarah Lightman of the London based graphic narrative creating and reading group Laydeez Do Comics.  It was ascorching hot day and we had the air conditioning on, creating some audio issues.  Still, worth a listen.

[audio:https://mindlessones.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/cartooncountyladeez.mp3]

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