Mindless Ones

Back in February, I appeared on a panel at the London Graphic Novel Network’s S.M.A.S.H. event. There were a lot of great speakers at those events (including our own Maid of Nails, friend of the website Kieron Gillen, America’s next top comics critic J.A. Micheline, Mazin off the Kraken podcast, and Jam Trap poet Chrissy Williams), staggered across three panels focusing on MEANING, ART and REPRESENTATION in comics.

The plan was to write series of posts inspired by these talks, but then this happened.

Trying to appear big and clever on the internet has never felt less important to me than it did in the aftermath. 

Anyway, I spoke on the art panel at S.M.A.S.H. and as a comics critic in the company of artists/editors, I figured I would be the least qualified person to talk about the subject so I did what I always do: I overcompensated. Only Mister Attack will ever see the first draft of my introductory talk, the charmingly titled “COMICS ARTISTS ARE WASTING THEIR LIVES”. In the end, I settled for a slightly less arsey approach that focused on different modes of reading, and how we might want to develop our understanding of our own biases so we can better make them fight to prove which opinions are best.

You can listen to what I actually said and the subsequent panel debate here (headphones recommended, audio’s a but quiet!), read the version of this pitch I submitted here, or if you fancy getting the right mix of depth and brevity you can now read the text I brought with me on the day below.

None of these versions are quite the same. None of them quite get across what I thought I was trying to say. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Taste the glory!

WRAPPED ON THE JUNGLE FLOOR, JACKIE’S DRESSED IN COBRAS

<ITEM> Administration Nation! From station to station! With The Beast’s detailed rundown of the S.M.A.S.H event run by the London Graphic Novel Network, 21 Statements About Comics Criticism, Thought Bubble 2015, breathtaking tales of deadline crushing, burning David Cameron effigies, the Lewes Bonfire, and of course listener’s favourite SCIATICA!

<ITEM> Egadz man, it’s the Reviewniverse, shimmering before us, like some sort of…some sort of…Reviewniverse! Talking’ bout Claus no.1 by Grant Morrison, Dr Strange, Hotel Shade, Doom Patrol, Steve Gerber, Unfollow, Survivors Club, more Magnum P.I. Team Up, Paper Girls, Howard The Duck and more

Now do one, you rowdy rabble

click to download SILENCE!#164

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This edition of SILENCE! is proudly sponsored by the greatest comics shop on the planet, DAVE’S COMICS of Brighton. It’s also sponsored the greatest comics shop on the planet GOSH! Comics of London.