Episode 88: On Neil Gaiman & Dave McKean's 'Mr Punch'

Weird Studies

Phil Ford and J. F. Martel

Society & Culture, Arts, Philosophy

4.8 • 688 Ratings

🗓️ 9 December 2020

⏱️ 80 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Before Coraline, before American Gods, in the early days of the Sandman series, Neil Gaiman collaborated with Dave McKean on some truly groundbreaking graphic novels: Violent Cases (1987), Signal to Noise (1989), and the work discussed in this Weird Studies episode. The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr Punch (1994) is the story of a boy whose initiation into the dark realities of life, death, and family plays out in the shadow of the (in)famous Punch & Judy puppet show. Unlike some of Gaiman's more overtly marvellous offerings, Mr Punch is a subtle fantasy whose weirdness hides in the gaps and folds of lost time. It is in Dave McKean's brilliant art that the magic shines through, letting us know that the narrative is only part of a vaster, hidden thing. In this episode, Phil and JF discuss the themes, ideas, and mysteries of an unparalleled piece of comics art. REFERENCES Watch Aaron Poole's 9-minute short film "Oracle" Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean, _The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch "That's the Way to Do It! A History of Punch and Judy", Victoria Albert Museum _ Ronald Briggs, Father Christmas Clement Greenberg, American art critic Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics J. F. Martel, Patreon Post on The Untimely Weird Studies, Episodes 20 and 21 on the Trash Stratum Weird Studies, Episode 72 on the Castrati Samuel Pepys, English administrator and diarist Nick Lowe, The Beast in Me Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Spectrevision Radio
0:03.3	Welcome to Weird Studies, an arts and philosophy podcast with hosts Phil Ford and J.F. Martel.
0:23.3	For more episodes or to support the podcast, go to weirdstudies.F. Martel and welcome to the last episode of Weird Studies for 2020. I'll abstain from
0:55.9	the usual remarks about how effed up this year has been, because the truth is that here on Weird
1:00.5	Studies, it's been rather nice. For us, the show has been a shelter from the storm, and judging
1:06.8	from the messages we get, the same seems to have been true for a lot of our listeners.
1:11.6	We hope you'll be back with us on January 6th when we ring in the new year with an episode
1:16.4	devoted to Ishmael Reed's phantasmagoric novel Mumbo Jumbo.
1:21.4	Recently, a listener wrote us asking about the books, movies, and music that shaped the whole
1:26.4	thought world we explore on the show.
1:29.3	Phil and I responded with posts to our Patreon page, which incidentally, I encourage you to check
1:34.9	out because where would we be without our patrons? Phil's post, titled Influences, was all about
1:41.0	the kind of stuff that's so influential that you wouldn't think of including it on an essential works list because it shaped the deep structure from which interests develop rather than the interests themselves.
1:52.0	My approach was less imaginative and I started drawing up lists of material that continues to influence the way I think about art, philosophy, and the weird,
2:01.4	the stuff I wish everyone would read.
2:04.0	And I became rather stressful until I finally decided to limit my list of recommendations to three
2:08.8	titles, all books.
2:10.8	These would be my supernovas, works without which I wouldn't be doing this show.
2:15.4	They are, drumroll, Herman Melville's Moby Dick,
2:19.4	Conte Miesu's After Finitude, and Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean's 1994 graphic novel,
2:25.3	The Tragical Comedy and Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch. And that happens to be the book we're
2:31.5	talking about today. Hopefully, by the time we're finished, you'll agree that this comic should be considered foundational in the non-existent field of weird studies.
	...

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