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

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

Author: SpectreVision Radio December 9, 2020 Duration: 1:20:31
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 megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the heart of Weird Studies, a podcast from SpectreVision Radio, you’ll find long-form conversations between Professor Phil Ford and writer J. F. Martel. Their discussions aren’t simple reviews or straightforward analyses; instead, they wander through the tangled undergrowth where art and philosophy meet, giving generous time to concepts that resist easy understanding and to creative works that fracture our ordinary sense of the world. This podcast deliberately lingers in that ambiguous space, treating the “weird” not as a genre but as a particular mode of experience-one that reveals the cracks in what we comfortably assume is real. Each episode feels like joining a deep, meandering dialogue between two friends who are both deeply knowledgeable and endlessly curious, covering a vast terrain that includes literature, film, music, and esoteric thought. It’s a show for anyone who suspects that the most profound truths are often found in the shadows, the anomalies, and the strangely beautiful. As part of the SpectreVision Radio network, which specializes in content that explores the uncanny edges of creativity, Weird Studies builds a unique community of listeners who are eager to think differently. You won’t find pat answers here, but you will encounter compelling questions and a shared sense of exploration that makes each installment a distinctive journey.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 230

Weird Studies
Podcast Episodes
Halloween Special: A Reading of Arthur Machen's "The White People" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:39:55
Originally released in 2018 but remixed for your listening pleasure, here's Phil reading Arthur Machen's classic weird tale, "The White People." Happy Halloween! Machen's "The White People" was discussed all the way back…
Episode 200 – On 'The Call of Cthulhu' [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:27:34
For their 200th episode, JF and Phil turn their attention to H. P. Lovecraft’s “The Call of Cthulhu,” a story foundational not only to modern horror fiction but to the very idea of the Weird. In revisiting this tale of f…
Episode 199 – On Michael Jackson, with Shannon Taggart [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:15:25
Photographer and paranormal researcher Shannon Taggart joins JF and Phil to explore the phenomenon that was Michael Jackson. One of the most brilliant and successful musicians of the modern era, Jackson was also a limina…
Episode 197 - Sounding the Otherworld: On Bryn Chainey's 'Rabbit Trap' [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:31
In a rare surfacing in the contemporary world, JF and Phil discuss a film that has just been released. Bryn Chainey’s Rabbit Trap is psychological horror in the tradition of Repulsion, Jacob’s Ladder, and Angel Heart. Bu…
Weird Studies Trailer [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:00
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Mid-Break Bonus: On Trust [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:06
We're breaking up our late-summer pause with an audio extra originally recorded for our Patreon supporters. This episode also includes an essay JF wrote on the philosophy of Henri Bergson. A whole course on Bergson's phi…
Episode 196 – Lost and Never Found: On 'The Blair Witch Project' [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:32:13
Of all the flavors of horror, few are as dreadful as that of being lost in the wilderness. In this episode, JF and Phil revisit The Blair Witch Project, the classic 1999 found-footage film that inspired a thousand imitat…