Walking Corpses & Conscious Plants: Possibilist Ecologies in ...

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Bingham 56 occupying the space where the letter should be located. Apart from this verbal replacement for the crack of gunfire, the spatter of blood, and five, half inch long, motion lines depicting the movement of Shane's head, the background is plain. Below this panel is one of equal size depicting the shooter (Figure 18). Carl is positioned at the leftmost side of the panel. At its center, his hands are clasped around a small firearm that is emanating a wisp of white smoke. His face resembles Shane's just before he attempted to shoot Rick. It seems as though a mentality has been transferred here. From his turned down mouth a jagged speech balloon that breaks the top border reads, “DON'T HURT MY DADDY AGAIN!” Clearly, witnessing the violent incident when Shane punched his father earlier had an effect on Carl. The notion of transference is supported by other visual clues which echo Shane's previous combative actions. For example, Carl's speech bubble also breaks the upper panel border and opens up into the gutter just as Shane's had before. Also, the placement of his gun extends farther than Shane's head; this could signify that since Carl has now committed an act of violence he is liable to commit others. On the next page, seven panels depict the passing of time as Shane clutches the wound on his neck, Carl runs into his father's arms, and Shane collapses before them. In this sequence of events, the stylistic repetition of virtually blank backgrounds characterizes the three close-up shots. It also emphasizes that death is not immediate. Further reinforcing that this act has ethical implications, father and son crouch on the right side of the fourth and fifth panels while Shane's lifeless body falls flatly on the ground to the left. Even his head and hat are turned leftwards. Strangely, his arms open outward in a position reminiscent of Jesus when nailed to the cross; despite Shane's
Bingham 57 transgressions, this image calls up associations of martyrdom (Figure 20). As Rick holds his son in the last two panels, the two attempt to cope with what has just happened (Figure 19 & 20). Carl lifts his head from his father's chest and says, “It's not the same as killing the dead ones, Daddy.” Here his speech again opens up into the gutter. This is fitting since the events defy simply comprehension. Shane had been transformed from a protector into a source of danger. This dynamic is similar to what occurs when individuals are transformed into zombies. Not only seeing this change, but having to step in and stop Shane from killing his father firsthand is enough to make Carl jaded and distrusting. Appropriately, the moment of Carl's expression closes the grid. What follows is a full page dedicated to a single image of the two who have survived the conflict which closes the chapter. Here the landscape is drawn in vivid detail (Figure 20). Still kneeling, Rick embraces Carl at the center of the page. In front of them lays Shane's awkwardly outstretched lifeless body. Shane's left arm is bent at the elbow, his right arm points straight out, and his feet point into the ground as a pool of blood collects under his head which is shown in profile. Two speech balloons signify Rick's response, “It never should be, son. It never should be.” The strong contrast between depicting such a painful and violent scene in such a beautifully constructed landscape causes readers to consider death as a natural, organic process. This depiction could also be seen as strongly tied to Rick's perspective. Nearly having died, this shot could signify a feeling of renewed appreciation for life on his part. Since so much of the natural surroundings are shown while Rick is also holding his child close, this moment layers the pain of loss with thankfulness for survival. In his book Ledbetter claims, “Find out who is doing the hurting and who is being hurt, and at this point narrative reveals an
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Walking Corpses & Conscious Plants:
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Bingham 3 I owe an extreme debt of
Page 5 and 6: Bingham 5 Introduction My project e
Page 7 and 8: Bingham 7 personal growth through t
Page 9 and 10: Bingham 9 beliefs. Seeing a possibl
Page 11 and 12: Bingham 11 zombie exceeds death as
Page 13 and 14: Bingham 13 the validity of singular
Page 15 and 16: Bingham 15 Chapter I: The History o
Page 17 and 18: Bingham 17 Swamp Thing. According t
Page 19 and 20: Bingham 19 instructional profession
Page 21 and 22: Bingham 21 Another artist who worke
Page 23 and 24: Bingham 23 action into panels (Cohn
Page 25 and 26: Bingham 25 sponsorship. He designed
Page 27 and 28: Bingham 27 Charles Moulton. Marston
Page 29 and 30: Bingham 29 Frederick Wertham prompt
Page 31 and 32: Bingham 31 “graphic novel” was
Page 33 and 34: Bingham 33 what is or isn't a graph
Page 35 and 36: Bingham 35 Works Cited Benton, Mike
Page 37 and 38: Bingham 37 Chapter II: Transfusion
Page 39 and 40: Bingham 39 conflict or war. This ex
Page 41 and 42: Bingham 41 and dismember other bodi
Page 43 and 44: Bingham 43 bodies to pieces. (Cavar
Page 45 and 46: Bingham 45 thus creating an affecti
Page 47 and 48: Bingham 47 margins. Unlike the four
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Page 53 and 54: Bingham 53 Amy (Figure 10 & 11). Th
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Page 59 and 60: Bingham 59 Returning to the full pa
Page 61 and 62: Bingham 61 order” (200). The prem
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Page 65 and 66: Bingham 65 with yourself? Not me. I
Page 67 and 68: Bingham 67 immediate proximity of t
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Page 71 and 72: Bingham 71 sentences Thomas to hang
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Page 75 and 76: Bingham 74 Works Cited Berger, Arth
Page 77 and 78: Bingham 76 APPENDIX A Fig. 1. Openi
Page 79 and 80: Bingham 78 Fig. 7. Fig. 8.
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Page 101 and 102: Bingham 101 Chapter III: Speaking o
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Bingham 107 Wrightson only drew the
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Bingham 109 by the inexorable progr
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Bingham 111 appeared. Though the tw
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Bingham 113 General Avery Carlton S
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Bingham 115 dismembered body which
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Bingham 117 sheltered from or not e
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Bingham 119 authority. This subtle,
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Bingham 121 the center of the page
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Bingham 123 affect. Apart from this
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Bingham 125 acts of fictional chara
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Bingham 127 resemblance, their comp
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Bingham 129 experience. The creator
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Bingham 131 justified. What follows
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Bingham 133 present to witness it t
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Bingham 135 If we read each charact
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Bingham 137 able to issue an urgent
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1 According to comics historian Rob
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Bingham 140 - Interview by David Ro
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