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

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Bingham 68 present to witness this immediate reaction, Rick's absence has allowed tension to escalate and the remaining semblance of legal fabric to deteriorate further toward mob rule. All the while Thomas Richards is escaping detection by allowing the emotional passions of the group to mask his guilt. When Rick returns he is given the consolation of finding Tyreese alive, but he and the others in the prison are still panicked. No testimony other than suspicion connects Dexter to the crime; so there is no promise there won't be another killing. Though Rick has no evidence Dexter is responsible, he threatens physical force if proof can be found (Figure 37). Rick's challenge and confrontational exterior hide an intense emotional pain and sentiment of failure (Figure 38). He blames himself for the death of Hershel's daughters because he assured their safety and was not present to offer protection when they were attacked. Dexter remains suspect until Thomas attempts to repeat his crime. Turning again to the theories of Mark Ledbetter, moments of physical injury or harm which come to characters can represent points of cognitive importance for readers; body metaphor familiarizes readers with the text (12) and makes character experience more personal and easier to internalize in relation to political experience (15). When Thomas attempts to repeat his crime with Andrea, he targets her while she is isolated from the rest of the group. Moreover, he physically injures her before she is able to seek out help, slicing off her left earlobe and scarring that side of her face. As this attack leaves Andrea scarred, it also has the same effect upon readers. In seeking out the ethic of a text, Ledbetter notes identifying instances like these as an essential exercise because “these characters' bodies serve as microcosm to the larger 'body' of text—the narrative we are reading—and to the language of body metaphor which is so much a part of the human
Bingham 69 experience, or the human narrative” (18). Seeing Andrea physically maimed and other members of the groups scarred by their insecurities and suspicions leaves an impression upon readers as well. While engaging this text, one cannot help but consider the dynamic of power and injustice which is being highlighted by the fact that Dexter is still being detained even though he has not committed the crime he has been accused of. While locked up, Dexter enlists his partner Andrew and forms an escape plan. There is a cache of weapons and protective riot gear in A-Block which Rick's group has yet to discover. As the group continues about their day, Andrea bursts from the laundry room into the courtyard with Thomas in frantic pursuit (Figure 39). Blade in hand, he chases her past Allen and his twin boys. Rick intercedes with the quick fury of revenge. After he's disarmed Thomas, six panels illustrate Rick's fists repeatedly hitting his face from a low angle. Lori attempts to stop Rick cautioning he is about to commit murder as well (Figure 40); but he throws her off and Andrea ends up holding her back. Andrea, Lori, Tyreese, and Carol watch as Rick pummels Thomas and asks, “DON'T YOU DESERVE THIS?!” His anger is textually represented by large, bold lettering. The following three panels show Thomas' destroyed face from above; almost substituting our view with Rick's. By the time Tyreese pulls him off of Thomas's collapsed and bloodied visage, Rick has already severely damaged his own hands. A key moment in the text, this beating is a catalyst for Rick's corruption and future manipulation of ethics in favor of supporting his position of power. Seemingly motivated by justice, this thrashing is another violent incident which Rick must incorporate into his sense of self. Looked to as a leader, Rick has already been changed by the pressure of surviving alone, being betrayed by his best friend, and making
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Walking Corpses & Conscious Plants:
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Bingham 3 I owe an extreme debt of
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Bingham 5 Introduction My project e
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Bingham 7 personal growth through t
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Bingham 9 beliefs. Seeing a possibl
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Bingham 11 zombie exceeds death as
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Bingham 13 the validity of singular
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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
Page 49 and 50: Bingham 49 implicates the role of o
Page 51 and 52: Bingham 51 demonstrates that he is
Page 53 and 54: Bingham 53 Amy (Figure 10 & 11). Th
Page 55 and 56: Bingham 55 being who has done nothi
Page 57 and 58: Bingham 57 transgressions, this ima
Page 59 and 60: Bingham 59 Returning to the full pa
Page 61 and 62: Bingham 61 order” (200). The prem
Page 63 and 64: Bingham 63 possession, selling, ste
Page 65 and 66: Bingham 65 with yourself? Not me. I
Page 67: Bingham 67 immediate proximity of t
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
Page 103 and 104: Bingham 103 preserved, yet not enti
Page 105 and 106: Bingham 105 increasingly more discu
Page 107 and 108: Bingham 107 Wrightson only drew the
Page 109 and 110: Bingham 109 by the inexorable progr
Page 111 and 112: Bingham 111 appeared. Though the tw
Page 113 and 114: Bingham 113 General Avery Carlton S
Page 115 and 116: Bingham 115 dismembered body which
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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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