Day 595

Aka Monday 17^th September 

So, last night as I was trying to get to sleep I could hear a scratching sound, so I got up and turned on the light and saw a mouse! It that scootered off under the chest of draws and then onto points unknown. So, today I spent about three hours tiding my room, checking every space I could reach for mouse signs, but to no avail. Once I finished tiding I placed two mousetraps, which, fingers crossed, will sort out the mouse (hopefully it’s just the one). I also:

…read ‘The Leopard’ 1 and 2, by Sarah Horrocks, a giallo style story (giallo is a “Italian thriller-horror genre that has mystery or detective elements and often contains slasher, crime fiction, psychological thriller, psychological horror, exploitation, sexploitation, and, less frequently, supernatural horror elements) crossed with ‘And There Were None’ (both the book and BBC TV miniseries) and ‘The Catand Canary’. A family gather at their recently deceased mother’s home, on an island, miles from the mainland, and they, and the staff, are murdered one by one. But before the gruesome murders, the family members spend plenty of time sniping and bitching at each other, giving a good case for the murderer doing the world a favour, ridding it of these horrible people! 10/10.

I haven’t read many of Ms Horrocks comics (mainly because I don’t like reading comics digitally, but that’s my problem), but all three (Goro, The Leopard and Red Medusa) share the same sense of outsideness, a uniqueness that isn’t replicated in any other comic I’ve read. Yes, there are hints/influences of the wider culture, such as Bill Sienkiewicz and a small press ‘inky’ zines attitude, but I don’t anyone else could have made these comics. Ms Horrocks reminds of the Manic Street Preachers when they first came out, lashings ‘we’re/I’m doing this because no-one else is (or can) doing it’, bringing a new look/approach to things and not letting a lack of technique inhibit you. 

Sometimes I was a little confused or unclear about what was happening in a panel or two, but still the art, lettering and colouring all carried through the emotion of that panel/scene (i.e. my head wasn’t sure what was happening, but my heart did…I should probably stop trying to explain what I mean before I completely muddy the waters!!!). Basically, I’m trying to say that these are good comics and more people should be reading them. Which is much better explained in this interview.

…and watched episodes 1 – 5 of season 1 of ‘The Good Place’, which has quickly become one of my favourite TV shows (but more when I’ve finished watching the rest of season one).

…and did today’s G2 crossword:

…which went pretty okay, I only had to cheat on a fifth of the clues (five out of 25), although I should have gotten ‘twenty’ from ‘score’, but I did learn that ‘damask’ is a ‘fabric used for table linen.