Cradlegrave (spoilers within)

[JayzusB.Christ]

The characters in this strip didnt seem like they were "Chavs" to me at all but are just Lads as it were.Its slightly derogatory to label them as "Chavs" just because they are working class

Actually the term isn't really used over her in Ireland much.  I only used it because one of the characters in the story used it to describe himself and the others. So blame Skully, not me. 

[Roger Godpleton]

Is there any kind of comprehensive John Smith fansite for serious discussion of his works? I really think there needs to be one. (Are you still lurking out there Dudley?)

The ending is perfect. It's basically the same ending as Firekind, Leatherjack and Killing Time. The unknown will always be terrible and threatening, but the known evils of the world will always be worse.

[JayzusB.Christ]

Now just hold on a minute! Without wanting to derail the thread I have to take issue with that. 13 was brilliant, bonkers fun, and its a crying shame we never got more of it.

'Your thoughts are most strange... is the phrase 'tits like God's own ear muffs' some form of prayer?'

Nah, sorry, each to his own and all but it just didn't do it for me. Though her tits WERE like God's own earmuffs.

Anyway, I had another thought about Cradlegrave - is the whole black milk t

[JayzusB.Christ]

sorry, made a hames of that. try again:

Now just hold on a minute! Without wanting to derail the thread I have to take issue with that. 13 was brilliant, bonkers fun, and its a crying shame we never got more of it.

'Your thoughts are most strange... is the phrase 'tits like God's own ear muffs' some form of prayer?'

Nah, sorry, each to his own and all but it just didn't do it for me. Though her tits WERE like God's own earmuffs.

Anyway, I had another thought about Cradlegrave - is the whole black milk thing a sort of heroin metaphor? from what I've seen it really does have an incredibly malignant influence that fucks up whole communities beyond belief. There was an apartment complex near me that was 'cured' of heroin dealers almost immediately by the simple expedient of viligantes murdering one of them. Not saying it was right, but it pretty much worked.
Though of course heroin doesn't come from the multiple teats of a mutated pensioner, tothe best of my knowledge.

[House of Usher]

is the whole black milk thing a sort of heroin metaphor?

I'd agree, and I think that particular subtext was very close to the surface. Even Skully spotted it, so I'm guessing the answer's 'yes.'

[mygrimmbrother]

I can just see a film version in my head - Shane Meadows meets David Cronenberg. Probably wouldn't reveal a money shot of Mary until the very end, just suggestive close-crops of various bulges and pustules to hint at her deterioration. Very minimal, no-fuss CGI, Cast kids who are genuinely that age (and not early 20s), and a hand-picked, minimal, creepy as fuck soundtrack featuring the likes of Tortoise and Boards of Canada.

It could be REAALLLY Good.

[TheEdge]

TOOO Much useless PLOT no real story.

I unserstand that this is set up to RUN, but its overlooked the fact that you need to HOOK people to get them to read on.




Much Nuthugging in this thread.

[JayzusB.Christ]

Or 'individual opinions', as it's usually called. It hooked me from the 2nd episode.

[JayzusB.Christ]

Or perhaps I should say that the PLOT HOOKED me from the SECOND EPISODE, and kept me HOOKED as it RAN to the LAST ONE.

[Tweak72]

Cradlegrave was a real slow burner and was long enough to make sense. Some of Mr Smiths stuff in the past just did not make sense as it has seemed not long enough, a lot of later Tyranny Rex, some of its sequils and a fare amount of Devlin Waugh had this issue.  And he did not seem to lose sight of where the story was going line like Revere or Pussyfoot 5 did. I did not read Leatherjack as I was at that point all Meh! About his work. But after the awesome Dead Eyes which, for me suceeded where the Vort failed* and now the Brilliant Cradlegrave. I want more Smith please.






*The Vort was brilliant but from the final frame onwards throught the Lobster Random hell there after I was not interested as the experience was like watching an epoisode of the Wire and then the following episode being base on the Benny Hill Show.

[TheEdge]

Or 'individual opinions', as it's usually called. It hooked me from the 2nd episode.

Or perhaps I should say that the PLOT HOOKED me from the SECOND EPISODE, and kept me HOOKED as it RAN to the LAST ONE.

These posts were a bit like reading cradle to the grave

[Peter Wolf]

The characters in this strip didnt seem like they were "Chavs" to me at all but are just Lads as it were.Its slightly derogatory to label them as "Chavs" just because they are working class

Actually the term isn't really used over her in Ireland much.  I only used it because one of the characters in the story used it to describe himself and the others. So blame Skully, not me. 

I wasnt blaming you specifically as it was just a general comment.Apologies if it seemed like i was .

I came over all touchy-feely.No idea why but i think i was having an off day.

[JayzusB.Christ]

I wasnt blaming you specifically as it was just a general comment.Apologies if it seemed like i was .

I came over all touchy-feely.No idea why but i think i was having an off day.

No worries, chief, i didn't take offence or anything. 
I have to say, for my own part, I lived in a really dodgy area for a few years as I think I said. After being mugged with a syringe, having the house broken into, having a bicycle thrown at me, having the front window broken twice, not to mention three murders on my street and the neighbouring ones during my time there, I lost a lot of touchy-feelyness. The vast majority of the community consisted of really nice people, but the minority of fuckers wrecked the whole neighbourhood.  Underprivileged fuckers, yes, but fuckers nevertheless.

[Peter Wolf]

I wasnt blaming you specifically as it was just a general comment.Apologies if it seemed like i was .

I came over all touchy-feely.No idea why but i think i was having an off day.

No worries, chief, i didn't take offence or anything. 
I have to say, for my own part, I lived in a really dodgy area for a few years as I think I said. After being mugged with a syringe, having the house broken into, having a bicycle thrown at me, having the front window broken twice, not to mention three murders on my street and the neighbouring ones during my time there, I lost a lot of touchy-feelyness. The vast majority of the community consisted of really nice people, but the minority of fuckers wrecked the whole neighbourhood.  Underprivileged fuckers, yes, but fuckers nevertheless.

I have never lived in a dodgy area like that but if i had of done and had your experiences i am sure i would feel the same.

[House of Usher]

Cradlegrave was a real slow burner and was long enough to make sense.

I didn't think of it as a slow burner at all. I thought it got off to a flying start, but was just a bit flabby in the middle. It certainly threw a few curve balls by having dramatic incidents that had no payoff (e.g. the drugged-up car accident; Ted's death; puppy cannibalism; Skully's return), and a few payoffs that had no dramatic incident leading up to them (e.g. Ted's death again; the 'Donna' kebab; Skully eaten by slugs). The lack of connection between incident and payoff is very modernist and oblique, but doesn't make it a conventionally satisfying story. Yes, it's satisfying in other ways. Like 'Zombo', it thumbs its nose at the conventions of storytelling.