Ian Gibson 1946-2023

 

Ian Gibson's art was always in the weirder spectrum of 2000ad - not as far down the scale as O'Neill's Nemesis or latter McMahon, but definitely closer to them than the straight laced action of Bolland or Gibson. (Carlos Ezquerra, of course, was all things at all times.) 

But it was always a welcome sight in the galaxy's greatest comic, or when he made the rare foray into American comics. His line was smooth and exaggerated, and because he never sweat the small stuff, it was always vibrant, always alive. 

He drew some of the most beautiful women in comics, but his Dredd was always huge and rock solid. The Daily star strips were, by necessity, packed with information, but Gibson still putt the style into every single panel. He created a whole universe for Halo Jones to roam through, and brought a levity to Robo-Hunter that has never, ever been replicated.

Very few artists in the glory days of the mid 1980s could ever do the 'It Pays To Be Mental' story in Judge Dredd as well as Gibson did, and none of them could do what Gibson did a few weeks later, when he went full EC horror in 'Paid With Thanks'. I Was A Teenage Tax Consultant didn't work at all, but his Taxidermist stories really did. He did some incredibly underrated Mr Miracle comics - Barda never looked softer, even if she was still massive and could literally kill you with her eyebrow. 

He hadn't made an appearance in 2000ad for a while, but was still drawing his weird space operas to the end, using Kickstarter to publish Lifeboat this year. His exquisite talents will be greatly missed.

Monica and Burning: Who is telling this story anyway?

It's easy to see how the ending to Monica - Daniel Clowes' latest chunky graphic novel - can fail to resonate with many readers. Without giving too much away, there is a big tonal shift in the final couple of panels that can be easily seen as an obnoxious cop-out.

My pal Joe certainly thought so, and hated the comic so much he literally tossed it in the trash. (I tried to get him to do a guest post here on why it was so bad, but he's a very respectable human now, and doesn't need that shit). 

While I believe this is an extremely valid reaction, I still think Joe is totally wrong. I thought Monica was great, all the way through, and felt weirdly like the most Eightball comic he's done in years. And while I admit the apocalyptic ending took me by surprise, it fits with the thematic whole.

Mainly because, as is the case with a fucking shitload of my favourite stories, I'm still not sure what is actually happening towards the end. Whether it's taking place in the reality of the comic's story, or whether it's part of a story mentioned often in the text, and never shown.

It certainly helped that I had just seen Burning, the excellent Korean psychological thriller, because both stores have some similarity in how they end, where it's impossible to tell if this is something real happening, or whetherit's all just a story within the story.

Both endings have that same kind of unreliable narrator, and I will eat that shit up every time and ask for second. Narrative clarity is for squares, man.