I do still exist, I promise. Sorry about the radio silence.
OK, quick sitrep: I’ve got roughly 99.9% of comic #10 to produce in any way. I mean, sure I’ve done a few trooper poses, but really we’re looking at roughly … not much. Apart from making lots of silly gif animations, as you can see from this blog post.
Truth is, I’ve not got much done because I’m just gutted about war. Know what I mean? Just the horrors being perpetrated by Russia, are grim. And sure there’s nothing new about this (apart from unprecedented levels of first-person coverage). And I’ve no doubt a few Ukrainian soldiers have done some desperate things too, but to focus on that like it validates what Russia’s doing, would be like blaming a woman for slapping her rapist; “Hah! Look what she did! Tss!” … uh, yeah … thanks to geotagging and satellite data and livestreaming and reliable internet, the whole planet is pretty clear on who’s the abuser here. The daily evidence against Russia is beyond overwhelming, and the constant victim-blaming attempts by Russia just make it all the worse; the free press sharing both sides and showing the idiocy of the clear lies pushed by the increasingly erratic RT news media.
And perhaps a difficult part of all this has been the continued absurd coverage of despicable characters like Trump, who should never have been put in charge of anything larger than a bicycle pump.
I mean how is that human still involved in politics in any way?! And how can Boris Johnson still be PM in the UK?! The lies, the incompetence, the lives wrecked by little men creating little bigoted policies just makes me feel so sick. I guess if Le Pen gets in tomorrow as well, that could be enough to kick off some serious fireworks across Europe, and people afraid of ‘immigrants’, will end up voting for increasingly bonkers fascists, until the whole human race disappears in one long-overdue puff of fearful stupidity.
People thinking they can earn their own internal peace if only they can cripple enough humans or hoard enough wealth, or get rid of ‘them’. THEM! Ahh, genocide. Fucking hell.
I’ve seen more than my fair share of life-and-death horrors, but the clear evidence coming out of Ukraine are just too painful to contemplate. I guess because I have experienced something of the abuses and pain, perhaps my compassion hurts all the more. Or perhaps everyone who keeps their eyes open will hurt like this, because we are all, after all, human. Black, white, Christian, Jew, holocaust survivor, holocaust denier, fascist, Hindu, farmer, Orthodox, atheist, traumatised, privileged, Russian, peace-maker, combatant, Ukrainian, slave, or free … we are all human.
And perhaps that, ultimately, will be what sees us through this; the deeper humanity within us all. The natural state of connection, of honouring people; that inbuilt sense of truth, of justice. Our deep search for redemption. Perhaps that will get us through, as it has many times before. And perhaps we will again come out the other side with a few new rules around lying, around holding leaders to account, around energy blackmail and corporate greed. Perhaps people will begin to realise that Oligarchs … should simply not exist.
So perhaps the long story here is a beautiful one, and I will hold the hope of that like a tiny gem, close to my broken heart.
Aaaaaaanyway, in the meantime, comics! Boobies! Bums! Willies! Foofoos! Lovely rub-a-dubs from someone warm and equal, sun-kissed and Sunday-morning lie-ins, lazy strokes and lippy nibbles. Yessssss pleeeaasssseeeeee!
Nibble nibble
Nga-nga-nga-nga-nghh-nghh-ngha …
