We woke up this morning to sad but inevitable political news, as the people of Clacton opted for a right wing grifter over a somehow more credible candidate with a bin on his head.
But, more cheerily, this unusual election did inspire some top notch comics activity. SelfMadeHero, my publishers, rushed to put out an anthology comic in appreciation of Count Binface.
It’s an amazing achievement in and of itself, representing 30+ artists scrambling to create their contributions within a very short timeline: the entire project went from conception to bookstore within approximately three weeks, which when I compare it with the timescales associated with Noisy Valley, is incredible.
I stayed true to type for my own two pages, staying in my safe zone of explaining factual societal phenomena – in this case, what comedy candidates contribute to democracy. Once I started looking into it, I realised that, like so many subjects, there was a lot more than meets the eye. and the strip could have been extended into a much longer piece. But this was not the time, nor the place, so a surface-skimming piece it was.
I’d urge you to go out and buy the book and enjoy the depths of all the other comics creators’ wildest imaginings: some of them are truly superb. And 10% from every sale goes to the charity Shelter.
Myfanwy Tristram 