Another busy weekend ahead, as C and I hit That London on a stationery hunt (in fact, I’m running my pre-launch checks on a Paddington-bound train) and visit an extraordinary garden in an unexpected site. More on that next time, but for now let’s crack on, shall we?
In this episode of your soaraway Saturday Swipe — how to make your own zines, a truly great sporting interview and the re-emergence of some Ninth Art gold. Be joyful! The weekend starts here!
Wherever you are, whenever you are, however you are, welcome to The Swipe.
Rob is reading…
Benjamin by Ben H. Winters and Leomacs. A crazy SF road trip which restlessly shifts realities and perception, a swirling maelstrom based around the peregrinations of an egotistical author (clearly modelled on Philip K. Dick) who may or may not be a robot, a figment of the imagination, or — honestly, I won’t spoil it. Available through all usual purchasing vectors and via online library services like ComicsPlus, which is where I found the book. Benjamin is a great piece of Ninth Art weirdness. Go check it out.
Rob is watching…
Ludwig. Comfort cosy mystery solver, which unsurprisingly has just been renewed for a third season. A winning mix of puzzling and detection, think Quizzy Monday meets crime channel Alibi. Great writing and a solid mix of quirky characters make Ludwig a show that’s hard not to love. Frankly, Anna Maxwell Martin is the prime mover here. Eccentric yet vulnerable, sweet yet determined, she acts everyone else off the screen. C and I are big fans, as you can probably tell.
Rob is listening…
To The Tubs. New music from the Brighton collective, which scratches that R.E.M./Hüskers/Replacement itch in juuuust the right place. The new album is a no-skip warehouse of delights. Set your guitars to chime.
Rob is eating…
Orzo. I cooked a leek and onion, finely chopped, then added a fat clove of garlic, Microplaned, to the pan. Once fragrant, in went the orzo, chubby, rice-shaped pasta, swirled around in the veg and hot oil before adding stock and letting it all cook down. My mistake with orzo is to treat it like risotto rice. It needs a lot of liquid in the early stages to stop it sticking to the pan. Once soft and oozy (orzy?) I stirred in some Parmesan and sun-dried tomatoes for a pop of extra colour and flavour. As a side for sausages or lamb cutlets, this is excellent. On its own, it’s still a perfectly good dinner. Maybe a little garlic bread on the side for double-carb action, or a rocket salad if you need a lift.
Rob’s Low-Key Obsession Of The Week…
This ticks all my boxes. Fontastic!
A quick overview on zine-making resources, specifically the fun little 8-page numbers you can make from a cleverly-folded sheet of A4. These are worth having a go at, even if you don’t have an artistic bone in your body. It’s a fun way to explore sequential storytelling.
Some lovely reimaginings of R.E.M. songs as mid-century record covers, film posters and book art. There’s a lot of this stuff about, but Todd Alcott’s collection hit me where I live.
And while we’re on the subject. Good work, Hoover Public Library!
(Sound up, please.)
Swimmer Melanie Buggey just set a record for crossing the Strait Of Georgia in Canada. Her post-swim interview is a beautiful thing, full of self-effacing humour and deprecation. You know what, I’m spoiling it. Just go read. The whole thing is filled with gems.
I guess I thrive on self-loathing.
This is big news for comics fans. Thirty years ago, Jamie Hewlett published a manic, surreal comic in fashion magazine The Face, which promptly disappeared into the mists of indifference. Now he’s reupping the whole mad whirligig on Instagram. Let me tell you, Get The Freebies presents as a peyote-scoffing session while watching old episodes of the Banana Splits. I’ve embedded the first episode below. The rest is dropping every few days through the Phoo Action Insta account. It’s a curio of a very different time. Not for everyone, but Gorillaz and late-era Tank Girl fans will doubtless be all over it.
The sixtieth anniversary of Star Trek rolled round this week, with all sorts of crazy online shenanigans. My favourite is this brand collaboration with the most unlikely of partners.
Strange times as bubble-headed, balaclava-wearing fascist hoodrats decide to target the RNLI for, you know, doing their jobs. This has happened before, with Nigel Farage getting a proper roasting for trying the same nonsense. The good folks who run the RNLI are among the best of us and absolutely do not deserve this shit. If you’d like to show your support, there’s a donation link below.
(Thanks to Pal Kim for the reminder).
A fun list of those actors you know but can never quite remember the names of, along with some clips of their finest performances. This is a diverting way to dig into some top-tier comedy. Quite a bit of Seinfeld in there, so your mileage may vary.
You think this is all a big joke, doncha?
Congratulations to Chris Matterface, who has made it to the semi-finals of Mastermind with a specialist subject very dear to my heart. He performed better than I did. In my defence, I didn’t read The Galaxy’s Greatest Comic that much in the 90s. Is 6 a good score for the first round?
Pal Jillian found this great image which sought to put as many banned elements into a single image as possible. I think you could easily get a story out of it, no?
In conclusion. The 21st century summed up in one image.
(You can buy this pin if you like).
The video for Maps by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs hits differently when you realise Karen O’s on-stage upset was real. Her boyfriend at the time was supposed to visit the shoot before going off on an extended hiatus. He was a no-show up until the cameras were rolling, and Karen believed he’d let her down. You can see the moment where Karen spots him arrive at location— it’s at about 2:45. I love this song, and the backstory just makes it sweeter.
Oh, and Maps? My Angus, Please Stay.
No, you’ve got something in your eye.
See you in seven, fellow travellers.
EXCUSES AND HALF TRUTHS 